San Diego, CALIF. - Mayor Kevin Faulconer is continuing his efforts to reduce homelessness in San Diego with his most recent hire, Stacie Spector. Spector will be a senior advisor on housing solutions, working to unify existing efforts in San Diego’s longstanding struggle with homelessness.

Faulconer brought in the longtime strategy consultant after his efforts to mitigate homelessness saw little improvement. In November 2014, the county launched HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO, the San Diego Housing Commission’s three-year Homelessness Action Plan. Despite its initiatives, the region saw less than a 1% decrease of homelessness last year, with an increase in street homelessness. At nearly 8,700, San Diego’s homeless population is the fourth largest in the country.

Bob McElroy, president and CEO of the Alpha Project, has been working with San Diego’s homeless for over thirty years and has expressed the need for a focused plan. “It is the best course to finally giving our homeless population a real chance for a better life,” McElroy explained.

As senior advisor, it's expected that Spector will collaborate with groups like Alpha Project to create a cohesive and more effective strategy for reducing homelessness. The newly created position follows recent appointments of similar “homelessness czars” in Los Angeles, Orange County, Seattle, and San Francisco, and Faulconer hopes the position and its mission will endure beyond his term as mayor.

Spector’s background in strategic planning and project management spans over two decades. She served in the White House during the Clinton-Gore Administration as Deputy Communications Director before becoming Associate Vice Chancellor for UC San Diego. Spector was the Chief Communications Officer at the Salk Institute and most recently served as the Vice President of Strategy and External Relations for the Nutrition Science Initiative. She has not previously worked with homelessness or public housing.

Spector graduated from Columbia University and currently resides in Carlsbad.