Alex brings more than fifteen years of experience studying affordable and mixed-income housing communities, tenant-based housing voucher programs, housing mobility initiatives, and other efforts focused on reducing structural barriers—rooted in racism, power, and economic advantage—for lower-income families of color and expanding access to opportunities from which they have been historically excluded. Alex collaborates with community groups, public, private, and non-profit stakeholders to better understand resident and community needs and assets, design programs and policies, identify impacts, and inform strategies to advance racial and economic equity. Her research blends methodologies to identify important demographic and residential patterns and gives voice to those who are often unheard to ensure their experiences, ideas, and desires are informing programs and policies that affect their lives and communities.
As a Research Affiliate with the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities (NIMC) for two years prior to her new position as Research Assistant Professor, Alex has been deeply engaged with NIMC research. She recently completed a study of Canadian mixed-income developments and is currently working with NIMC on the longitudinal evaluation of HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program, in partnership with the Urban Institute. In her role as Research Assistant Professor, Alex is looking forward to launching new projects with NIMC, including a study of inclusionary housing residents’ experiences with bias for the City of Cambridge in Massachusetts.
Alex is a member of the national Mobility Works technical assistance team and is currently working with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development on the implementation and evaluation of a new housing mobility program (SNO Mass).
Alex has worked as an independent consultant and previously worked with the Urban Institute, the American City Coalition, the OTB Research Institute for Housing and the Urban Mobility Studies in the Netherlands, and the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. She received a B.A. from Northeastern University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Boston University.