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Spokane City Hall
Spokane’s Community Housing and Human Services Department — which has struggled in recent years with turmoil and staff turnover — lost its director on Thursday.
City Council members learned that CHHS Director Jenn Cerecedes was resigning on Thursday afternoon. Council President Lori Kinnear said she was still waiting for details on the reason for Cerecedes’ resignation, but that she was worried about what more turnover would mean for the department.
“It has had so much turnover, and I thought we were finally getting our feet under us,” Kinnear said.
Mayor Nadine Woodward appointed Cerecedes to the role in December 2021 after the former CHHS director, Tim Sigler, resigned that spring along with senior manager Tija Danzig and a number of other employees whose departures rocked the department and left Spokane’s homelessness response in a perilous position.
“When you think about the history of that department, and how many people have left since 2020, there’s nobody that originally worked there before Nadine was elected,” Kinnear said.
The department has spent recent years slowly rebuilding its staff. But the latest resignation has some leaders concerned about maintaining institutional knowledge.
“I definitely think it may add some volatility to that department,” Council member Michael Cathcart said of Cerecedes’ departure. “And that’s certainly a department that has had some volatility for a number of years.”
Cerecedes didn’t respond to a phone call seeking comment on Thursday afternoon.
City spokesperson Brian Coddington said Cerecedes told the mayor on Thursday that she had accepted a job with another organization based out of state.
“It came down to a good opportunity for her,” Coddington says.
The city is still working through what interim staffing will look like for the department while the city searches for a new director, Coddington said.
City Council members learned that CHHS Director Jenn Cerecedes was resigning on Thursday afternoon. Council President Lori Kinnear said she was still waiting for details on the reason for Cerecedes’ resignation, but that she was worried about what more turnover would mean for the department.
“It has had so much turnover, and I thought we were finally getting our feet under us,” Kinnear said.
Mayor Nadine Woodward appointed Cerecedes to the role in December 2021 after the former CHHS director, Tim Sigler, resigned that spring along with senior manager Tija Danzig and a number of other employees whose departures rocked the department and left Spokane’s homelessness response in a perilous position.
“When you think about the history of that department, and how many people have left since 2020, there’s nobody that originally worked there before Nadine was elected,” Kinnear said.
The department has spent recent years slowly rebuilding its staff. But the latest resignation has some leaders concerned about maintaining institutional knowledge.
“I definitely think it may add some volatility to that department,” Council member Michael Cathcart said of Cerecedes’ departure. “And that’s certainly a department that has had some volatility for a number of years.”
Cerecedes didn’t respond to a phone call seeking comment on Thursday afternoon.
City spokesperson Brian Coddington said Cerecedes told the mayor on Thursday that she had accepted a job with another organization based out of state.
“It came down to a good opportunity for her,” Coddington says.
The city is still working through what interim staffing will look like for the department while the city searches for a new director, Coddington said.
“You never like to see people leave, and you never like to see the knowledge leave with them, but Jenn’s done a good job putting systems in place to make sure there’s ways to accommodate departures,” Coddington said.
The fact that Cerecedes was recruited by outside organizations because of her talents, is a sign that the city is hiring good people, he added.
Cerecedes’ resignation comes at a transformative time for Spokane’s homelessness system. Leaders from the city and other local jurisdictions have spent recent months discussing a proposal to regionalize the county’s homelessness response — pooling resources and putting various organizations under a single, unified umbrella.
In early August, Woodward issued an executive order pledging to support the regional efforts by committing city data, staff and information to help other local jurisdictions and the people leading the regional effort as they work to stand up plans for the authority.
Several council members expressed concern about how the order to share data and staff would impact the city’s already-overworked CHHS department.
“I think the whole regional homeless piece, about loaning staff and dealing with data when they’re already so overworked, probably put a nail in that coffin,” Kinnear said.
The fact that Cerecedes was recruited by outside organizations because of her talents, is a sign that the city is hiring good people, he added.
Cerecedes’ resignation comes at a transformative time for Spokane’s homelessness system. Leaders from the city and other local jurisdictions have spent recent months discussing a proposal to regionalize the county’s homelessness response — pooling resources and putting various organizations under a single, unified umbrella.
In early August, Woodward issued an executive order pledging to support the regional efforts by committing city data, staff and information to help other local jurisdictions and the people leading the regional effort as they work to stand up plans for the authority.
Several council members expressed concern about how the order to share data and staff would impact the city’s already-overworked CHHS department.
“I think the whole regional homeless piece, about loaning staff and dealing with data when they’re already so overworked, probably put a nail in that coffin,” Kinnear said.
On Aug. 24, the CHHS board sent a letter to City Council outlining a number of concerns about the proposed authority, including the rushed timeline, lack of budget information, and the lack of a plan for “preservation of current CHHS staff who hold important institutional knowledge.”
Coddington confirmed that the Spokane Managerial and Professional Association, a union representing a number of city employees, submitted a letter of grievance last month over the mayor’s executive order.
Coddington said the grievance was related to concerns about a lack of clarity over what data city staff were being asked to share, and how the order would impact staff workload. He said the city has had several meetings related to the grievance and is moving forward on providing clarity.
Cerecedes isn’t the only senior CHHS staffer to recently depart. Daniel Ramos, who worked for the department as a data scientist, left his position last week to take a job with the King County Regional Homeless Authority.
Ramos said he left CHHS because the offer from King County gave him “the opportunity to do the work I’m doing here, but at a larger scale, to make an impact.” He said his time at CHHS was deeply meaningful, and that the people he worked with worked "really hard to make compromises and get things done in a really difficult environment."
Some homelessness service providers and those involved in low-income housing are concerned about what the departures will mean for the department going forward.
“Jenn’s in charge of the whole department, that’s quite a low blow there,” said Ben Stuckart, executive director of the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium and a former City Council president. “Massive turnover in these departments is not helping, and it's worrisome for the people on the outside.”
Coddington confirmed that the Spokane Managerial and Professional Association, a union representing a number of city employees, submitted a letter of grievance last month over the mayor’s executive order.
Coddington said the grievance was related to concerns about a lack of clarity over what data city staff were being asked to share, and how the order would impact staff workload. He said the city has had several meetings related to the grievance and is moving forward on providing clarity.
Cerecedes isn’t the only senior CHHS staffer to recently depart. Daniel Ramos, who worked for the department as a data scientist, left his position last week to take a job with the King County Regional Homeless Authority.
Ramos said he left CHHS because the offer from King County gave him “the opportunity to do the work I’m doing here, but at a larger scale, to make an impact.” He said his time at CHHS was deeply meaningful, and that the people he worked with worked "really hard to make compromises and get things done in a really difficult environment."
Some homelessness service providers and those involved in low-income housing are concerned about what the departures will mean for the department going forward.
“Jenn’s in charge of the whole department, that’s quite a low blow there,” said Ben Stuckart, executive director of the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium and a former City Council president. “Massive turnover in these departments is not helping, and it's worrisome for the people on the outside.”
Julie Garcia, CEO of homelessness service provider Jewels Helping Hands, said Cerecedes’ resignation came as a surprise.
Garcia said Cerecedes had called her husband, who also works for Jewels, on Wednesday to talk about the nonprofit’s application to work as the operator of the city’s flagship homeless shelter on Trent Avenue.
“She told him that the process was being stalled,” Garcia said.
On Wednesday, the CHHS Board chose to recommend Jewels Helping Hands as the operator instead of several other service provider organizations that applied. Woodward, however, is calling for a pause in the process, citing a lack of clarity on funding sources and the formation of the regional homelessness authority.
Garcia said she didn’t know her organization had come out on top until she read about it in the Spokesman-Review the next morning. Garcia said Cerecedes didn’t mention anything about resigning when she called on Wednesday night. And now she’s worried about what the departure of Cerecedes and Ramos will mean for the department going forward.
“She was a good one, we’ve lost a lot of institutional knowledge during these last four years,” Garcia said. “It’s going to take a while to rebuild that.” ♦
Garcia said Cerecedes had called her husband, who also works for Jewels, on Wednesday to talk about the nonprofit’s application to work as the operator of the city’s flagship homeless shelter on Trent Avenue.
“She told him that the process was being stalled,” Garcia said.
On Wednesday, the CHHS Board chose to recommend Jewels Helping Hands as the operator instead of several other service provider organizations that applied. Woodward, however, is calling for a pause in the process, citing a lack of clarity on funding sources and the formation of the regional homelessness authority.
Garcia said she didn’t know her organization had come out on top until she read about it in the Spokesman-Review the next morning. Garcia said Cerecedes didn’t mention anything about resigning when she called on Wednesday night. And now she’s worried about what the departure of Cerecedes and Ramos will mean for the department going forward.
“She was a good one, we’ve lost a lot of institutional knowledge during these last four years,” Garcia said. “It’s going to take a while to rebuild that.” ♦
