MICAH Staff
Sue with Pastor Becky, Elim Church- Hope Avenue, praying for God's guidance. Sue Watlov Phillips
Sue Watlov Phillips
Executive Director
Sue Watlov Phillips is a woman of God. She seeks to faithfully serve the Lord through her passions for Social Justice and Equity, loving others as herself, and ensuring everyone has a safe, decent, accessible, and affordable place to call home!
Sue Watlov Phillips has a B.A. in Psychology, a Masters in Counseling and Psychological Services, is a retired Licensed Psychologist, Independent Clinical Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Certified Sports Psychologist. She is a co-author of: "ADAPTING YOUR PRACTICE: Recommendations for the Care of Homeless Patients with Opioid Use Disorders."
She has volunteered and worked for over 57 years in social justice with emphasis on working with people at risk and/or experiencing homelessness and housing crisis. Sue experienced homelessness as a teenager, 50 years ago.
With God’s guidance and blessing, she developed Elim Transitional Housing, one of the first transitional housing programs and prevention/rapid rehousing models in the country in the early 1980s, which has been a model for Local, State and Federal Legislation. She served as Executive Director until 2012.
Sue was a founding Board Member and served on the Board of Directors of MICAH (1988- present), the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (1984 -2010) and on the leadership team that developed the National Coalition for the Homeless (1981-1986) and Board Member (1986- present) - and is the past Board President. Over the last 4 decades, she has helped to write and advocate for many of the Minnesota and Federal Laws passed to fund homeless prevention, rapid re-housing, transitional programs, and affordable housing. She is President and CEO of Integrated Community Solutions, Inc.
Sue is a consultant, teacher, writer, speaks at workshops and conferences, and teaches Bible Studies. She served as a National Consultant on Adapting Clinical Practices for people at risk of and/or experiencing homelessness with Opioid Disorders for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and assisting communities to develop a Continuum of Housing Options where people who have experienced homelessness and/or housing crises are key decision makers in design, implementation, and operation of the housing opportunities.
Author and Co-author of several books and publications including:
Re- Covering in God: 40 Days Wrestling with God (2014, 2019 2nd edition), Rapid Re-Housing Manual (2010), Foreclosure to Homelessness (2008 and 2009), and Contributor to Without Housing (2010), Livable Incomes: Real Solutions that Stimulate Our Economy, & Short Stories in a Long Journey (What It Takes to End and Prevent Homelessness).
Sue lives in Fridley, the home she grew up in and bought from her parents. She owns Our Spring Lake Store (est. 1916) a country store in northern Minnesota which serves the community as a gas station, post office, and provides jobs. Sue owns rental property and serves youth, elderly, and folks with disabilities in that community.
Phone: 651.646.0612
Email: sue@micah.org
John Slade
East Metro Congregational Organizer
John has been organizing with MICAH for over a decade. He works with two chapters - the Northeast Suburban Chapter, which goes from Hugo to White Bear Lake to Mahtomedi to Stillwater, and the St. Paul chapter.
Projects include the Housing Equity Now St. Paul (HENS) which recently won renter's right protections, the East Side Housing Justice group, and support for Freedom from the Streets, a homeless-led organizing campaign.
Racism is at the core of many of the inequalities in affordable housing in our area. He works on zoning and land use, transit corridors, and production and maintenance of affordable housing
He lives on the East Side of Saint Paul with his wife and child. John has been involved with community safety, anti-racism, media, and anti-war movements. He ran for City Council in 2015 and the State Legislature in 2018.
Phone: 651.646.0612
Email: slade@micah.org
Tere Parsley Starnes
Administrative Assistant
Tere Parsley Starnes joined MICAH in August 2020. Previously, Tere worked at Clare Housing, an organization serving people diagnosed with HIV who also experience housing insecurity.
Tere is a faith-based activist and is happy to support MICAH’s mission to advocate for housing for all. Tere lives in Minneapolis.
Phone: 651.646.0612
Email: tere@micah.org
Candy Bakion
Organizer
Bright and bubbly, Candy is a constant learner who believes life lessons come from natural experiences. A life-long Minneapolis and current Heritage Park Resident, Candy has many years of customer service experience at a variety of organizations including MICAH. When she is not rolling with her entourage of five children, and a Grandson, she enjoys connecting with people through chatting and sharing knowledge.
Phone: 651.646.0612
Linda Soderstrom
Speakers Bureau Coordinator
In addition to her work with MICAH, Linda organizes in other housing justice & advocacy spaces, on boards & advisories. In 2015, she was a lead representative in the Crossroads at Penn class action. They found power in representing 2,350+ souls who were displaced in a disparate impact upon protected classes... with miles yet & still to go today.
Contact phone/text 507.523.2327 or email llsod.lindalee@gmail.com
Linda's faith community is Tapestry Richfield, a bi-lingual, multi-cultural Spanish/English mission of the ELCA with language lessons, shared music, meals and asylum in ministry.
Tapestry is co-located at 70th and Lyndale South, Richfield MN in Oak Grove Lutheran Church.