Heather Edney, President

Heather Edney has developed prevention and treatment programs for substance users for over 15 years in northern and southern California, focusing on harm reduction and disease prevention for young injection drug users. She has also developed and implemented curricula for educational institutions on drug education and overdose prevention.   Her national and international presentations on intervention strategies for drug users have equipped hundreds of health care workers to more effectively work with their clients and patients, and spearheads L.A. County's Overdose Prevention Task Force. Currently Director of Marketing at Cri-Help, Inc., Ms. Edney collaborates with both the private sector and managed care providers to link individuals and families with quality treatment options.

Kelly Bruce, Vice President

Kelly Bruce began volunteering at Common Ground in 1999 at our NeedleExchange Program and joined the Board of Directors in 2004.  During her Board tenure she has served as Secretary of the Board and Chair of theProgram Planning and Evaluation Committee. Through her 8 years as avolunteer at the needle exchange, Kelly has provided countless hours ofsubstance use counseling and assisted with wound care, prevention and safer injection instruction. She holds a certificate in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling as well as a B.A. and B.S.N.  She currently works as a Labor and Delivery nurse at UCLA in Westwood.

Jeff Goodman, Secretary

Jeff Goodman has been HIV+ for approximately 24 years and was a client at Common Ground.  Today he remains healthy and is the co-owner of Santa Monica Pet Project, the largest grooming salon on the Westside.  Jeff is currently serving his second term on the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV.  He is co-chair of the Commission's Priorities and Planning Committee and also sits on the Public Policy Committee.  CLICK HERE for Jeff's blog.

Justin Meek, Treasurer

Justin Meek, a Program Manager at Google, is a business management consultant specializing in operations, governance and human capital issues.  A relative newcomer to HIV prevention and service provision, he became involved with Common Ground in 2004 after his then soon-to-be wife, Erin, introduced him to the Homeless Youth Drop-in Program (HYPE).  He has served on the Board of Common Ground ever since and believes that the work of the Agency is making a significant impact in the lives of individuals and the community. 

David Kanouse, PhD., Board Member

David Kanouse, a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation, has conducted research on HIV prevention and care for over 20 years. He has served on numerous scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the American Foundation for AIDS Research evaluating domestic and international research on HIV prevention and service delivery. He has served on the Board of Common Ground since 1993 and finds that supporting the work of this agency provides an unparalleled opportunity to help make a difference in the local community. 

Roxanne Hill, MA, Board Member

Roxanne Hill began her HIV/AIDS ministry while at seminary in Austin, Texas.  She was later trained as an HIV/AIDS chaplain at San Francisco General Hospital which established the first HIV/AIDS ward in the world in the 1980s.  Upon returning to Southern California, Roxanne worked for a pediatric HIV/AIDS organization.  She has served on the Bishop’s Commission for HIV/AIDS in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and was recently appointed to the national Church’s Executive Council Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS.  Roxanne views her service as a Common Ground board member not only as a great opportunity to continue to educate herself on HIV/AIDS, but also to further her impact on the lives of those infected/affected by HIV/AIDS.

Emily Gold, Board Member

Emily Gold, a native of Southern California, has been working in the District office for State Senator Sheila Kuehl for the last eight and a half years. She graduated from University of California at Santa Cruz in 1993 with a degree in Psychology.  As Campaign Manager of Senator Kuehl's bid for State Senate office in 1999, Ms. Gold was able to combine her interests and talents as a field organizer to help create a winning team to help elect the Senator to her first of two four-year terms in the California State Legislature.  Ms. Gold now serves as Field Deputy in the District Office in Los Angeles where her duties range from representing Senator Kuehl at events throughout the 23rd Senate District, handling HIV/AIDS matters, women and family issues to point person in the district office on health care matters, in particular, coordinating the grassroots support and advocacy for Senator Kuehl's universal health care bill, SB 840, which will provide comprehensive, affordable health coverage to all California residents.

Daria Ibn-Tamas
Daria Ibn-Tamas is very active in community service and her volunteer work involves a broad range of interests. She is an attorney and a past International Board Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and AKA Educational Advancement Foundation. As a motivational speaker and business owner, she presents self empowerment workshops to women and girls relating to entrepreneurship and community development. In 2004, she entered the field of disaster assistance services for a FEMA contractor. She travels across the United States assisting victims of fires, floods, hurricanes and mudslides.

Daria was introduced to Common Ground through the Junior League of Los Angeles Board Fellows Program. She is excited about the opportunity to work with Common Ground and looks forward to utilizing her experiences to assist with outreach in diverse communities.

She is a volunteer with Special Olympics of Southern California, Airline Ambassadors and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Danielle Katzir