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Jennifer will speak about her journey from living on Newport Beach oceanfront to the Tropic Motel as a child, and how the experiences fueled and informed her role as both a partner at a large law firm and the CEO of Project Hope Alliance.

Jennifer Friend, J.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Project Hope Alliance

Jennifer Friend, J.D. is Chief Executive Officer of Project Hope Alliance (PHA), which works to end the cycle of youth homelessness using a long-term, site-based model of providing whole-person trauma-informed care for youth experiencing homelessness in Orange County.

When Friend became CEO after serving on the board for many years, PHA supported one school and 65 kids. Under her leadership, the organization has grown over 450% and now serves students throughout Orange County across three school districts, having built a nationally recognized model for ending homelessness, and achieving a high school graduation rate more than 30% above the national average. Friend’s personal experience as a child experiencing homelessness in Orange County which inspired the Broadway play Nomad Motel,  fuels her deep-rooted passion and commitment to children and youth experiencing homelessness, while her ability to cast vision, think strategically, and lead and direct broader systems change uniquely qualify her to serve as Project Hope Alliance’s CEO.

Prior to joining PHA, Friend was a partner at a large law firm practicing civil litigation and transaction law. Friend holds a J.D. from Whittier Law School, a B.A. in Criminology, Law, and Society from UCI and is a graduate of “Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management” from Harvard Business School.

She currently serves in community roles including trustee of the UCI Foundation, appointed member of the University of California Fiat Lux Alliance, member of the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute Advisory Board, and a Distinguished Fellow at the UCI Center for Psychology and the Law to name a few. Named CA State Senator Dave Min’s 2024 Woman of Distinction, Costa Mesa’s 2023 Woman of the Year, Orange County Business Journal’s 2023 Innovator of the Year, a 2023 OC Visionary by the Los Angeles Times, and in 2023 among the 125 Most Influential Game Changers in Orange County by The Orange County Register (and in the 100 Most Influential in 2019), and a Kick Ass Woman in 2022 by Orange Coast Magazine.  Jennifer lives in Costa Mesa with her fellow Anteater husband Rob Smith and their two children, Parker and Beck.