Our Advisory Board
Brittney Weissman
Brittney Weissman has worked at the intersection of healthcare and public policy for 20+ years. Brittney became the inaugural Executive Director for Hollywood 4WRD, the broad-based community coalition ending and preventing street homelessness in Greater Hollywood in 2021. Here, she leads policy advocacy, public education and community engagement to prevent and end street homelessness in Greater Hollywood. She collaborates with LA County Department of Mental Health to ensure the successful implementation of its “Hollywood 2.0,” a place-based effort to reform LA’s mental health system for increased radical hospitality for people with mental health issues on the street. Previously, she was the CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater Los Angeles County, the largest NAMI affiliate in California, for eight years. There, she provided education, support and advocacy for all people affected by mental illness, their families and friends. For twelve years before that, she worked at The California Endowment, California’s largest private health foundation.
Brittney is currently Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission, a volunteer body appointed by the Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County to advise and make recommendations based on examination of specific areas of concern related to the delivery of quality mental health care. Brittney earned a double Bachelors in American Studies and Sociology from Occidental College with Phi Beta Kappa distinction and a Masters in Public Policy from University of Southern California. She is a CORO Executive Leadership alum, and a graduate of the SCAG Housing Policy Leadership Academy and the Southern California Leadership Network. Brittney participated in the 2017 delegation visit to Trieste, Italy.
Dr. Pietro D’Ingillo
Dr. Pietro “Piero” D’Ingillo is a California licensed clinical psychologist, who specializes in community-based law enforcement and forensic psychology. His early career work began with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in the late 1990’s. Piero attained extensive community-based experience while working for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health from 2004 to 2016 where his primary duty was responding to and managing psychiatric crises. For ten years, he responded with sworn officers to community-based psychiatric emergencies and was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department Mental Evaluation Unit (LAPD MEU), and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Mental Evaluation Team (MET). He has also worked in the High Observation Unit at Los Angeles County Twin Towers Correctional Facility. He is currently a member of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and has participated in the development of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), where he functions as a full-time instructor to patrol personnel. In addition, he is involved as a Los Angeles Superior Court Expert Examiner and is appointed by the Court in criminal and civil matters requiring psychological evaluations.
He speaks fluent Italian, having been born in Italy and immigrating to the United States. He provides assistance to the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles by consulting on cases regarding Italian nationals visiting Los Angeles who experience a psychiatric crisis. His international work has extended to providing ongoing consultation and training to the members of the Italian National Police (Polizia di Stato). Piero has participated in both the 2017 and 2019 delegation visits to Trieste, Italy. He continues exploring ways in which the effective principles of the Trieste Mental Health Department can be applied to the United States systems of mental health and law enforcement.
Caroline Kelly
Caroline Kelly is president of Common Sense Directives. CSD offers a range of services including training, strategic planning and facilitation as well as trouble shooting for governmental and nonprofit entities. She is the past chair of the Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission and a past advisor to the Director of the Department of Mental Health, where she focused on issues ranging from housing and facility capacity to innovation and expansion of services. She is the current chair of the West Los Angeles Community College Foundation and serves on the cabinet for Los Angeles County’s new Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative.
Caroline has focused on mental health, justice reform and public education for over 30 years. Her previous work as a campaign manager, fundraiser, conference planner and lawyer all inform this work today. In addition to her involvement with CSD, Caroline is a trained mediator, facilitator and executive coach. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in communication theory and UCLA School of Law. Caroline participated in the 2017 delegation visit to Trieste, Italy.
Sarah Dusseault
Sarah Dusseault is a changemaker and policy leader in Los Angeles County. She has served in a variety of government and nonprofit leadership roles including Deputy Mayor for Housing and Homelessness under Mayor Hahn, and Senior Policy Advisor to Council President Garcetti among others. Appointed to the LAHSA Commission by Supervisor Solis, she co-chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Women’s Homelessness and played a pivotal role in implementing Project Room Key during the COVID pandemic. Sarah also led efforts in mental health care reform and co-chairs the LA County Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness. She advocates for housing justice through The Angeleno Project and LA4LA, and actively supports political change, contributing to the election of Mayor Karen Bass. Motivated by her brother's life experiences of both severe mental illness and homelessness, Sarah remains dedicated to access to mental health and housing for all.
Phyllis Owens
Phyllis Owens serves as Vice President, Intermediary and Strategic Partnerships for Community Partners. Community Partners works with upwards of 150 fiscally-sponsored projects and 20 initiatives, managing $100+ million in revenues annually. Their projects and initiatives span multi-sector issues including racial and social justice, systems change, public and mental health, climate and environment, civic engagement, arts and culture, education, public policy, social services and youth development. As Vice President, Phyllis leads her organization’s work as fiscal intermediary and third-party administrator, collaborating with public sector and private funders throughout the state to deliver grants and capacity building resources to nonprofits and other businesses in underserved communities. Managing a budget of over $70 million, she applies best practices with an equity lens to achieve maximum impact. Phyllis has 25 years of progressive experience in nonprofit management, strategic philanthropic initiatives, and content development for public media and film.
Previously, Phyllis held leadership roles at American Public Media, where she was Commentary Editor for award-winning business news and global finance programs Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Money. She is also an entertainment industry veteran, with roles that included story consultant and Vice President of Creative Affairs for producer Kathleen Kennedy and director Frank Marshall. A native of Los Angeles, Phyllis holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and an A.B. degree with honors in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University. She was a member of the 2017 delegation to Trieste, Italy, and received a Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellowship from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) in 2020.
Jon Owyang
Jon Owyang is the founder and president of Market-Based Solutions, an environmental consulting company that pioneered the generation and use of emission credits as an alternative method of environmental regulation compliance. Before founding MBS, he was an investment banker. He is currently president of the Laughlin Park Association, and a member of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council Homelessness and Housing Committees.
Jon was the founder and president of Friends of GALA, a non-profit organization supporting the needs of Girls Academic Leadership Academy, the first all-girls public STEM-focused middle and high school in LAUSD. He was previously on the boards of the KCRW Foundation, Junior Achievement of Southern California, FoodCycle LA, Performance Composites, and Looney Bins. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.