Featured speakers

Pre-Conference Workshop April 21, 2026 1:00-4:00 PM

Pre-Conference Speakers:

Diana M. Cavazos, PhD, MSN, RN, Associate Professor/Clinical, UT San Antonio School of Nursing.  An accomplished Registered Nurse with a 25-year nursing career. She works with multicultural populations, focusing efforts on susceptible communities, struggling with migrant issues, intimate partner violence against women, opioid use disorder, and homelessness. As an Associate Professor/Clinical at UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, her leadership and interventions have emphasized identifying gaps in care and implementing solutions that support improved health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Madelein Santibanez, Senior Director of Health & Wellness, Corazón Ministries in San Antonio, Texas.   She oversees one of the only authorized Syringe Service Programs (SSPs) in the state. As a first-generation American and proud daughter of indigenous migrant parents, Madelein’s lived experience deeply informs her commitment to reducing health disparities for marginalized and unhoused communities. She brings over a decade of experience in harm reduction, street outreach, and community health education—leading initiatives that integrate public health practice with cultural humility, trauma-informed care, and relational healing. Her leadership has been instrumental in developing the Region 8 Naloxone Distribution Hub, expanding access to overdose prevention across 28 counties in South Texas. Through her work, Madelein seeks to bridge the gap between awareness and action, advocating for structural changes that honor lived experience and promote dignity, belonging, and wellness for all.

Conference April 22 & 23, 2026

Keynote Speakers:

Courtney Horton, LMSW is an advocate and leads community wide efforts to serve those experiencing homelessness in Abilene, Texas . Courtney received her undergraduate degree in social work from Hardin-Simmons University in 2021 and her master’s degree in social work from Angelo State University in 2022. She obtained her MSW licensure in 2023.  Courtney is a person with lived experience and fell into the chronic definition of homelessness in Abilene from 2014-2017. Her exposure to homelessness and a disabling condition of substance use drives her passion for systems changes within her community. Courtney interned with Abilene Hope Haven in 2019 and was contracted through a grant through Community Solutions to begin an outreach system in Abilene. She was part of the efforts to launch a data driven system, coordinated entry, for chronic homelessness in Abilene. This experience empowered her to advocate for policies for those experiencing homelessness.
In 2021, Courtney was recognized by the National Association of Social Workers-Texas for her work in addiction recovery, homelessness, and affordable housing. This award is only given to one BSW and one MSW student in the state of Texas, recognizing his or her work for their advocacy efforts to create change within their community.  Upon getting her BSW degree, Courtney began working as a contracted part-time coordinator through the United Way of Abilene for Abilene’s local homeless coalition, West Texas Homeless Network. She also completed her MSW internship at the Betty Hardwick Center, the local mental health authority, as a Supported Housing Specialist. This experience allowed her to develop a skill set of housing interventions, housing navigation, and housing programs for those with mental health issues, substance use disorders, and re-entry from jails and institutions. Her focus allowed her to examine Abilene’s systems and empower coalition stakeholders to take a more collaborative approach to macro level systems building.  Upon completion of her MSW degree, Courtney became the first employee of West Texas Homeless Network. In 2023, the local CoC HUD Housing programs transferred to the Betty Hardwick Center. She now is the HUD Program Administrator which allows for oversight of the coordinated entry system from entrance to exit into HUD housing programs. In an effort to promote sustainability of the coordinated entry system, Courtney was onboarded as the Executive Director of Abilene Hope Haven in late fall of 2023. These roles promote the systemic efforts for sustainability solutions for homelessness in Abilene. Her purpose is seen in her passion to promote data-driven systems that not only work on preventing homelessness but to bring a functional end to homelessness in her community.

Margot Kushel, MD is a Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco and Division Chief of the Division of Health and Society. She is the Director of the UCSF Action Research Center for Health and the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. A practicing general internist at San Francisco General Hospital, her research focuses on the causes and consequences of homelessness, with the goal of preventing and ending homelessness and ameliorating its effect on health. She is the PI of the California State Study of People Experiencing Homelessness and numerous NIA funded studies on older adult homelessness.

 

Special Presentations by: 

Mark Carmona is a visionary and collaborative executive leader with 30 years of experience in the housing, human & behavioral health services fields.  He operates with a high level of Emotional Intelligence, multidisciplinary team development, and strategic planning ability that translates into high levels of employee engagement, alignment of collaborative partner resources and direction, internal and external team success and systemic change.  Mark is currently the Chief Housing Officer and Director of Homeless Services and Strategy for the City of San Antonio, and he leads the development and execution of housing and homelessness initiatives for the City, ensuring alignment with city-wide goals and priorities.  Mark oversees the implementation of the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP) and the Homeless Prevention Strategic Plan to drive meaningful impact.  With expertise in housing policy and homeless prevention at local, state, and federal levels, he works to integrate comprehensive strategies that mobilize cross-collaboration to ensure a more coordinated, systemic approach to housing affordability, addressing homelessness, and generating long-term housing solutions.  Previously, Mark has served in high-impact executive leadership positions as former President & CEO at Haven for Hope of Bexar County, former Deputy CEO of the Center for Health Care Services, and contracted consulting partnerships with several local nonprofits.  He is passionate about improving the quality of life and wellbeing of vulnerable populations and creating lasting social impact.  Mark received his Executive MBA in 2007 from the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Emily Marcotte has dedicated her career to public service and opening gateways to successful futures for the community, including nearly 20 years of combined experience across public and private nonprofits with experience in child welfare, homelessness response, and higher education administration. She currently serves as Senior Strategic Housing Services Coordinator with the City of San Antonio in a strategic role shaping the city’s plans for affordable housing and homelessness response.  Emily was instrumental in driving the foundation of the local Youth Action Board and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Thrive Youth Center. She was recognized as a 2024 40 Under 40 Honoree by the San Antonio Business Journal for her impactful contributions to the community.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in English degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Master of Arts in Education degree from the University of Arizona Global Campus.

Patrick Steck serves as Assistant Director of the City of San Antonio’s Homeless Services and Strategy Department. In this role, Patrick has oversight of the city’s homeless outreach services and serves in key roles in homeless response system coordination. Prior to this role, Patrick served as Assistant Human Services Director, with oversight of financial empowerment programs, social demography, and communications. Patrick coordinated the City’s COVID-19 response for people experiencing homelessness and facilitated the implementation of a five-year community homeless strategic plan. Patrick has 12 years of experience with the City of San Antonio and served previously as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica. Patrick holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s from Texas A&M University.