Sierra draws on her background in research and practice to demonstrate how Partners for the Common Good's lending and advocacy transform communities. She tells its story through rigorous impact measurement and compelling narratives on what investment has meant to borrowers and their beneficiaries.
Sierra has expertise as a community development researcher focused on equitable place-based initiatives, housing, community development, and public finance. Most recently, she was a research analyst on the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's regional and community analysis team, where she worked with community development practitioners and CDFIs. She previously supported evidence-based policy research initiatives at the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center related to fair and affordable housing, mission-driven real estate investment, environmental justice, and employment. She has also worked as a practitioner — directing a statewide affordable housing pilot program in Indiana — and served in local government as the demographer for the City of Alexandria, Virginia.
Sierra holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington, a master of arts in applied economics from Georgetown University, and master of public policy from the University of Chicago Harris School. She is currently working toward her Ph.D. in public policy and public administration at George Washington University's Trachtenberg School, studying place-based community development.
