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Bessy Kong

Global Fellow, Former Public Policy Scholar

    Term

    September 1, 2017 — September 1, 2019

    Professional affiliation

    Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Housing and Urban Development

    Wilson Center Projects

    Comparative Affordable Housing Systems

    Full Biography

    Ms. Kong served for 18 years at the Agency for Housing and Urban Development where she was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Office of Public and Indian Housing. While there she was responsible for promulgating rules governing the Housing Choice Voucher program and the Public Housing program. She also served as Senior Advisor in the Office of Urban Policy of the Domestic Policy Council during President Obama's first term. Prior to her domestic housing experience, she worked at the US Agency for International Development on housing finance programs in Asia and Africa. Ms. Kong holds a Masters in Urban Science from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree from Smith College.

    Previous Terms

    Public Policy Fellow, June 2012- Nov 2013 "Participatory Governance and the U.S. Public Housing System: A Topic for Exploration"