Will Merrifield, Esq. is the Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Social Housing and Public Investment where he studies and promotes sustainable, publicly-controlled systems of housing, healthcare, and education. Will began his career as an attorney working in Ohio. There he defended people against evictions and foreclosures after the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. For the past decade, Will has worked as an attorney in Washington DC and has been involved in some of the preeminent housing struggles in the District, representing tenant associations fighting to keep their housing affordable in the face of large-scale redevelopment projects. In 2020, Will ran for an At-Large seat on the DC Council on a platform that focused on solving the District’s affordable housing crisis through the implementation of a large-scale social housing program. In 2022, Will co-authored the Green New Deal for Housing Act which was introduced before DC Council in late 2022 and will be re-introduced this council term. The legislation would deliver deeply affordable, mixed-income, and sustainable housing for DC through the creation of social housing. Will’s work has been featured in the Washington Post, National Public Radio, the District Dig and the Washington City Paper. wmerrifield@socialhousingcenter.org
 

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  Dr. Emily Gasoi, Research Associate/Advisor , a passionate educator, policy advisor and advocate, Dr. Emily Gasoi brings an education lens to The Center for Social Housing and Public Investment, highlighting the deep connection between equitable access to quality housing and educational success. Emily began her career as a classroom teacher in 1995 with the belief that providing all children with an empowering education is an essential step toward building a more just and functional society. In 1997, Emily co-founded a democratically-governed public school in Boston with MacArthur award-wining educator, Deborah Meier. Emily later co-authored the 2017 book with Meier entitled These Schools Belong to You and Me: Why We Can’t Afford to Abandon our Public Schools. Emily began to turn her attention to the intersection of housing insecurity and educational outcomes during her 2019-2023 term serving as an elected representative on the DC State Board of Education (SBOE). After hearing wrenching testimony from families and students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity and seeking input from housing experts and social workers, Emily and her SBOE colleagues unanimously passed a resolution pressing for greater planning, funding and transportation options for this most vulnerable student population. For the past six years, Emily has taught at Georgetown University in the Masters in Educational Transformation and Education, Inquiry and Justice programs and beginning in fall 2023, Emily will begin a visiting professorship in the Political Science department at the University of Vienna, Austria. Emily’s research agenda will include investigating the impact of Vienna’s economically integrated social housing model on school integration and aspects of this model that are applicable in a DC context.