Dr. Christopher Herbert

Biography

Christopher Herbert is the Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and a Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in the Department of Urban Planning and Design. He has extensive experience in conducting research related to housing policy and urban development, both in the U.S. and abroad. His key research focus includes the financial and demographic dimensions of homeownership and the implications of housing policy. Herbert rejoined the Joint Center in 2010 after initially working there in the 1990s and previously served as the Director of Research at Abt Associates, where he led the team responsible for producing the Center’s annual "State of the Nation’s Housing" reports and the biennial "America’s Rental Housing" reports. Named managing director of the Center in 2015, he oversees a variety of sponsored research programs and local and national conferences designed to cultivate the next generation of housing leaders. Herbert has also co-edited important works on housing issues including "Shared Future: Fostering Communities of Inclusion in an Era of Inequality" and "Homeownership Built to Last: Balancing Access, Affordability, and Risk in a Housing Crisis." He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Freddie Mac and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging. Herbert holds a PhD and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University, and a BA in History from Dartmouth College.

Research Interests