Bruce J. Katz (born June 21, 1959,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, United States) is an urban policy expert and author. He is currently the Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, having formerly served as the inaugural Centennial Scholar and Vice President at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

Education

Katz graduated ''magna cum laude'' with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Brown University in 1981. At Brown, Katz received a Harvey A. Baker Fellowship and attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

from 1979 to 1980. He earned his J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1985.

Career

Katz advises federal, state, and local leaders on shifting demographic and market trends as well as on policies that are critical to metropolitan prosperity (e.g., innovation, human capital, infrastructure, housing) and new forms of metropolitan governance. After

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

was elected president in 2008, Katz co-led the housing and urban transition team and served as a senior advisor to Shaun Donovan, the new

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

, for the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Katz has been a visiting professor at the

and in 2006 won the 12th Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Economy and the Enviro ...

for Public Policy. He was recognized for his work “re-imagining the function and value of cities and metropolitan areas and profoundly influencing their economic vitality, livability and sustainability”. In 2011, Katz was named a Senior Fellow of the

Design Futures Council The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members inclu ...

. He served as chief of staff to Henry Cisneros, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, from 1993 to 1996 and previously served as senior counsel and then Staff director of the

United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, ...

. Katz was the inaugural Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institution. Katz founded and previously served as director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, which aims to provide decision makers in the public, corporate, and civic sectors with policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitan areas. Katz is currently the Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University. He is the co-author with Jeremy Nowak of ''The New Localism''.

References

External links

Official biography at the Brookings Institution website

Online lecture: "A Vision of the Next Economy: From Macro to Metro"
London School of Economics and Political Science. Recorded on 24 March 2011 in Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House.
Twitter account
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Bruce J. 1959 births Living people United States Department of Housing and Urban Development officials Lawyers from New York City Brown University alumni Yale Law School alumni