Hank is Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, based in Santa Fe. He co-founded the Coalition in 2000 with other New Mexico advocates for homeless people and became the Coalition’s Executive Director in 2001. The Coalition advocates for federal, state and local policies and programs that benefit homeless people. The Coalition also coordinates New Mexico’s Continuum of Care federal homeless assistance grant processes for Albuquerque and the balance of the state, provides technical assistance to homeless assistance agencies, and manages New Mexico’s Homeless Management Information System. In 2014, the Coalition began its Coordinated Entry Project, which provides a uniform housing assessment for homeless people, so that they can be placed quickly into appropriate housing. Point in time counts of the homeless population in New Mexico, show a 25% reduction in homelessness since 2011, partly due to the increases in supportive housing fostered by the Coalition.

Hank is a wilderness search and rescue volunteer with Santa Fe Search and Rescue and joined the team in 1995. Search and Rescue gives him a chance to indulge his love of the outdoors while providing a useful service to the northern New Mexico community.

Prior to his work at the Coalition, Hank was Executive Director of St. Elizabeth Shelter in Santa Fe, a shelter for men, women and families experiencing homelessness. During his tenure, he developed 45 apartments in three programs to help people experiencing homelessness, make the transition to permanent housing.

Hank started his career as a Water Resources Specialist at the Cornell Center for Environmental Research. He has a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering and a MEng in environmental systems engineering, both from Cornell.

Hank is married to Bonney Freeman Hughes (Cornell ’83); they moved to Santa Fe in 1986 shortly after Bonney finished work on a Master’s degree. They have two grown sons who currently reside in Albuquerque.