The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is excited to announce that Irene Agustin is our new Chief Program Officer (CPO). In this role, she’ll lead the organization’s work on overseeing more than 200 service provider contracts, equity-based procurement of homelessness program services, homeless crisis response system development and alignment, and applications for new funding.
Ms. Agustin has dedicated more than 20 years to working in human services and people experiencing homelessness. She has successfully led interdisciplinary teams in San Francisco, St. Louis, and Baltimore, designing and implementing initiatives that have improved shelter, access to affordable housing, and support services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. One of Ms. Agustin’s key strengths is her capacity to analyze data and assess program effectiveness to drive continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.
“I think what I’m mostly looking forward to is the hands-on implementation and execution of improvements to the homelessness response system,” Ms. Agustin said. “And working with the team and community on getting people housed and connected to services and resources to help rebuild their lives.”
Ms. Agustin’s experience collaborating with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including government agencies, community organizations, and volunteers, has been instrumental in achieving measurable impact and sustainable outcomes. Key accomplishments include working with Baltimore stakeholders to formulate and implement a robust strategy, which resulted in securing a $75 million award under the American Request Plan Act to drive five major projects enhancing Baltimore’s Homeless Response System, marking the city’s largest-ever investment in homeless services. She also worked with San Francisco’s emergency COVID response and supervised 25 shelter-in-place hotels. Ms. Agustin was drawn to this position because of KCRHA’s mission — to significantly decrease homelessness throughout King County, using equity and social justice principles.
“The reality is there are people who are homeless on our streets who need help, and we need to continue to work together not only to improve but really get to where we have a high-functioning, equitable system so that if anyone finds themselves in a housing crisis, they can get help quickly and efficiently,” she added.
Ms. Agustin’s previous roles include Director of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services for the City of Baltimore, Director of Coordinated Entry and Problem Solving for the City and County of San Francisco, and Director of Human Services in St. Louis. Ms. Agustin has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Social Work.
Early in her career, Ms. Agustin worked for a nonprofit serving vulnerable populations including people experiencing homelessness. There she learned the various reasons why people became unhoused. During this experience she had a moment of clarity — homelessness is solvable.
“What in our community and what in our system is broken and how do we work together to fix it? So that’s really what drives me,” she shared. “It requires that we focus, strategically use our resources and strive to develop systems and processes work effectively and efficiently. At the end of the day, it’s going to help people.”
Outside of work Ms. Agustin enjoys traveling internationally and learning about different cultures. She recently visited Tanzania and went on a safari. She also enjoys photography and is looking forward to finding the best ice cream in King County.
