I am originally from  Rochester, NY,  and went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where I earned my BFA in film production. Upon graduating, I worked as a television news editor and warzone field producer during the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 before relocating to Los Angeles. There, I shifted into commercials and feature films as a production manager and location scout before moving into my current position of television commercial producer. My work has garnered multiple industry awards including two Emmys.

Outside of my film work, I’m a black belt and part time instructor of Brazilian jiu jitsu. I’ve dedicated considerable time to serving my community over the years, starting before college as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. More recently, I was elected to the Del Rey Neighborhood Council for four terms years including two as President, and was the Board Chair for two years of the Western Regional Alliance of Councils. I remain active as a Land Use Committee member in Del Rey and am honored to be a Board member of Safe Parking Los Angeles.

Scott Sale MD was a practicing internist in St Louis, Mo until 1999 when he and his family relocated to LA for his wife’s career. Scott continued to practice medicine in Los Angeles on a part-time basis until 2013.

Starting in 2004 he joined the board of New Directions, Inc which he chaired from 2012-2014.

In 2008 he started mentoring with Imagine LA and eventually joined and chaired the Board. Through his work at these 2 organizations and his synagogue, Leo Baeck temple, he became interested in people experiencing homelessness who lived in their vehicles. He founded Safe Parking LA with his Leo Baeck colleagues, Pat and Ira Cohen in Nov 2016 and was the Executive Director until May 2020. He has served as a Neighborhood Councilman for 3 years in the Mid City West area and is now very interested in supporting the Life Ark concept.

Being a business builder and entrepreneur his entire career, Tim has worked across industries – Automotive, Hospitality, Loyalty – and across analog and digital worlds. He understands getting his hands dirty and getting things done.

And when it comes to the philanthropic endeavors in his life, Tim has embraced the same ‘get things done’ philosophy. Whether it is starting an in hospital after school program for children with cancer (Ooch-Too-Nite) helping kids attend overnight camp when they couldn’t afford it (AMICI) or participating in 12 hour golf marathons to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Tim’s focus in Canada was helping kids be kids.

When he moved to Los Angeles in 2015, that focus shifted to a need that he saw every day going to work – homelessness. Starting as a volunteer talking to clients in 2019, Tim eagerly accepted the opportunity to join the Advisory Board of Safe Parking LA in 2020 and is honored to be the first Board of Directors Secretary when their 501(c) 3 status is confirmed later in 2022.

Sheyda has over 10 years of experience in and around the healthcare industry. She currently leads health plan partnerships at a mental healthcare and technology company, Headway. Prior to that, she managed 15 Davita dialysis centers across southern Los Angeles. She also has a background in management consulting and corporate strategy. She received her AB from Brown University and MBA from The Wharton School.

While originally from Boston, Sheyda is now a west coast convert, enjoying all that California has to offer from amazing hiking trails to the diverse set of cuisines to indulge in.

Sheyda joined the Safe Parking LA board to become involved in the community she now proudly considers home, and her mission is to ensure each and every program participants has the opportunity to attain stable housing.

Daniel Behrendt is a highly accomplished professional with over 15 years of experience in Go-To-Market (GTM) Partnerships, end-to-end Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), and building Strategic Revenue Channels. His expertise spans various sectors, including digital marketplaces, e-commerce, MarTech, AdTech, FinTech, and Enterprise SaaS. Daniel’s career includes roles in both corporate and venture-backed startup environments.

As Secretary, Daniel provides leadership on Safe Parking LA’s Executive Committee. His commitment to social impact, specifically addressing homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity, is strongly evident in the ways in which he is involved with his community. He currently serves as Chair of Culver City’s Committee on Housing and Homelessness and volunteers with RevHubOC, the LA County’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, and the Measure K Oversight Committee for Culver City Unified School District.

Daniel received his BA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from INSEAD, and a JD from the University of California, Davis. He is passionate about leveraging his extensive network, legal expertise, financial acumen, and general management skills to contribute to Safe Parking LA’s efforts in addressing homelessness. Outside of work, Daniel loves to play soccer and spend time with his family.

Mr. Blumenfeld is a Partner at Levinson Arshonsky & Kurtz where he focuses his practice in all areas of complex bankruptcy and insolvency, corporate restructuring, distressed assets, acquisition and disposition, and related litigation matters. In terms of his corporate bankruptcy expertise, Mr. Blumenfeld has represented debtors, trustees, and both secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy courts. In addition, a substantial portion of his work consists of serving as general or special counsel to federal and state receivers appointed to general equity, Family Code, rents and profits, Health and Safety Code, and regulatory receiverships, as well as bankruptcy trustees, and other fiduciaries. He has significant civil litigation experience defending and prosecuting actions on behalf of receivers and businesses. He also provides legal counsel for partition referees, successor trustees, and provisional directors in matters involving property and business disputes.

Mr. Blumenfeld has been recognized by Super Lawyers and Law Dragon for his achievements in Bankruptcy Law.

Mr. Blumenfeld received his B.A. in History from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Juris Doctor from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

From 2014-2021, Mr. Blumenfeld previously served as a Commissioner on the Human Relations Commission for the City of Beverly Hills.

Mr. Blumenfeld also serves on the Board of Managers for the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

Mr. Blumenfeld loves to travel, scuba dive, and all things soccer.

Nancy Hammerman is a Senior VP at Sutton Capital Partners, a technology investment banking firm. Nancy heads up research and marketing and is also the co-founder of the Recurring Revenue Conference –an annual technology conference bringing together multiple industry leaders focused on the subscription economy.

Since 2008 Nancy has coached entrepreneurs for the Social Innovation Fast Pitch Competition; for Manhattan BeachTEDx; CNN Heroes: for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Living Progress Challenge, for the United Way Homelessness Challenge and TechStars LA. Nancy serves on the board of the Women Founders Network and is the producer of Tech&Homelessness: A Call to Action. Her past activities have included serving on the board of the Harvard Business School Association of Southern California and Social Venture Partners.

Victor has dedicated himself to serving people experiencing homelessness since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2008. Over the past 14 years, he has overseen a variety of homeless programs, from homeless street outreach to interim and permanent housing programs. He played integral roles in the development and expansion of the County’s Coordinated Entry System and Coordinated Outreach System, which serve as the foundation of delivering homeless services in LA County.

As the Acting Director of the LA Homeless Services Authority’s Access and Engagement Department, he oversaw the daily deployment of 200 outreach workers providing life-saving services to unhoused individuals across the County during the COVID pandemic. In his current role as the LA County Department of Health Services Director of Street Based Engagement, his teams bring medical and behavioral health services directly to encampments and other unsheltered settings across the County.

Victor is passionate about leveraging his experience, knowledge, and relationships to support Safe Parking LA’s crucial work in helping people living in their cars find safety, solace and a pathway back into their own homes. He in turn is supported by his amazing wife Korinne and two beautiful children, Caleb and Carmen.

Gregory Kushner founded Lido Advisors in 1999 with the goal of ensuring that his clients are “fiscally fit” with a healthy financial portfolio in all areas of their lives. Kushner works with investments and strategy for ultra-high net-worth investors and family offices to provide objective and personal financial solutions and multi-generational planning. In addition to his current role as Chairman, Kushner continues to serve client relationships as an investment advisor representative of Lido, including all aspects of managing their wealth.

Prior to founding Lido Advisors, LLC, Kushner founded Lido Consulting, Inc., in 1995 to provide consulting services for family offices. Services include implementing best practices within the family office structure, extending to all facets of running and maintaining a family office. The firm provides resources on several topics important to the effective management of wealth. Lido Consulting hosts many “invitation-only” events every year where Kushner acts as Conference Chairman and moderator. Topics include investment strategy, economic outlook, risk management, family office creation and management, charitable giving, asset allocation, and updates regarding the impact of government and political activities impacting the ultra-high net worth community.

Kushner discovered a passion for sharing his financial knowledge in 2009, when he hosted a weekly radio show about investing and personal finance on KABC 790AM in Los Angeles that ran until 2010. He was the Keynote Speaker at the AM 870 Wealth Summit (February 2018) and has periodically been a host of financial shows on the same channel. Recently, Kushner discovered a new platform for sharing his insights with the public by becoming a Forbes Finance Council contributor. Kushner also speaks regularly on issues relating to the management of substantial wealth throughout Southern California. Kushner also is a featured speaker annually for Pepperdine University’s Certificate in Financial Management for the Family Office program including courses on due diligence, investment policy statements, and asset allocation.

Kushner earned a Bachelor of Science degree (cum laude) in Business Administration from USC (1978). Kushner is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Kushner is active in the community, volunteering his time as well as serving as a Director and Chief Financial Officer of a private family foundation called the Tech Sgt. Jack Kushner Ret’d Foundation, that provides substantial grants to veteran’s causes throughout the United States. In 2020, the foundation made grants over $350,000 for veterans causes.

Duane Lyons is a retired attorney with a distinguished career. From 2001 to 2004, he was a partner with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, where he specialized in commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Lyons served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1991 to 2001. During his tenure as an AUSA, Mr. Lyons received numerous awards, including a personal commendation from the Attorney General of the United States for his work on the successful civil rights prosecution of the Los Angeles police officers involved in the Rodney King beating.

In 2023, Mr. Lyons was appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of Colorado. In October 2023, he and a team of lawyers from Quinn Emanuel and the Attorney General’s office secured a conviction of an Aurora Police Officer for criminally negligent homicide and assault arising from the death of Elijah McClain.

His civic and charitable activities include serving on the Los Angeles Police Commission Advisory Committee on Building Trust and Equity; the Los Angeles Bar Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee; Knox Presbyterian Church and the Board of Directors of the Wilshire Country Club.

Formerly a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of the Century Housing Corporation in Los Angeles California for eleven years. Century Housing has produced over 14,000 units of affordable housing in the Los Angeles area. At Century Housing Corporation, his areas of responsibility were Century Community Training Program (an all-construction trades pre-apprenticeship training program) the Century Learning Initiatives for today afterschool tutorial program in affordable rental housing, First time Homebuyer Counseling Services, and More Than Shelter for Seniors.

Robert is a combat veteran with service in the U.S. Marine Corps in Viet Nam., served on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and LINC Housing. Robert has been honored for his role in assisting the development and opening of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery on the former Fort Ord in Monterey, California.

Robert has undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Black Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey Indonesian Language Long Course. He has a master’s degree in Organizational Development and has completed the City of San Diego Management Academy for Senior Executives.

Robert is a recipient of the White House Community Drum Major Award for his work with the Faith Based Community. His hobbies are reading fiction and non-fiction, playing golf, and listening to Jazz.

Mellonise has a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Technology with a minor in Mathematics and Asian-Pacific Studies. Mellonise’s current role is the Educational and Learning Technology Manager at EF Academy in Pasadena, overseeing the campus’ technology needs and staying current on technological advances. Before her current position, Mellonise worked in various educational settings as an educator, tech leader, esports coach, and 911 dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol.

In 2018, due to a lack of career opportunities and support, Mellonise and her son became homeless. She exhausted all her means, leading her to a point where it seemed like she had nowhere else to turn. A close friend of hers helped her discover Safe Parking Los Angeles. Her time as a participant in SPLA changed her life and helped her get back on her feet. As her life began to improve, she made it a point to give back to the organization that changed her life.

In her free time, Mellonise enjoys being a mom, traveling, dancing, mentoring, and volunteering.

Josh is the Chief Operating Officer at Swipe Out Hunger, where he is responsible for leading the organization’s operations and technology as they pertain to its mission to end college student hunger. Josh has a passion for understanding the sociopolitical and economic underpinnings of societal inequities. Out of school, he worked for the Illinois Department of Public Health where he helped write legislation advocating for healthy communities throughout Illinois. Prior to joining Swipe Out Hunger, Josh served as Program Director at Tzedek America, supporting teens to understand the issue of homelessness through visiting organizations in Skid Row and speaking with members of the unhoused community. Josh also serves as a mentor through All Tech is Human and is Co-Founder of the Internet Society, LA & Southern California Chapter.

Josh is inspired by SPLA’s mission to provide safe overnight parking and a path to housing for residents of Los Angeles and is excited to apply his non-profit operations background to helping SPLA grow.