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OUR TEAM

With an average of 20+ years of experience, each member of the

Change Well Project team is committed to designing integrated, seamless social service delivery systems that allow all community members to achieve independence and well-being.

Our Founders

Inspired by their decades of work as housing and disability 

rights advocates, Elena Fiallo and Rebecca Watson founded

the Change Well Project to promote equity, justice,

and healing through our social service systems.

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Rebecca Watson, Esq.

Managing Director

As both an attorney and social justice advocate, Rebecca Watson has devoted her career to assisting low-income clients access critical public benefits. In her legal practice Rebecca focused on ensuring that vulnerable individuals and families were able to access the resources they needed to thrive, specializing in Social Security law and representing clients access and understand complex social services systems. That experience has continued to inform her work advocating for systems change in social service delivery.

She led a technical assistance team that partnered with Los Angeles County in building their countywide disability benefits advocacy program. She has extensive experience designing trainings and has trained hundreds of advocates in California about the Social Security system and how to effectively advocate for clients. Rebecca is passionate about helping clients navigate complex systems and helping the public sector make systems work for their communities. 

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Elena Fiallo

Managing Director

The daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Cuba, Elena Fiallo brings more than two decades of experience advocating for equity-based support for underserved and marginalized communities. Through her extensive work combatting the homelessness crisis, Elena developed a passion for driving systems change that strengthens the way services are delivered to those in need. She specializes in increasing access to health care and housing for homeless individuals and families through community collaboration, capacity building and technical assistance.​ Specifically, during her time with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, she led the implementation of a countywide benefits advocacy program for homeless, disabled individuals, and has developed numerous training programs for homeless service providers to support their critical work.Her experience as a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner informs her perspective on social services in recognizing interdependencies within complex systems and how alignment and connection leads to optimal health.  

Meet our Support Team 

Meet our Project Team

Alisa Orduna

Senior Consultant

Alisa Orduña has been a practitioner, policy analyst, collaborator and thought leader in the urban community development field.

Anna Bialik 

Senior Consultant

Anna Bialik  brings over 15 years of experience working within the housing and homeless services community. She advises communities across the country in system improvement work

John Engstrom

Senior Consultant

John Engstrom is the General Manager for Ascent Populi, and a Sr. Consultant for Population Change. John Engstrom is a public interest attorney

Peggy Edwards

Senior Consultant

Peggy Edwards brings more than three decades of experience working with government agencies, non-profits, and private industry

Alynn Gausvik

Senior Consultant

Alynn Gausvik  brings a passion for developing and delivering courses that help anyone build their practice of ending homelessness.

Connor Johnson

Senior Consultant

Connor T. Johnson has spent the last 13 years working with extremely vulnerable individuals in supportive housing, program development

LaCheryl Porter

Senior Consultant

LaCheryl Porter brings 20 years of experience in housing for vulnerable communities experiencing homelessness, mental health needs

Téo Ortega

Senior Consultant

Téo (T) Ortega (they/them/theirs) Trans Masc, Nonbinary, Queer, Latine Born & raised as a 6th generation resident of the Mesilla Valley Region

Amber Roth

Senior Consultant

Amber Roth, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, has devoted her career to serving difficult-to-reach populations and underserved

Eve Rutzick

Senior Consultant

Eve Rutzick began her legal career as an eviction defense attorney for low-income tenants in Los Angeles County. She then transitioned to working at the Social Security Administration

Lori Pampilo Harris

Senior Consultant

Lori has had had the privilege to work with the public sector at every level of government, elected officials, federal entities, Tribal Nations

Whitney Lawrence

Senior Consultant

Whitney Lawrence is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and leads Tribal Engagement for The Change Well Project,

Our Partners

The UCLA, Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL) delivers vital information into the hands of stakeholders in the form of data visualizations that efficiently and effectively meet their diverse and dynamic information needs. We implement Utilization-Focused & Developmental Evaluation of programs and policies with mission-driven organizations and systems. Additionally, we build the capacity of systems and organizations to grow, utilize, and sustain data ecosystems. 

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