Jennifer Friend

Project Hope Alliance

Chief Executive Officer

Jennifer Friend is the chief executive officer of Project Hope Alliance, a nationally recognized organization dedicated to ending the cycle of youth homelessness. Since assuming leadership in 2013, she has transformed the nonprofit from a single-school initiative serving 65 students into a multi-district operation supporting more than 350 youth across 43 Orange County schools. Drawing from her own childhood experience with homelessness, Friend has championed a holistic support model based on federal McKinney-Vento criteria, emphasizing educational continuity, emotional wellness and access to opportunity. Her strategic leadership has increased staff capacity, expanded school partnerships and helped secure multimillion-dollar funding, including a $2.1-million systems-change grant from CalOptima in 2024. Recognized as OC Business Journal’s 2023 Innovator of the Year, she continues to challenge institutional barriers with a vision rooted in dignity and systemic reform. Friend personally spearheaded PHA’s expansion into Huntington Beach Unified High School District – returning to the very area where she once lived in motel housing as a child.