Board Members

Sara Rankin is an Associate Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law. Sara is also the founder and Director of the Homeless Rights Advocacy Project (HRAP) in the law school’s Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality. Each year, HRAP releases a series of new reports that continue the group's groundbreaking research into laws and policies that impact homelessness. Sara also provides pro bono assistance and consultation on a variety of legal and policy matters concerning housing instability. Along with Chad Mackay, Sara co-founded and co-chairs the Third Door Coalition to end chronic homelessness. Sara wants everyone to know that our current approach to criminalizing homelessness is an often illegal, and always expensive rotating door. The Third Door Coalition shines a light on our need to work together, to innovate, and to invest in non-punitive, cost-effective alternatives that actually solve chronic homelessness, like permanent supportive housing.

Chad leads the Fire & Vine Hospitality team, which is responsible for overall operational leadership, culinary expertise and product sourcing, marketing and technology support for several new and iconic Pacific NW restaurants and hotels. Fire & Vine Hospitality was recently selected as one of the 75 biggest corporate philanthropists in Washington in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Along with Sara Rankin, Chad co-founded and co-chairs the Third Door Coalition to end chronic homelessness. Chad said that after the divisiveness of the head tax debate in Seattle, Sara’s optimism about setting differences aside and tackling chronic homelessness “woke him up.” Chad is motivated not only by his love for this region and his desire to help house our homeless neighbors, but also by his responsibility to show his children that we can make a difference if we work together.

Jeri is a financial services executive, business consultant, adviser and investor. She is experienced in global asset management, corporate development, business development and intellectual property strategy. She has held executive leadership roles at Xerox Corp, Russell Investments and most recently, Intellectual Ventures. She is also the co-founder of The Lion’s Den Seattle, a business incubator bringing investors, entrepreneurs and creatives together to provide early stage start-up funding, access and connections across the Pacific Northwest. She serves as a board member for The Looking Out Foundation and is a fundraising ambassador for War Child and Children In Conflict, both internationally recognized charities that support children in war-affected communities. Jeri is proud to be a member of Third Door Coalition and is committed to engaging our innovative business, non-profit and political leaders to solve chronic homelessness.



David is Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at Visit Seattle, the city’s private, nonprofit destination marketing organization. Blandford overseas public policy, issues management, strategic communications and industry advocacy at the national, state and local levels. David believes that with a focus on facts and commitment to proven solutions and innovative approaches, the Third Door Coalition re-invigorates the work to address the needs of chronically homeless people in Seattle.  

Noah Fay is the Director of Housing Programs with Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) in Seattle, the largest homeless service provider in King County, operating five shelters and 14 permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs. DESC has long been a national leader in Housing First and Harm Reduction services for vulnerable men and women experiencing homelessness. Noah has worked in variety of roles and across programs at DESC, including as manager of the nationally renowned 1811 Eastlake project, as well as other key roles in the shelter, clinical and housing programs. Noah has also served as a trainer and consultant, both for DESC and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, emphasizing the effectiveness of PSH. He is a firm believer in the power of PSH as the solution to chronic homelessness, and is excited to work on the Third Door Coalition in an effort to convene cross sector stakeholders around this proven model.

Matt is co-owner of Pagliacci Pizza & Macrina Bakery. In his nearly 30 years working in the food industry, he has driven growth by supporting and developing the people who make the food. This focus has produced consistently high-quality products and service leading to increased sales. Over a decade ago, Matt committed to making operationally sustainable decisions throughout his businesses. From purchasing green power and FSC certified paper products to seeking LEED certification and championing restaurant composting, his businesses continually strive to lessen their carbon footprints. Throughout his time in the food industry, Matt has supported a wide variety of charitable causes. He’s increasingly passionate about food insecurity in the greater Seattle area and the importance of feeding those in need. Pagliacci Pizza has been a long-time supporter of Cathedral Kitchen, which serves nearly 50,000 meals each year. Matt was an early supporter of the Third Door Coalition’s collaborative culture and its plans to end chronic homelessness in Seattle.

Rian is the Executive Director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, a Washington-based public policy advocacy organization and think tank. He previously served as the Executive Director of The Urbanist, a Seattle-based advocacy journalism organization; as a Strategy Lead for International Large-Scale Change for Community Solutions, a national homelessness nonprofit; and as a Senior Analyst for Abt Global, a public policy research firm. In addition to the Third Door board, Rian serves on the board of Futurewise, a statewide land use organization, and on the implementation board of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. 

Daniel Malone serves as Executive Director of Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), an innovative multi-service organization dedicated to meeting the needs of people who have been homeless for very long periods and are living with complex disabilities and health conditions such as serious mental illness and substance use disorder. Daniel began his career at DESC trying to help clients in emergency shelter find housing and other resources in the community. That experience informed his work as DESC’s first housing manager, attempting to figure out an effective approach to keeping people housed who had not had it for a long time. Trial and error with harm reduction practices led to the model DESC uses today known as Housing First. Daniel believes that the Third Door Coalition presents a unique opportunity to recognize where the interests of service providers, businesses, and chronically people align, and make progress on mutual goals.

Benjamin Miksch is the Washington State Housing Specialist for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, where he works to build bridges between the health care and housing/homelessness worlds and improve health outcomes for the economically disadvantaged, the medically underserved, and those with disabilities and complex health care needs. Benjamin has a Bachelors degree from the University of Washington, and has spent the last decade working in the public sector, including working on housing, tax, and financial regulation policies for U.S. Senator Cantwell and on state and federal affordable housing and homelessness policies as part of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.

Peter Moon is a Managing Partner at Navicet, a management consultancy that helps organizations solve business problems using a collaborative, iterative, and empathy-driven approach. Peter has over 30 years of commercial software design and IT management experience. He is a 13 year veteran of Microsoft and held such positions as Director of Tools for North America Services, Engineering PUM, Quality Director, and Consulting Engagement Manager where he drove some of the largest services engagements in NA. While at Microsoft, Peter developed new practices for IT software design and drove global adoption for over 10,000 IT pros. He has been a speaker at numerous industry conferences, has coached hundreds of teams to achieve better business results through proven practices in design, requirements, risk and project management and has served on Microsoft IT’s Architectural and Standards review boards. Peter launched Navicet with a group of like-minded practitioners in 2014 to serve customers in the Puget Sound area who believe in the power of design to transform business.

Debbie Canavan Thiele is Managing Director for Corporation for Supportive Housing in the Western U.S. She oversees systems integration efforts to create supportive housing for the most vulnerable people. Debbie previously held senior leadership positions in multifamily lending for the Mayor’s Office of Housing in Seattle and in homeless housing initiatives for the King County Housing Authority. She currently serves on the Seattle Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Debbie’s work is rooted in the direct service experience she gained early in her career and a unique understanding of the cultural, operational, and financial considerations of the many systems that must work together to create supportive housing.

Third Door Coalition Committee Members

Lauren Broomall, Partner, Navicet

David Moser, Social Work Faculty, Seattle University

Tim Parham, Director of Real Estate, Plymouth Housing

Russell Willems, Consultant, Data Analysis and Visualization, Navicet

Third Door Coalition Ambassadors

Miguel Jimenez, Master’s Candidate in Public Administration, Seattle University

Jeremy Schifberg, Former Principal, Founding Team at The Health Initiative

Cayle Sharratt, Business Affairs, Sub Pop Records

Shireen Tabrizi, Social Impact Professional

Richard Waters, MD, Primary Care Physician