Meet the Team

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.

Rafa Sonnenfeld

Policy Director

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.

Jae Garner

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.

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.

Alex Melendrez

Equity Organizing Manager

Alex Melendrez began working in pro-housing advocacy in 2018 as an organizer for the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County. As an organizer, he advocated for housing rights for communities in San Mateo County. Alex endorsed projects and policies to improve tenants’ rights and housing affordability, and developed new housing leaders. Alex joined YIMBY Action as an Organizing Manager for the California Peninsula & South Bay in 2022. He grows our movement in San Mateo and Santa Clara County by empowering grassroots YIMBYs to become leaders in their own communities. Alex has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Government from the University of California, Berkeley.

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.

Mariah Redfern

Marketing & Communications Associate

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.

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.

Connor Riley

Denver Organizer

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 levels 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. Connor received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Hartwick College.

Asile Patin

Atlanta Organizer

Asile Patin is a strategist, facilitator, and organizer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She joined the YIMBY movement as an Atlanta Regional Organizer in 2022. Previously, Asile participated in the first study and review of Atlanta’s historic Neighborhood Planning Unit system in over 40 years. Through the study, she developed and piloted a methodology to use civic engagement to mend social and economic inequality. In addition to her organizing work with YIMBY Action, she is currently a consultant with CommunityBuild Ventures, a pro-Black solutions firm committed to promoting racial equity. Asile is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and holds a dual Bachelor of Arts Degree in African American Studies and Civic Engagement from Syracuse University.

Andrew Gothard

Associate Director of Chapters

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.

Jaclynn Garry

Operations Associate

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 & Design 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.