Jessica Katz

Before joining Columbia, Ms. Katz was the Chief Housing Officer of the City of New York. As Chief Housing Officer, Katz was responsible for devising and implementing housing policy across the Adams Administration’s housing agencies, including the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Authority, the Housing Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Katz previously served as executive director of the research nonprofit Citizens Housing and Planning Council, where she led a policy and research agenda on topics ranging from basement apartment conversions to equitable code enforcement to resident decision-making at NYCHA.

Ms. Katz also served for over ten years at HPD, as the associate commissioner for New Construction, assistant commissioner of Special Needs Housing, senior adviser to the commissioner, and assistant commissioner for Preservation Finance.

Katz holds a BA in Urban Geography from McGill University and a Masters in City Planning from MIT.