Our guest for the February 21st edition of Playmakers Talk Show: Sarah Kahn, President/CEO of Housing Forward

Sarah Kahn is the President and CEO of Housing Forward, the lead agency of the homeless response system in Dallas and Collin counties.

Sarah served as Housing Forward’s Chief Program Officer from September 2021 to December 2023, where she played a critical role in building a robust and collaborative system transformed by greater funding alignment, enhanced public-private partnerships, and a focus on racial equity.

For over 20 years, Sarah has pioneered solution-focused interventions, informing public policy and mobilizing systems to solve homelessness. She has worked alongside communities to improve homeless response systems in the U.S. and internationally with HUD Contractor, the Cloudburst Group; KPMG’s Government Advisory Services in Sydney, Australia, and Singapore; the Council to Homeless Persons in Melbourne, Australia; and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington D.C.

HousingForwardNTX.org

Phone: (972) 638-5600

Guest Sarah Kahn, Host Steve A Klein

Our guest for the February 7th edition of Playmakers Talk Show: Kristi Valentine, CEO of Valentine Premier Construction

Kristi Valentine has lived in Coppell, Texas for more than twenty years. Kristi and her family have always been active volunteers in the community. As president and CEO of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce, she played a key role in growing and strengthening the business community while serving on several committees and boards for the state and region. A graduate of Leadership Coppell and Leadership North Texas, Kristi is a proud Texan.

After graduating from Texas Christian University, Kristi’s early career was in the wild world of advertising as an Ad Exec for some of the biggest and best Ad Agencies in DFW. 

Recently, Kristi contributed to shaping the direction of her community as a member of the Coppell Vision 2040 Executive Committee and the Coppell Arts Center Development Team. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Metrocrest Services, a social services non-profit agency, for 8 years.

Kristi was recently widowed after a marriage of 25 years with John Valentine, the founder of their company, Valentine Premier Construction, LLC. Before John’s loss of his heroic battle with Cancer, Kristi joined him in their family business and eventually had to step up to take the reins and run their business. 

ValentinePremierConstruction.com

Phone: (972) 538-4400

Guest Kristi Valentine, Host Steve A Klein