Nancy Andrews

Nancy is a Fellow at Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute and the former President and CEO of the Low-Income Investment Fund (LIIF), a leading community development financial institution operating in 31 states. During her 20-year tenure, she expanded LIIF’s assets from $35 million to $1 billion, with more than $3 billion invested in low-income communities nationwide.

A recognised thought leader in community development, Andrews pioneered the integration of early childhood development into place-based strategies. Her advocacy helped shape federal policy and led to the creation of the Capital Magnet Fund, which has deployed nearly $2 billion and leveraged over $16 billion in investments in underserved neighbourhoods.

While in Cambridge, Nancy is seeking to explore why income inequality has risen so sharply across the globe — and particularly in the United States — since 1980. Or has it? To what extent has inequality contributed to the erosion of democracy worldwide? And is there a “sweet spot” in economic policy where redistributive efforts can be pursued without significantly harming economic growth?