City of Oakland Announces Appointment of New Chief Homelessness Solutions Officer: Cupid Alexander

Oakland, CA – Following a nationwide recruitment, today the City of Oakland announced the appointment of Mr. Cupid Alexander as the City's first permanent Chief Homelessness Solutions Officer, effective April 6.

With a distinguished career leading complex housing, homelessness response, and community development systems across major U.S. cities, Mr. Alexander brings extensive executive experience in operational leadership, strategic policy execution, and largescale program delivery. Most recently serving as Deputy Director of the City of San José Housing Department, Mr. Alexander oversaw more than $100 million in resources; guided development of nearly 1,000 emergency interim housing, supportive outdoor sleeping spaces, and safe parking units; expanded economic mobility initiatives for unhoused residents; and led a 50-person workforce responsible for equity, grants, inspections, and homelessness response.

"Addressing Oakland's homelessness crisis has been a priority of my administration from day one — it's why I created Oakland's first-ever Office of Homelessness Solutions," said Mayor Barbara Lee. "Today, I'm proud to welcome Cupid Alexander as our Chief Officer of Homelessness Solutions. Cupid brings the experience and vision this moment demands to implement our Homelessness Strategic Action Plan. I'm confident that under his leadership, we will find the real, lasting solutions our unhoused neighbors and neighborhoods deserve. The work is just now getting started, and we are committed to getting it done."

Previously, as Senior Vice President of Operations at the Houston Housing Authority, Mr. Alexander directed three major divisions and 200 staff, managed nearly $200 million in housing and voucher programs, and served as executive lead for the transformative Choice Neighborhood redevelopment and community engagement initiatives, including a $50 million grant and a $300 million redevelopment effort.

Mr. Alexander has also held senior leadership roles with the cities of Austin, Spokane, and Portland—consistently shaping high impact housing, anti-displacement, community engagement, and economic development strategies; stewarding hundreds of millions in public investment; and building strong cross-sector partnerships to drive equitable outcomes.

"I'm honored to step into this new role. Homelessness is one of the defining challenges of our time—sitting at the intersection of housing, health, economics, and the systems we've built, and in many cases underbuilt," said Mr. Alexander. "Oakland is not starting from zero; there is a clear vision from the Mayor and City Council, a strong foundation of community partners, and alignment through the City Administrator's Office to make meaningful progress. My focus is simple: work with the infrastructure we have, strengthen where we need to, build broader jurisdictional partnerships, and move with intention toward solutions that create real, accessible places for people to go. Progress will be incremental but must be consistent, and I look forward to partnering across the city in meaningful ways to move this work forward."

"Cupid Alexander is a seasoned housing and homelessness systems leader who has already been doing, at scale, exactly what Oakland needs now: coordinating citywide responses to unsheltered homelessness while centering equity and community trust," said City Administrator Jestin Johnson. "Having worked in large urban centers like San Jose, Houston and Portland, Cupid has a deep understanding of how to move complex work through many constituencies, positioning him to help Oakland implement its groundbreaking Homelessness Strategic Action Plan."

City Administrator Johnson continued, "On behalf of City leadership, I also want to extend my deep gratitude to Sasha Hauswald, who rose to the occasion to lead the nascent Office of Homelessness Solutions on an interim basis for the past 8 months. Sasha led the creation of the City's first Homelessness Strategic Action Plan and identified the structure and operational vision of the new department. Her extraordinary leadership and extensive policy expertise have been instrumental in establishing a solid foundation, grounded in sound public policy and compassionate service, required for the new Office of Homelessness Solutions to flourish."

Office of Homelessness Solutions Leadership Team

This announcement builds on Mayor Lee's priority to prevent homelessness, connect people to services, and help people find permanent housing. Mayor Lee created the Office of Homelessness Solutions to strengthen partnerships across County and City homelessness and housing teams. The office will also advocate and leverage available resources and for funding for homelessness and housing.

In addition to Mr. Alexander, the City of Oakland has appointed Amauri Collins-McMurray as Deputy Chief of the newly established Office of Homelessness Solutions. In his new role, Collins-McMurray will lead Encampment Management and Street Outreach efforts. The Office's leadership team will also include a second Deputy Chief to be hired at a later date by Chief Alexander.

Since joining the City Administrator's Office in 2021, Collins-McMurray has emerged as a leader in homelessness response, encampment operations, and interagency coordination. He has played a central role in leading and coordinating Oakland's Encampment Management Team (EMT) with compassion, overseeing citywide encampment operations and outreach strategies.

"Mr. Collins-McMurray has led complex, multi-agency efforts to address some of Oakland's largest encampments, working in close coordination with City departments, community-based organizations, local, regional, state, and federal partners," said City Administrator Johnson. "He is known for his operational leadership, commitment to aligning resources, ensuring compliance, and advancing both immediate response efforts and long-term solutions."