Jay brings more than 20 years of experience in the Construction and Engineering fields. He is responsible for the Development, Construction and Maintenance of HJI’s Micro-Community. Jay’s passion for missions, including disaster relief, drives the focus on ending homelessness through instilling hope, advocating for housing needs and delivering solutions for housing. He is developing relationships with and uniting community providers, the construction industry, design field, Educational institutions, financial Institutions, property management companies, and commercial and private landowners to raise awareness and provide housing solutions. Jay earned a BA in Mechanical Engineering, is an adjunct Professor in the Montgomery College Construction Management Program and is currently pursuing an MS in Real Estate and Infrastructure.

At an early age, La Toya learned the value of community, hospitality and being a good neighbor demonstrated by her family in her native home of Jamaica. Upon immigrating to the US, she became involved with homeless ministry in her church youth group. Each month, they would cook and serve dinner at the Miami Rescue Mission, where a seed of compassion was planted. During and after college she had other opportunities to serve with different non-profits who worked with at-risk youth. In more recent years, La Toya served on the staff of a local mega-church for 10.5 years where she worked as an Outreach Coordinator & Pastoral Care Staff, providing lay-counseling, event planning and volunteer management. She and her husband, Jay have also led a number of disaster relief missions. It is the combination of all these experiences and her passion to see people become whole and reach their full potential that she excitedly joins the team of Hope’s Journey Inc.

Hermen is originally from The Netherlands and moved to the Washington DC metro area in 2017. Growing up, Hermen developed a strong passion for people and achieving social equality for those less fortunate. He went on to earn his B.S. in Social Work and then worked with teenagers to help them become more self-sufficient. Working in fundraising and communications, he developed strategies and managed the database system to raise funds and awareness for refugees in Europe. Hermen currently works as a Database and Development Coordinator at the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project and also supports the fundraising team at Hope’s Journey. In his spare time, Hermen and his wife organize monthly community events in their apartment to help residents build community.

Jose, an immigrant from Nicaragua, comes to the Hope’s Journey Inc. with over 20 years of experience in the home improvement industry and has operated his own general contractor business since 2006. In addition to his professional experience and service with Hope’s Journey, he is also the founder of SANTO Outreach Ministry, which is an evangelical outreach ministry focusing on sharing the Gospel message and training churches and other ministries on how to do the same. Jose has a passion for reaching out to the lost and helping them come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Marvin brings many years of human resources management experience in higher education, government and non-profit organizations to Hope’s Journey Inc. He has a passion for seeing the next generation gain the know-how, skills and training to become successful in life. He also has a passion for seeing adults learn how to be financially, self-sufficient citizens. Marvin is a native of Michigan and has lived in the DC area for almost 20 years. He earned a Master of Public Administration from the American University. He is an active member of the Church of the Redeemer in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Jackie, a native of Maryland, is a single mom of two adult children, one with special needs, so she understands some of the challenges single parents face. For the past 20-plus years, she has worked for the Montgomery County Public School System overseeing payroll. She is very involved at her church with a special interest in outreach, both locally and globally. She has been on several mission trips to other countries where she has seen homelessness from a very extensive degree. Jackie has a special passion for disaster relief and has been on a number of relief teams following major flooding and catastrophic storms such as Hurricane Katrina and more recently, Hurricane Isaac. She has seen the challenges and heartbreak of those who have suddenly lost everything in an instant and have nowhere to go. She looks forward to using her knowledge and experience in making a difference with Hope’s Journey Inc.