Our Team
Gem State Housing Alliance is guided by a group of dedicated leaders and housing experts who are working to expand housing options and strengthen communities across Idaho.
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors brings together housing experts, community advocates, and local leaders who share a commitment to making housing more attainable in Idaho. Their guidance helps shape our vision, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that Gem State stays grounded in community and market-driven solutions.
Caleb Roope
CEO, The Pacific Companies
Katie Vila
COO, Roundhouse
John Hale
Partner, Atticus Holdings
Brett Myron
CEO, Petra Construction
Rick Miller
Director of Community Development, Altura
Maggie Lyons
Executive Director, Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance
Shellan Rodriguez
Developer, SMR Development
Erin Sorensen
Engineer, POWER Engineers
Kelli Badensheim
Retired, fmr. CEO of Valley Regional Transit
Joe Jaszewski
Visual Communications Leader, Local Pro-housing advocate
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Patrick Spoutz
Pharmacist, Local Pro-housing advocate
Michelle Dillman
Director, Sorren CPAs
Policy Advisory Board
Our Policy Advisory Board brings together housing experts, who can review and suggest policies, ordinances and legislation to make building housing of all types and sizes in Idaho easier.
Byron Folwell
Architect
Bob Seale
Planner, City of Post Falls
Matthew Adams
Partner, The Land Group
Nicki Olivier Hellenkamp
Director of Housing & Homelessness Policy
Chris Danley
Partner, Virtuvian Planning
James Casper
Executive Director, North Idaho Habitat for Humanity
Caleb Spangenberger
Architect, Williams | Partners Architects
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Jon Hall
Architect, GGLO
Lindsey Love
Founder, Regenerative Building Solutions
Erin Anderson
Director, The Housing Company
Carissa Connelly
Housing Director, Ketchum
Rod Rada
Architect
David Allen
Principal, Trestle Build
Katie Egland Cox
Executive Director, Kaniksu Land Trust
GSHA Team
Ali Rabe
Founding Executive Director
Ali Rabe is the Founding Executive Director of the Gem State Housing Alliance, the state’s first pro-housing coalition working to expand housing options across communities. Previously, Ali led Jesse Tree for several years, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing eviction and homelessness, where she led the organization through significant growth in programs and impact.
Ali has also worked as an attorney with local governments and service providers in their efforts to address homelessness, and earlier in her legal career supported refugees and displaced populations around the world. These experiences shaped her lifelong commitment to ensuring everyone has a place to call home.
Ali is a proud graduate of The College of Idaho and holds a J.D. from William & Mary Law School. She and her husband, both Treasure Valley natives, are raising their two young boys in their hometown.
Kate Simonds
Interim Coalition Director
Kate Simonds is the Interim Coalition Director for the Gem State Housing Alliance. Previously, Kate spent three years building and leading Lift Local Idaho — a bipartisan, not-for-profit statewide initiative and business-led coalition aiming to give the state’s municipalities greater control over how they grow, how they fund infrastructure and essential services, and how they invest in themselves.
Forecasting significant overlap in Lift Local Idaho and GSHA's work, Kate saw tremendous mutual benefit in merging their coalitions and is proud to be leading their fusion.
Kate’s work is informed by her previous roles in strategic communications and consulting, as well as her ambition to protect the quality of life we all enjoy as Idahoans. She is a born, raised, and boomeranged Boisean and enthusiastic alumna of the University of California, Berkeley.
Amethyst Freibott-Kalt
Strategic Communications Partner, People First Communications
Garrett Freibott-Kalt
Strategic Development Partner, People First Communications
Amethyst is Co-Founder of People First, a small family business that amplifies the impact of nonprofits addressing housing insecurity through people-centered storytelling and sustainable fundraising. She partners with the Gem State Housing Alliance to translate housing policy into stories that turn supporters into advocates for change. Through People First, she provides communications and development support that creates lasting, measurable impact for organizations working to ensure everyone has a safe and stable place to live. Her work with Gem State includes leading social media strategy, supporting newsletters, and helping Idaho communities understand how zoning reforms create more home choices for teachers, young families, and working people. Amethyst is a former Fulbright recipient, a published researcher, and holds a master's degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh. An avid daydreamer and adventurer, Amethyst believes in making the world smaller through the transformative magic of storytelling.
Garrett partners with the Gem State Housing Alliance to mobilize community support for housing solutions across Idaho through his work as Co-Founder of People First. He helps build coalitions that connect city officials, grassroots advocates, and everyone in between. With a belief that everyone can and should be a philanthropist, Garrett's inclusive, relationship-based approach has secured millions of dollars for housing nonprofits. A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Project Management Professional (PMP), he previously helped end homelessness for families as Director of Development for CATCH Idaho and has worked with hundreds of nonprofits through his service with the Idaho Nonprofit Center. Garrett earned his master's degree from the London School of Economics, where he researched political campaign messaging. A reader and foodie, Garrett is working through the classics and his ever-growing travel bucket list.
Hailey Clements
Coalition Support Contractor, Founder, The Shifted Mindset
Hailey Clements is a community engagement strategist with nearly 15 years of experience connecting policy, community needs, and practical action. She understands how where people live, work, and learn shapes whether they can stay rooted and build a good life, and that belief drives her work. Hailey grew up in Idaho, spent seven years doing national advocacy work in Washington, DC, and came home because she wanted to invest in the communities she loves.
Through her consulting practice, The Shifted Mindset, Hailey helps organizations and communities move from awareness to action. She has led statewide engagement efforts, built and supported coalitions, coached community members to show up and speak in public forums, and developed campaigns that help people participate in the decisions that affect their lives. She brings that same commitment to GSHA’s work of making Idaho a place where everyone has a real chance to stay.
