About Rhie

/rē/

Highly collaborative and strategic leader in youth homelessness programs, policies and implementation. I bring lived experience as a homeless youth together with professional expertise to push bold and iterative systems-level change. National and local speaker on the need to create equity in the homeless response system.

rhie.azzam.morris@gmail.com
512-522-3704

Providing strategic planning, reimagining, and implementation of a racially equitable homeless response system.

My drive against racism has been a long standing experience. Growing up a mixed race child in a time when my race had not yet been racialized has given me a unique perspective and experience with internalized racial oppression, both inferiority and superiority. I carry a racial equity lens in all that I do and currently am working on producing writings on white and white-adjacent anti racism in the times of Black Lives Matter

Career Highlights

Expert facilitator for focus groups and training as a coach on the HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program

Council Member; Austin/Travis Co Homeless Response System Leadership Council

Collaborator on Austin Prioritization Index

Co-chair; Homelessness Coalition Race Equity Task Force, Austin/Travis Co

Coalition builder with strong communication skills

Bring anti-racist, trauma-informed lens and lived experience as a coach on the HUD Coordinated Entry Equity Demo

Collaborate to recommend equitable policy and practices

Experienced in research design and evaluation

Professional Experience

Founder/Technical Assistance Provider | Rhie Azzam Morris LLC
(2021-Present)

  • Serve as a subject matter expert to federal and state agencies on key areas of focus including lived expertise, racial equity, and authentic collaboration.
  • Provide comprehensive guidance to Continuums of Care and community homeless crisis response systems as they develop strategic plans to prevent and end homelessness; develop, implement and evaluate coordinated entry systems; utilize and analyze data to reorganize governance to facilitate strategic action planning; system mapping (both resources and process flow); and address disparities in their systems of care.
  • Assist public and private clients in making program and systems changes to improve the housing opportunities for people experiencing a housing crisis, including continuing support. 
  • Provide expertise and strong, knowledge-based leadership to homeless crisis response systems by implementing innovative solutions to complex problems.
  • Develop curricula to support the advancement of knowledge and skills of agencies administering federal and state programs.
  • Facilitate in-person and online trainings.
  • Develop strategic plans incorporating stakeholder input, data and research, and best practices to support the adoption of innovative strategies and programs.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert to federal and state agencies on key areas of focus including lived expertise, racial equity, and authentic collaboration.

Coordinator, Austin Youth Collective | LifeWorks
(2018-Present)

  • Coordinate with community partners and the City of Austin to develop equitable policies and programs that end youth homelessness
  • Build coalitions of local leaders from stakeholder organizations, including ECHO, Austin Integral Care and others to lead programs that increase diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the system
  • Develop, manage and facilitate collaborative projects that integrate the voices of those with lived experience into the policy and advocacy process
  • Develop and lead trainings on the impact of trauma on youth experiencing homelessness and ways in which providers can build authentic relationships
  • Provide and oversee initial and ongoing training, support, and feedback to staff responsible for implementing youth collaboration
  • Oversee youth participant, contractor, and third-party employed budget and compensation
  • Act as research consultant, serve on institutional review boards, develop evaluation tools, and synthesize data for research projects including the Youth Voice Initiative for newly housed youth

Director of Operations  | Growing Curiosity (2016 – 2018)

  • Established administrative policies and procedures for the day-to-day operation of the nonprofit 
  • Planned and operationalized annual budget; reviewed and approved contracts for services
  • Built relationships with policy organizations to strategically enhance Growing Curiosity’s Mission
  • Oversaw marketing and communications efforts. 
  • Reported to and worked closely with the Board of Directors to seek their involvement in operational policy decisions and fundraising

Consultant | Dell Medical School | “Understanding Homelessness” Class and “Voices from the Streets” Project
(2018 – 2020)

  • Consulted to develop educational tools for the school’s Understanding Homelessness class
  • Led collaboration between Dell Medical School and the Austin Youth Collective to develop and implement a digital educational tool, the Voices from the Street story maps project

Trainings & Presentations

Co-trainer: The VOICE Project: Building the Social Supports of Formerly Homeless Youth, TNOYS’ 37th Annual Conference on Services to Youth and Families, 2020

Presenter: A Look Behind the Curtain: The Story of the Austin Youth Collective; True Colors United Impact Summit, 2019

Keynote speaker: INSPIRE Leadership Program, UT College of Liberal Arts End of Year Celebration, May 3, 2019. 

Panelist: 2018 National Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Grantees Training, October 2018

Speaker & Storyteller: The Annual Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness/ Texas Homeless Network, September 2018