Jean-Michel Giraud has advanced the entire homeless services system in the Washington, DC Metro Area by drawing on over two decades of clinical experience in human services, expertise in psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery, and commitment to person-centered programming. He is a pioneer of innovative program models and, since joining Friendship Place in 2006, has overseen the launching of 10 new programs based on the state-of-the-art Housing First service model, transforming the organization from a small neighborhood provider serving 300 people a year into a major regional provider serving more than 3,000 people annually.

Jean-Michel’s focus on cost-effective, permanent and rapid solutions to homelessness has been lauded by the DC government, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and countless homeless service advocates. He is a recipient of the Meyer Foundation Exponent Award for visionary nonprofit leadership (2010), served on the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness from 2009 to 2017, and is a member of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association.

Jean-Michel speaks at national conferences and presents field workshops on empowerment, organizational transformation, systemic change, veterans services, Housing First, Employment First, Rapid Rehousing, LGBTQ, racial equity, and senior homelessness.

Jean-Michel Giraud holds a Master’s Degree and Doctoral Qualification (DEA) in American Studies from Montpellier University in France, undergraduate degrees in Translation from La Sorbonne Nouvelle and Paris X University, and a Master Certificate in Business Administration from Tulane University in Louisiana. He is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and has earned a Co-Occurring Disorders Competency Designation from DC COSIG and The Danya Institute.