I am currently the Research Director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, where I am responsible for directing the Coalition’s data analysis, public opinion, and rapid response research efforts.  

I received my B.A. in History and Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania and my Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University, where I continue to teach and research as a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy.  In 1994-1995 I was a Fulbright scholar in the field of economic development in Rostock, Germany. 

My academic research has focused on a number of interrelated areas: Gaps and inequity in economic development; sustainable development and eco-industrial networks; transportation and telecommunications policy; regional organizations; and trade and development policy. 

As a volunteer leader on local economic development and environmental issues, most prominently with the Sierra Club’s “Restore the Core” campaign, I have sought to highlight the opportunities - and the challenges - of redirecting development and population to urban areas in the Washington, D.C. region as a means of combating sprawl.  In this role, I was instrumental in publishing two guides to development in Washington, Movin' On Up, Not Out: Redeveloping Our Neighborhoods to Benefit Current Residents and Restore the Core: A Citizen’s Guide to Building a Livable Washington, DC.