Amber Celmer
Young Professionals 2022 by Sena Christian
Amber Celmer had a big decision to make . In spring 2020 as the pandemic raged , she felt ready to leave her position as development director of Child Advocates of Placer County to spend more time with her three young children .
Then a new opportunity arose . A friend sent her a job posting that encapsulated her professional background , spent mainly in the building industry , and her personal background as a former foster child . The job was for executive director of HomeAid Sacramento , one of 19 affiliates of HomeAid America , which builds and renovates shelters for people transitioning out of homelessness .
“ I put my name in the hat ,” Celmer , 38 , says . “ When I realized 100 candidates dwindled to 50 and then it was down to two , I was going to have to make a decision .”
For most of her career , Celmer had kept quiet about her own foster care experience , although as a volunteer she had long advocated on behalf of foster youth , including to help get Assembly Bill 899 , the “ Foster Youth Bill of Rights ,” passed in California in 2001 . “ It was this incredible pull that told me this is what I need to be doing ,” she says of the HomeAid opportunity .
Celmer took the helm in June 2021 . The local affiliate is the charitable arm of the North State Building Industry Association , which provides direct access to industry members for in-kind donations so projects can be completed at a portion of the cost . Founded in 1996 and based in Roseville , the local HomeAid has built and renovated more than 100 shelters , including the Children ’ s Receiving Home of Sacramento , where Celmer once lived .
Celmer ’ s childhood was marked with upheaval . Her father was a criminal , and she witnessed her mother being beaten and stabbed by men 16 times . She and her brother , sister and mother were often put in protective services . She stayed for a while with a grandmother in New Mexico , but mostly resided in Sacramento before being relocated to a foster home in Newcastle as a teenager , where she reunited with her siblings . She graduated from Del Oro High School in Loomis .
“ I carried a lot of shame for my childhood being a foster child ,” she says . “ My being a foster child had nothing to do with me . It was only because the adults in my life let me down . … But I felt very shameful and so I didn ’ t talk about it in grade school and high school .”
After graduating from Chico State with a degree in sociology , she started a job at Centex Homes working in new home sales . She later worked at Valligent Technologies as director of strategy and business development . As executive director of HomeAid Sacramento , Celmer oversees partnerships with nonprofits that serve the unhoused population .
HomeAid recently built 11 tiny homes to serve 55 women and children for Saint John ’ s Program for Real Change . The women — who must be employed — can access Saint John ’ s services , and they pay below market rent . Another project involves expanding a shelter for displaced youth for the nonprofit New Morning Youth and Family Services in Placerville .
“ Our passion is dignity rights ,” Celmer says . “ You will never find HomeAid Sacramento creating tents to help individuals . We believe strongly that if you provide an individual with dignified housing they are more likely to come out at the other end and be empowered . It provides them with a different set of tools to end the cycle of homelessness .”
Now as a leader in her field , Celmer is imparting advice to peers , including one who asked how her challenging childhood benefits her professionally . She says , “ There was a time in my life when I did not think I would live past the age of 20 , which prompted my answer to her question , simply that I am not here to be shy — I am here to pack a punch .”
July 2022 | comstocksmag . com 65