Staff

Julie Lie, Executive Director, was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and moved to Southern California with her family when she was 7 years old. She has her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and Masters of Science degree also in Civil Engineering from Cal State Long Beach. She has over 10 years of experience working in the field of water resources, including as Director of Planning for the Orange County Water District. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Leadership Long Beach, United Way, National Women's Political Caucus, and other organizations. Since 2017, Julie has served on the City of Long Beach Homeless Services Advisory Committee.

Julie has been involved with Urban Community Outreach since summer 2016, as a volunteer at the drop-in center, event committee member, and member of the Board of Directors.  She is committed to helping the Long Beach community address homelessness and do what she can to alleviate the problem. As UCO’s Executive Director, Julie works with her staff, the City, County and other service providers to help those experiencing homelessness receive medical and other services and secure permanent housing.  

Julie has lived in Long Beach for over 33 years.  She and her husband Kevin are parents of three adult children.     

Cherry Bush, Operations Manager, is an Operations Executive with more than eighteen years of experience.  She was a Regional Manager for Boston Market for 13 years. She was Director of Operations for Denny’s for 5 years.  Her outside activities have been with Toastmasters International were she received an

Advanced Communicator Bronze, Competition Speaker, and held officer roles as Club President and Area Governor.  She is volunteering with Redondo Beach Police Department, Redondo Beach, California Volunteer Domestic Violence Advocate

STAFF MAIN DUTIES

• - Provide overall program supervision of DIC.
• - Food preparation and serving with Sous Chef
• - Oversee Volunteer Coordination
• - Maintain Budget with Executive Director
• - Provide Reports to Board of Directors

Melody Garrett, Chef, went to Long Beach City College of the Liberal Arts. She received certificates in culinary arts.  She studied bakery One, Two and Three, gourmet cooking, nutrition, vegetarian, and lastly cake decoration prep One, Two and Three. She worked for the Orange County Boy Scouts of America as a chef for six years. She moved on to work for the Long Beach the Winter Shelter for three years.  She worked with the Christian Outreach in Action, as a cook for the homeless for three years.  She has been cooking for Urban Community Outreach for a year. She is also a cook and a manager for a transitional sober living, running a safe, sober and clean house to help women, homeless to get on the right path to recovery.

STAFF MAIN DUTIES

• - Prepares Food Menu with Operations Manager
• - Helps Operations Manager supervise Volunteers
• - Coordinates with Food Donors & Records Donations
• - Food Preparation and Clean Up with Kitchen Assistants
• - Assists Operations Manager in Analyzing and Evaluating Services
• - Keep a Safe and Pleasant Environment for DIC Program

Celia Guerrero, Housing Coordinator, has worked for the Housing Authority for twenty-two years.  She has moved up from clerical work to being involved with Section 8 clients.  She became a case manager when she was with South Gate Housing Authority.  She had a caseload of 250 clients.  At Long Beach Housing Authority she had a caseload of 380 clients.  She then became a Housing Specialist.  She worked with the homeless and was able to assist them with their housing needs.  She enjoyed being able to assist the homeless population and get them out of the streets and get them housed. After working with the Long Beach Housing Authority for 18 years, she moved on to Pacific Clinic Housing Department in Pasadena, CA where she worked with housing for homeless and youth.  Unfortunately, the commute became too much, so she decided to return to Long Beach, where she joined UCO as our Housing Coordinator to find housing for the homeless in Long Beach.

STAFF MAIN DUTIES

• - Complete all required SAMHSA reporting
• - Compile and maintain lists of resources as needed
• - Participate in steering committee activities, meetings, and program outcomes reporting.
• - Keep a computer file on the client’s progress and treatment plans.
• - Interview people on intake Sundays at the UCO Drop-In-Center and during the week at partner agencies and work on their case during the week communicating with the client guest by phone, computer, and meeting with them when necessary and occasionally driving them.
• - Provide supportive permanent housing case management services to project participants preparing to transition into permanent housing by
• - Assisting them to set and attain their personal goals,
• - Finding the services and resources needed,
• - Helping with VI-SPDT assessment, treatment and recovery,
• - Working with other health and human service providers and landlords.

Teresa was born and raised in Lakewood, California and still lives there with her husband and teenage daughter.  When growing up, Teresa had a close friend who was very poor.  Intuitively, Teresa would often invite her friend over for dinner and to come along on many family errands and other outings.  Teresa and her friend spent a lot of time together as kids and still are friends today.  Teresa’s friend is doing very well now and fondly recalls the impact that Teresa’s emotional and material support had on her when they were kids. 

Teresa has worked in various administrative capacities in several industries, including the publishing business, construction, financial companies, and the oil industry.  Teresa also has worked for Children Today and is a long-time volunteer for Catholic Charities’ Guest Chef program at Project Achieve.  She is an active member of Cal Heights United Methodist Church.

Teresa has experienced many ups and downs in her life.  As a result, she has developed a strong desire to help others.  She is an active sponsor for many women who are in the recovery process. 

She is happy to be part of UCO’s supportive services team and do all she can to help clients get off the streets and into permanent housing.  Teresa understands first-hand that housing is necessary to live a stable, healthy life.

Ann Lampe, Outreach Worker, has a BS in Psychology from the University of Kansas and a Certificate in Addiction Medicine Counseling from UCLA.  She was an Intake Coordinator for a major hospital and has more than 10 years work in case management. She has expertise in all areas of non-profit management, including budgeting, program planning, project management and staff training and development. She is a coordinator skilled at communicating, organizing and solving problems to raise the stature and rankings of non-profit organizations.  She has spent the last 15 years raising her children, while continuing to volunteer in many facets of non-profits. She has worked with grant writing, special events management, advocacy in education, staff management and outreach, among other areas. She volunteered for UCO for a year before being hired.

STAFF MAIN DUTIES

• - Gets a consent form signed by the client
• - Interviews UCO guests/clients on Sundays at the Drop-in-Center to discover their needs
• - Is a liaison between UCO guest/client, UCO, and community services and resources to discover the best way to assist the guest/client.
• - Works closely with Executive Director to decide on the best actions to take
• - Maintain a file on the guest/client