Meet our Team.
Executive Director​
Matthew Denney
Matt ("JMatt") Denney has lived in Newhallville since 2018, with a deep love for this neighborhood and the city of New Haven as a whole. He grew up in Michigan, attended Wheaton College (IL), and moved to New Haven after a brief stint in Philly. While in college, he grew in his heart for Christian community and developed a belief in the power of the church to contest injustice and seek holistic flourishing. This inspired him to be a part of a group of people who started Borden House in 2018 and, later, Jubilee New Haven. During this time, he has served as the Executive Director, and he completed his PhD in political science from Yale in 2023. He now works (remotely) as a postdoctoral fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where he researches and writes on churches and social engagement. He is married to Lara, and they live with their children in Newhallville and attend Trinity Baptist Church.
Director of Housing and Community Initiatives
Sinclair Williams
Sinclair graduated from Yale in 2017 with his B.A. in African American Studies, and he returned to New Haven after completing law school at Stanford. After working as a housing attorney at New Haven Legal Aid Association, he now works for the City of New Haven as Assistant Corporation Counsel for Livable City Initiative.
Director of Operations
Allison Luekens
Allison Luekens is originally from Philadelphia and has lived in New Haven since 2021. She has extensive experience in the corporate and non-profit worlds centering on operations, leadership development, and empowerment initiatives. Her deep value for local community development, the intersection of faith & work, and actively seeking the flourishing of her neighbors were given greater expression as she helped to launch and build infrastructure for a church planting venture in Southern Connecticut. Allison is excited to join the Jubilee New Haven team as Operations Director to utilize her organizational, operations, and empowerment coaching gifts to help increase the impact of our organization. Allison is also a leadership, career and life coach. She is married to Craig, and has 3 stepchildren. They live in the Edgewood neighborhood in New Haven and attend Christ Presbyterian Church New Haven.
Construction Manager and Volunteer Coordinator
Joel Frazier
Raised in eastern Connecticut, Joel Frazier moved to New Haven in 2014 for love. That love grew into a marriage, a family, and a deep, trusting relationship with Jesus. After years spent in Fairhaven, Beaver Hills, and Edgewood, Joel now lives in Milford, CT with his wife Laura and their two children. He attends Elm City Vineyard church, were he serves as a prayer minister, and Joel actively extends that ministry of prayer abroad as the Prayer Ministry Coordinator for Global Family Prayer. Joel began serving his local church body as a handyman in 2018. This mode of service has since grown into a fruitful ministry and general contracting business. Joel comes to Jubilee with a Bachelors in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut, experience as a commissioner on the State Commission on Equity and Opportunity, and an expectant heart.
Meet our Board.
Charmain Yun
Charmain Yun is currently the Executive Director of Christian Community Action (CCA). After writing her senior essay on homelessness in New Haven and the need for coordinated services, Charmain received her BA in Sociology in 1995 and was involved in ministry at Yale University and in New Haven, including starting a mentoring program in New Haven Housing Authority developments through Bridges of Hope. After receiving her Masters in Social Work at UConn in 2021, she worked as the Landlord Engagement Specialist for the Coordinated Access Network and then, as the Director of Administration and Planning at CCA before stepping into her current role. Since 1996, she and her husband, Sang Yun, have made New Haven their home and have raised their three children in this beloved city.
Antoine Claiborne
Growing up with an interest in building things, Antoine attended Virginia Tech to pursue a degree in construction management. After graduating, he moved to Connecticut to help families and build communities through working with Habitat for Humanity. After 10 years. of service with Habitat, he is now the Owner of Woodlawn Property Development.
Aaron Feng
Aaron Feng is a Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund, leading projects to help the Oil & Gas industry on energy transition. With a background in finance, he has experience across sustainability, impact investing, and nonprofits. Aaron holds a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University and was part of Borden House, an intentional Christian community (predecessor of Jubilee New Haven) during his three years living in New Haven. He lives in New York City and serves as a deacon at Redeemer East Harlem Church.
Lorrice Grant
Lorrice Grant is the Executive Director at Loaves in Fishes. She is a seasoned community nutritionist; an experienced manager in the nonprofit sector; and a champion for food justice. Grant is a board member of CPEN, a member of Witness to Hunger, and was an active member of the Food Policy Council.
Anita Hinkson
Anita is the Co-Director of the Student Fellows program at the Rivendell Institute at Yale University. While a student at Yale, she developed a passion for helping support women physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. She came back to New Haven after working in news production for CBS (NYC) and NBC (Europe).