The Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the importance of affordable housing on a national level. The cycle of poverty can be difficult to break, but safe, decent, affordable housing goes a long way toward providing stability to low-income families and giving them the tools they need to move out of poverty.

Our mission is to provide independent research and relevant data to support the efforts of the public and affordable housing industry and its stakeholders. Through industry collaboration and independent research, PAHRC spotlights the impact, outcomes, and benefits that affordable housing brings to families and communities. Our team also provides data and tools to help researchers, practitioners, and advocates build evidence-based cases for why affordable housing matters.

Educate

educate
We educate the public about the impact, outcomes, and benefits affordable homes bring to families and communities.

Equip

equip
We equip housing providers, policymakers, and the public with data tools to understand the inventory of affordable homes.

Equity

equity
Our goal is to promote equity by identifying barriers that inhibit our lowest income and most vulnerable people from reaching their full potential.

While we’re a small team, our work is having a big impact. It has been used by legislators to inform policy and has been highlighted in major media outlets. We also share new data and research findings on the impact of affordable housing with thousands of housers, policymakers, developers, advocates, researchers and more each year.

Our People

 

 

 

 

 

Courtney Rice
Chief Communication Officer

Kelly McElwain

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly McElwain
Manager of Research and Industry Intelligence

Cathryn (Cate) Asp
Research Analyst

Courtney Rice is PAHRC's chief communication officer. She is responsible for overseeing the nonprofit's marketing, communications, and public relations activities to promote the importance of affordable housing on a national level. For press inquiries, contact Courtney at 203-272-8220 ext. 253 or .

Kelly McElwain is responsible for managing PAHRC's data tools, research, and webinars on affordable housing programs. Her research examines affordable housing preservation and initiatives housing providers are engaged in to boost resident outcomes. Prior to joining PAHRC in 2014, Kelly assisted non-profits on research projects, donor stewardship, and grant writing as an intern and consultant.

Kelly holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and a Certificate in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor's Degree in Policy Studies from Syracuse University.

Cathryn (Cate) Asp is a skilled data analyst with a passion for public policy and equity-based research. She supports PAHRC's data tools to aid affordable housing preservation efforts and research on affordable housing programs. Prior to joining PAHRC in 2023, she worked as a research analyst at MDRC where she focused on K-12 education research, Charter Oak group as a data consultant, and Conning as a data analyst within the data governance and risk team.

Cathryn holds a Master's degree in Public Policy and Certification in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Bachelor's in Economics from Washington University.