
Who We Are
We are a 5013c3 organization based out of Aurora, Colorado.
The Community Investment Alliance partners with communities to develop stable housing, robust behavioral health services, wealth-building opportunities, access to healthy food, and integration with the natural environment.

Dr. Kathleen Van Voorhis
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Kathleen holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver. She has held a variety of leadership roles in emergency sheltering, service design, delivery coordination, and coalition building. A born-and-raised Coloradan, Kathleen is passionate about working throughout the state to bring about sustainable change.

Jenn Lopez
Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor
Jenn is a fundraising guru with more than two decades of experience in in affordable housing and homelessness solutions. She held a senior position in the Hickenlooper administration in Colorado and led regional housing efforts in Southwestern Colorado for several years. Jenn loves working with local community leaders and excels at both strategy development and implementation work.
Board of Directors

Peter LiFari
Executive Director at Maiker Housing Partners
Biography coming soon!

Rebecca Miller Updike
Principal at Michael Best Strategies LLC
Biography coming soon!

Rev. Benjamin A. David Hensley
Lead Pastor at Lakewood United Methodist Church
A Deacon in The United Methodist Church, Rev. Hensley is passionate about the role the church can potentially fill to join with others in making our world a better place—helping love become an active verb in our communities that leads to transformation. He is passionate about ending homelessness and believes that it actually can be eradicated. The reason it hasn’t boils down to a lack of trying! Ben is thrilled to be on a team that seeks to do just that: try creating outcomes that create fundamental change in our communities and end the humanitarian crisis of homelessness that is ubiquitous to every metropolitan area of our nation. Ben is a choir director, activist, musician, composer, amateur chef, preacher, Muay Thai student, home brewer, slave to his cat, Leo and life partner to his brilliant wife, Rev. Becky M. David Hensley and resides in Lakewood, CO.

Sam Gilman
Co-Founder at Colorado Eviction Defense Project

Jaimin Williams Harris
Entrepreneur & Housing Advocate
Biography coming soon!

Cec Ortiz
Community Activist & Project Management Consultant
Biography coming soon!

Jennifer Hope Wilson
Senior Program Associate at the Center for Housing and Homelessness Research, University of Denver
Jennifer is a Senior Program Associate with the University of Denver’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research. As a social worker and social scientist, she has largely worked with unhoused adults, youth, and families in school and community-based settings. Her research interests center around the role of social innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing social inequity and homelessness. Jennifer holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as an MBA and PhD in Social Work from the University of Denver.