Laura Abernathy

Laura Abernathy joined the National Housing Trust in 2010 and currently serves as the State and Local Policy Director. In this role, Laura oversees the Trust’s work on state and local public policy initiatives in all 50 states, working with elected officials, government employees, and advocates from around the country to shape public policy that promotes local affordable housing preservation, strengthens communities, and provides access to opportunity for low-income families. Her work also includes developing content for PrezCat, an online catalog of state and local preservation policies and programs.

Prior to her current role, Laura spent three years as a Public Policy Associate and three years as a Senior Policy Associate at the Trust. Before joining NHT, Laura worked at the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies (Shimberg) to promote affordable, suitable, and accessible housing throughout the state of Florida. While at Shimberg, she collaborated with faculty and graduate students from the University of Florida to develop a GIS based model to assess land suitability for affordable housing.

Laura holds a B.A. in Economics and English Literature from Franklin & Marshall College and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida, where she specialized in Housing, Community, and Economic Development.