Sarah Rosen Wartell is the third President of the Urban Institute. A public policy executive and housing markets expert, Sarah was formerly deputy assistant to the president for Economic Policy and deputy director of the National Economic Council.
Sarah Rosen Wartell became the third president of the Urban Institute in February 2012. Prior, Sarah was deputy assistant to the president for Economic Policy and deputy director of the National Economic Council. At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1998, she advised the federal housing commissioner on housing finance, mortgage markets, and consumer protection. In 2012 she was named a “Woman of Influence” by HousingWire.
Sarah cofounded the Center for American Progress, serving as its first chief operating officer and general counsel. Later, as executive vice president, she oversaw its policy teams and fellows. Her work focused on the economy and housing markets, and she directed the Mortgage Finance Working Group and “Doing What Works” government performance program. She previously practiced law with the Washington, DC, firm of Arnold & Porter and was a consultant to the bipartisan Millennial Housing Commission.
Sarah is currently on the board of the Low Income Investment Fund, Center for Law and Social Policy, and Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University. She also is on the Bank of America National Community Advisory Council and is a Penn Institute for Urban Research Scholar. Her areas of expertise include Community Development, Consumer Finance, Asset Building, and Housing Finance.
Sarah has an AB degree with honors in urban affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She has a JD degree from Yale Law School.
