Cristian deRitis, Deputy Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics, specializes in assessing the economy’s impact on household finance, housing, credit markets and public policy. Named on two U.S. patents for credit modeling, he created loss forecasting and stress testing systems for financial institutions. He joined Moody’s in 2008, after serving as a director with Fannie Mae. He also was an adjunct professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University.

Ira Goldstein, Ph.D., is the Senior Advisor of Policy Solutions at Reinvestment Fund, a results-oriented, socially responsible community investment group. Dr. Goldstein has conducted spatial and statistical analyses in communities across the US. Those studies are used by government and philanthropy to craft policy and allocate public and philanthropic resources. He also has conducted studies of mortgage foreclosures and abusive lending practices. His work supported government-initiated civil rights and consumer protection cases. Dr. Goldstein created Reinvestment Fund’s proprietary Market Value Analysis (MVA), which is used in communities across the US. He also led the creation of Reinvestment Fund’s childcare access gap analysis.

For over 30 years, Dr. Goldstein has been a lecturer for University of Pennsylvania’s (Penn) Urban Studies program. He instructs in research methods, statistics, and housing policy. He is a fellow with the Penn’s Institute for Urban Research. Dr. Goldstein is also a member of the National Housing Crisis Task Force, which includes leading practitioners from public, private, and civic sectors, implementing innovative solutions to address America’s housing crisis. Before coming to Reinvestment Fund, Dr. Goldstein served as Mid-Atlantic Director of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at HUD.

Maggie McCullough is the CEO and Founder of PolicyMap, a leading geospatial data and mapping platform. She has had an extensive career in local, state, and federal government, having worked for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Housing, the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Office of Management and Budget in DC, and within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Maggie left the Department of Housing and Urban Development to apply her public policy experience and expertise to analytical work within the CDFI Reinvestment Fund, where she participated in housing-related research and analysis for several of its public sector and foundation clients. These experiences, along with an amazing team, enabled her to conceive of and launch PolicyMap in 2008 – an application designed to make complex information accessible and actionable to a broad audience. Today, the platform is a trusted partner for organizations across academic, banking and lending, government, health, housing, nonprofit, library, real estate, and retail industries. 

Maggie holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from St. Joseph’s University and a Master’s in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jim Parrott is a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and owner of Parrott Ryan Advisors, which provides strategic advice on housing finance issues to financial institutions active in the primary and secondary mortgage market.

Before joining Urban in 2013, Parrott spent several years in the Obama White House as a senior adviser at the National Economic Council, where he led the team of advisers charged with counseling the cabinet and president on housing issues. He was on point for developing the administration’s major housing policy positions; articulating and defending those positions with Congress, the press, and public; and counseling White House leadership on related communications and legislative strategy. Before his time in the White House, Parrott was counsel to Secretary Donovan at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Before that, he was a litigator, first in New York with Sullivan and Cromwell, and later in North Carolina with Smith Anderson.

Parrott has a BA in philosophy from the University of North Carolina, an MA in philosophy from the University of Washington, and a JD from Columbia Law School. He was a Peace Corps volunteer and served in Sri Lanka. He currently serves on the local advisory board of the Ackland Museum of Art in Chapel Hill, NC. 

Mark Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi cofounded Economy.com, which Moody’s purchased in 2005.

Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, is the lead director of PolicyMap, a data visualization and analytics company used by policymakers and commercial businesses, and is a director of the Coleridge Initiative, a nonprofit that facilitates the exchange of data across governments. 

He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists and the public. Dr. Zandi frequently testifies before Congress and conducts regular briefings on the economy for corporate boards, trade associations and policymakers at all levels. 

Dr. Zandi is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which assesses the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by The New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis. Dr. Zandi is host of the Inside Economics podcast. 

Dr. Zandi earned his BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.