Sonja Trauss
Executive Director
In 2014, Sonja Trauss started organizing pro-housing renters in the Bay Area while working as a high school math teacher. She is a founder of the YIMBY movement in California. Sonja leads YIMBY Law, which is a project of Yes In My Back Yard.
Sonja facilitates community organizing for housing projects that are compliant with state housing laws to be approved by local governments. Under Sonja’s leadership, YIMBY Law has won nine lawsuits since 2019. Sonja received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Temple University, and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.
Gillian Pressman
Managing Director
Gillian Pressman has spent her career in the nonprofit sector, leading fundraising and programs for a variety of direct service and advocacy organizations that all have focused on ending urban inequality. Prior to YIMBY Action, she was the Senior Director of Development at Peer Health Exchange (PHE), a national health equity organization. There, she led strategy and operations for the organization’s national and local fundraising teams. Prior, she was Executive Director for Massachusetts at Generation Citizen (GC), an organization that empowers young people to take political action in their communities. At GC, Gillian oversaw all fundraising, political advocacy, school and community partnerships, and programs for her region.
In 2019, Gillian joined the YIMBY team, where she has increased organizational revenue by more than 8x. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Princeton University.
Jae Hendrix
Marketing & Communications Director
Jae Garner has been involved in housing advocacy since 2018. Starting as an advocate for ending homelessness, they worked with local organizations to support permanent supportive housing before finding the pro-housing movement and expanding their advocacy. Jae joined the YIMBY staff in 2020 and now serves as Director of Marketing and Communications. Their strategies have grown and spread awareness of YIMBY and the broader pro-housing movement. Jae has also been a main driver of internal and external Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. They received their Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from California State University-Fullerton.
Andrew Gothard
Director of Advocacy
Andrew Gothard is a former labor organizer/union leader and higher education faculty member who joined the pro-housing movement after experiencing firsthand the impact of unsustainable housing costs in South Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in English in 2017 from the University of Miami and taught for six years at Florida Atlantic University. During that time, he also served as an organizer and elected union official with the United Faculty of Florida, the Florida Education Association, and the Florida AFL-CIO. Andrew comes to YIMBY Action with a great deal of experience in grassroots organizing, political advocacy, state and federal court litigation, and press relations.
Leora Tanjuatco Ross
California Director
Leora Tanjuatco Ross has been organizing for housing since 2015. Before YIMBY Action & YIMBY Law, she worked at the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo, where she focused on organizing people in support of affordable housing. Leora has also served as the president of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition, the oldest and largest Democratic club in Silicon Valley. When she’s near surface-level parking lots, she’ll point out that they could be homes to anyone within hearing distance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Media Studies from the University of Virginia.
Amy Klein
Associate Director of Development
Amy has over a decade of experience in fundraising, event planning, and marketing for nonprofit organizations. She has led development strategies for organizations focused on the livability of our cities including working on local food accessibility, small business development, and urban forestry. Most recently, she served as the Director of Development at Transportation Alternatives in New York City, advocating for better walking, biking, and public transit options for all. She holds a Bachelors in Communications from Edgewood College in Madison, WI, a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University, and an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
Rafa Sonnenfeld
Senior Manager, Law Department
Rafa Sonnenfeld has been working in the housing sector since 2019, when he began serving on the City of Santa Cruz’s Community Advisory Committee on Homelessness. Rafa has experience working with local government and non-profit organizations that provide support for vulnerable populations experiencing the consequences of the national housing crisis. Rafa focuses on policy prioritization, staff and volunteer management, coalition building and thought leadership, and legal team support. Rafa received his Bachelor of Science in Informatics from the University of Washington.
Mariah Redfern
Marketing & Communications Manager
Mariah started working in advocacy in 2017 at a nonprofit geared toward youth social justice initiatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Later, she supported digital marketing efforts for a White House Initiative and worked on projects for agencies such as USAID, the State Department, and several U.S. Embassies overseas. In 2022, Mariah joined YIMBY Action’s Marketing and Communications Department. Mariah leverages social media and email marketing to spread awareness about the pro-housing movement and help grow our people power! Mariah earned her Bachelor of Arts from American University in Public Relations and Strategic Communication.
Jaclynn Garry
Operations Manager
Jaclynn brings a diverse background to her position at YIMBY Action. In her role as an Operations Associate, she draws on her extensive experience in teacher leadership and operations across various sectors including construction, logistics, and non-profits. In her capacity at YIMBY, she focuses on operations and project management to create a healthy and efficient organization that can better serve the pro-housing movement. She has a Bachelor of Science. from Wittenberg University and a Masters of Education Degree in Policy and Administration from Loyola Marymount University.
Julia Teitelbaum
Digital Director
Julia Teitelbaum has worked in design and technology for more than ten years. Julia designed digital products for companies including General Electric and Cisco. After volunteering with YIMBY Action for a few years, she joined staff in 2020, working to advance the YIMBY movement through her technology and digital design skills. Her work includes brand stewardship, service design, website management, data management, and automation. She holds a degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Information Systems & Human-Computer Interaction, with a minor in Communication Design.
Nikki Yang
Marketing Design Coordinator
Nikki Yang joined the YIMBY Action Marketing and Communications team in 2022. Previously, she worked in the sustainability sector in California advocating for environmentalism on college campuses as a Zero Waste Coordinator at UC Davis Sustainability. Nikki also worked at affordable housing non-profit Community Land Trust Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium. As the Marketing Design Coordinator for YIMBY Action, Nikki supports graphic design and marketing work that increases awareness of our movement and attracts new members. Nikki earned her Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Environmental Design from the University of California, Davis. She is currently pursuing her Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.
Tia Stone
Senior Manager of Membership
Tia Stone joined YIMBY Action as the Senior Manager of Membership in June 2023. Her background is in community engagement, marketing, and volunteer management. Though new to the pro-housing movement, Tia has been in the thick of equity and justice-centered work as an organizer in the Black Lives Matter movement in which she worked on protest and policy organizing and coalition building around local cases and policies upholding police brutality. She also spent years in sexual violence and human trafficking work, working as a director for a local nonprofit where she became a certified Victim Advocate heavily focused on the importance of healing-centered and trauma-informed approaches to working not only in victim advocacy, but all justice and equity work.
Jack Farrell
Research Attorney
Jack is entering the YIMBY movement from the world of civil legal aid, serving as a domestic violence specialist and later grants manager at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. That work gave Jack a grounding in the urgent need of national pro-housing policy, and the current inadequacies in policy solutions to address the depth of the problem. Justice and practicality demand that we re-examine and reform the structure of our communities. Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s College and a J.D. from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.
Angela Tiangco
Research Attorney
While in school, Angela’s undergraduate and law school coursework heavily involved topics regarding inequality in its many forms—wealth, housing, and health especially. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she had the opportunity to co-lead a service trip accompanying residents of Virginia Supportive Housing in Richmond, VA. This trip was fundamental for Angela in recognizing the value of a “housing first” approach for residents. As a second year law student, she worked as an extern with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Technical Unit as they assisted various Afghan groups—asylees, refugees, parolees, etc.—in the aftermath of the 2021 Afghanistan evacuations. Those experiences not only solidified the importance of housing stability, but also the importance of community in Angela’s approach to her work and everyday life. Angela earned her B.S. in Psychology at the College of William & Mary and received her J.D. just down the road at William & Mary Law School.
Jane Natoli
San Francisco Organizing Director
Jane has been a YIMBY since 2016, when she helped found the San Francisco neighborhood chapter Grow the Richmond. Prior to joining YIMBY Action as the San Francisco Organizing Director, Jane served on the YIMBY Action Board from 2018-2023. Professionally, she previously worked in compliance and conducted financial crimes investigations at Lithic, Stripe, and Wells Fargo. Jane also serves as the PAC chair for Equality California and is an Airport Commissioner for SFO.
Connor Riley
National Chapter Manager
Connor became involved in advocacy as a teenage student with a disability. He required additional help and resources to thrive and this imbued in him a sense of service. After studying political science in college, Connor set his sights on electoral politics in 2018. Over several years, he worked at the local, state, and national level for campaigns and democracy-focused organizations. Connor became the youngest member ever elected onto one of his hometown’s political committees and joined the activists who helped pass a criminal justice reform act in 2020. Connor joined the pro-housing movement and YIMBY Action in order to make a difference in Denver, the city that he has fallen in love with. Everyone needs a home, so Connor is motivated to ensure Denver can accommodate all current and future residents! Connor received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and Government from Hartwick College.
Courtney Porcella
Senior Manager of Industry Partnerships
Courtney has worked in the housing and real estate development space for five years. Before joining YIMBY Action, Courtney led the growth team at coUrbanize, a community engagement platform that empowers more people to have a say in what gets built in their neighborhood. She is also a frequent contributor writer, covering real estate development, green buildings, and of course, housing solutions. She is growing our membership of developers, architects, land use attorneys, and other key stakeholders in the building industry.
Joh Gehlbach
Senior Campaigns Manager
After spending countless hours watching their neighbors stand up in public meetings to oppose new homes, Joh helped to co-found RVA YIMBY in 2023. Prior to joining YIMBY Action, Joh worked as a lobbyist at the Richmond Association of REALTORS® (RAR) for over a decade, ultimately becoming the organization’s chief lobbyist in 2022. During Joh’s time at RAR, they developed expertise in housing policy, land use, and legislative advocacy. They graduated from the University of Richmond in 2012 and are currently pursuing a Masters of Urban & Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Jennifer Borrero
Georgia Organizing Director
Jen Borrero first became involved in the pro-housing movement during her early career, inspired by a passion for finding equitable housing solutions that benefit local legacy residents and addressing homelessness among young people. With years of experience as a community-driven developer and as the founder of the Youth Housing Coalition (YHC), Jen has led initiatives to empower Gen Z leaders to create systemic change through housing policy reform.
As an award-winning entrepreneur and advocate, Jen has been recognized as a "30 Under 30" recipient and a TEDx speaker for her contributions to housing and social justice. She holds a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Georgia State University and serves as a United Nations Ambassador, where she brings her expertise in housing and sustainability to a global stage. Now, as the Georgia Organizing Director for YIMBY Action, Jen continues her mission to create inclusive, sustainable communities that prioritize access and equity
Pranay Bhargava
Chapter Operations Associate
Pranay first got involved in the pro-housing movement while living in Chicago. They believe that our cities can and should be available to people from all walks of life. As a member of YIMBY Action’s Abundant Housing Illinois chapter, Pranay projects a housing-and-climate-first message across Chicago and stays at the forefront of removing barriers to housing abundance and sustainable urban living. Pranay takes a data-backed approach to decision-making and is always looking for ways to optimize processes that further the movement. They have degrees in Marketing and Business Analytics from Indiana University.
Daira Fernández
Event Coordinator
Daira Fernández became passionate about housing justice in her childhood. Her background in nonprofit strategy, event coordination, and international programming informs her work at YIMBY Action, where she brings sharp logistics knowledge, deep empathy, and a commitment to mission-aligned storytelling. She has worked with organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ESD Global, and Matriculate. She holds a degree in economics Universidad Mayor de San Andres.