Team Up With Us for Community Impact
Big props to our amazing community! We’re always on the hunt for purpose-driven people like you who’ve got a fire for taking action. Whether it’s joining hands for a cleanup, offering a kind word on the streets, or helping us out with the real-gritty like finance and admin tasks, there’s a place for you here with us.
UCP has built a community that’s vibrant, connected, and full of heart. Reach out and let’s chat about how you can make your mark. Every effort counts, and yours could be the spark we need.
Urban Compassion Project
Meet some of our Amazing Team!
Learn about the volunteers and team who go above and beyond in their service.
Lee Heward
Director of Operations
Lee Heward is our Director of Operations, having started as a volunteer upon moving to Oakland from Ohio in 2022. Giving back to our community and helping those in need is something he highly values and that motivates him every day.
In college Lee studied physics and astronomy, then Japanese pedagogy in grad school, having spent 9 years living in Japan.
In his free time he enjoys reading books (manga too of course!), hiking, cooking, and travel.
Lee is very excited about the future of UCP and all the initiatives we have planned to make the Bay Area a better place. Please reach out to him at lee.h@urbancompassionproject.org with any questions you may have regarding volunteering, donations, distribution, and cleanups.
Team up with UCP
We are dedicated to improving the lives of the unhoused, not just in Oakland and the Bay Area but way beyond. Your involvement with UCP helps in building a future where homelessness isn’t a life sentence. Please volunteer, donation, and spreading the word. UCP is committed to a better, more compassionate tomorrow. We envision a world where everyone, regardless of their current circumstances, has access to a life of safety, dignity, and self-sufficiency.
Meet our Amazing Board!
Our national office, located in Oakland, California, is a central hub of activity for our locations across the country, and for people and organizations that seek to partner with Urban Compassion Project. Our dedicated board manages the majority of our financial, technological, development, and programmatic operations, ensuring that we continue to grow and serve our communities. We are growing quickly, please reach out to us at info@urbancompassionproject.org if you are interested in administrative volunteer opportunities or joining our board.
Join Our Team
Seeking a Skilled Accountant/CPA to Strengthen Our Financial Oversight
UCP seeks a volunteer Accountant/CPA to enhance our financial oversight and strategy.
We Value Diversity: We strongly encourage applications from BIPOC, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with lived experiences, including former homelessness, to bring diverse perspectives and insights to our team.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage and oversee financial processes
- Ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance
- Advise on budgeting and financial planning
Ideal Candidate:
- CPA certification or relevant accounting experience
- Passionate about social impact and community service
- Excellent analytical and organizational skills
Why Volunteer With Us?
- Make a meaningful difference in the community
- Be part of a compassionate and inclusive team
- Gain experience and insights in nonprofit financial management
Join us in our mission to foster hope and change lives. To apply, please send your resume and a brief introduction to info@urbancompassionproject.org
Lindsay Pfeiffer
Social Innovation
Lindsay Pfeiffer is a passionate advocate for social innovation and community engagement, leveraging technology and organic marketing to amplify the impact of mission-driven organizations. As the founder of Bay Laurel Solutions, a boutique web development and branding agency, she supports small businesses, nonprofits, and creatives in growing their presence online.
During her tenure as Bay Area Outreach Specialist with Miracle Messages, Lindsay participated in several ‘tech for good’ projects, including a memorable encounter with Vincent that solidified her commitment to this field. At Urban Compassion Project (UCP), she focuses on using technology to bridge the gap between the community’s needs and the solutions UCP can provide.
Although Lindsay initially resisted tech, it has now become a powerful tool for creating positive change. She has partnered with a developer friend she met through AseelApp, an online platform dedicated to impactful campaigns and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and Turkey to build Bay Laurel Solutions to grow an agency that includes SEO and other avenues of organic marketing.
In addition to her professional endeavors, Lindsay is a writer and artist based in San Francisco. Bay Laurel Solutions specializes in web development and SEO for 1-3 person ventures, particularly those led by purpose-driven individuals.
For any inquiries about technology, the website, social media collaborations, or to find out how you can contribute to the initiatives at UCP, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at lindsay.p@urbancompassionproject.org
Vincent Williams
Founder & Executive Director
A native of Oakland born at Highland hospital, at 6 months old, Vincent was placed into foster care. At age 9, he became unhoused, and would remain that way until he was 33.
The whole time, Vincent cycled through the sytem of countless foster homes, group homes, juvenile halls, and mental health facilities, along with a 19 year drug addiction. After serving nearly five years of a seven-year sentence, Vincent was released from the California Department of Corrections in 2019, only to face homelessness once again. Determined not to fall back into life on the streets, he turned his attention to improving public spaces in his community, which he saw were neglected. Vincent embarked on a mission to clean parks and encampments, involving the unhoused in the process and ensuring they had the necessary tools for ongoing sustainability. This initiative led to the creation of the Urban Compassion Project, aimed at fostering safer and more humane public areas for everyone, irrespective of their background.
Vincent’s work is influenced by his tenure as Operations Manager and Benefits Manager at The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, which he credits for his personal growth and ability to express his compassion through community service. His efforts have earned him accolades from the City of Oakland for his contributions to making the city cleaner and more vibrant, as well as recognition as Person of the Year by The Coalition for a Better Oakland and a Jefferson Award in 2021 for his community engagement.
Vincent is passionate about serving society and advocating for human rights, particularly focusing on at-risk youth and the rights of people of color and the unhoused. His journey reflects a commitment to change through individual action and community involvement. For public speaking engagements or to learn more about his district work and training programs, Vincent can be contacted at Vincent@urbancompassionproject.org.
Paige Voorhees
Secretary
Paige Voorhees is an attorney whose practice involves advice and representation in all aspects of tax planning, trusts, and estates, and is currently an Associate with the San Francisco-based law firm of Sideman & Bancroft LLP. Paige is a proud East Bay native, and currently lives in West Oakland. Paige is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Chicago Law School.
Paige started attending UCP clean-ups in 2021 and was inspired by the overwhelmingly positive impact the organization was having on her unhoused brothers and sisters. As a privileged person living on stolen Ohlone land, she has always found it imperative to donate time and money to organizations assisting the unhoused and felt that UCP’s compassionate, grassroots-based approach was a breath of fresh air compared to other organizations that tend to be overly hierarchical and sterile.
Supriya Golas
President
From running beekeeping trainings in rural Kenya to developing web-based simulations for the classroom, Supriya is passionate about creating impact. Her day job is financial literacy programs and products at Intuit. She believes in the importance of fighting on behalf of underserved communities around the globe, especially within one's own community.
Upon moving to Oakland, California in July 2020, Supriya grew increasingly concerned with the state of the Bay Area, one of the most expensive places in the world, yet plagued by stark economic between the richest and poorest populations in the country. The rampant disregard for the unhoused and the plight of illegal dumping onto encampments disheartened her. She felt the need to do something for the most vulnerable and to help bring dignity to the unhoused populations of the East Bay. Vincent’s story inspired her to take action.
During her free time, Supriya also enjoys competitive scrabble, exploring the outdoors with her rescue pitbull, and listening to funky music. She is currently pursuing a part-time MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Melanie Burke
Director of Development
Originally from Idaho, Mel has lived in Oregon and California for the last 12 years. She left for school and made her way down the coast, following first her education and then someone else's job before making the Bay Area her home. Sbe hasn't met a glass of whiskey sbe didn't love or a book she didn't want to read and the home she shares with her husband and two dogs is filled with both.
Mel has lived in Oakland for almost 6 years and love it more every day. She has a Bachelors in journalism and Spanish from the University of Oregon and will have her Masters of Arts in Communication, Healthcare from Johns Hopkins University in Spring of ’22. She’s had enough jobs to make her interesting as a writer–dog walker, ride share driver, sandwich artist, clickbait title crafter, content strategist, and now, finally, culture freelancer.
She volunteers communications work with Techtonica, where she writes grant applications and press releases, and she packages book requests for the Prison Literature Project in Berkeley. With Urban Compassion Project, she attends cleanups and writes grant applications.
She joined UCP because she promised herself when life got stable, she’d find something boots-on-the-ground in her community to volunteer with. She likes that UCP takes action to back up their ideals.
She’d like to see UCP grow and flourish from the benefit of long-term funding and partnerships. She’s heard Vincent talk about his plans for UCP in the farther future (but not so far) and she thinks they’re things Oakland will benefit hugely from. She wants to see UCP bring the compassion and love this city really needs and deserves.
She has 2.5 book manuscripts that she’s editing/querying this year. It’s a wild ride trying to be a published author and she’s barely getting settled in the seat.
People Housed
Tons of Trash Removed
Volunteer Participation
Frequently Asked Questions:
How will my donation be used?
Donations are crucial for funding our cleanups, resource distributions, and case management services. Your support helps us provide essentials like food, clothing, and hygiene products, and contributes to our efforts in rehousing.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, we are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, your contribution to UCP is tax-deductible.
Tax EIN 86-2807260
Can I volunteer my time instead of donating money?
Absolutely! We value the time and skills of our volunteers. There are many ways to get involved, from participating in cleanups to assisting in our administrative tasks.