A Place to Call Home

Named as one of “fifty people across the country who are most influencing the national political debate” by Politico Magazine, Matthew Desmond is a sociologist, author, and principal investigator of The Eviction Lab.

Desmond’s research focuses on poverty in America, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography. He is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the author of multiple books, including Poverty, by America (2023) and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016), which won the Pulitzer Prize and inspired an exhibition hosted by the National Public Housing Museum in 2024. In addition, Desmond is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine.

Jackie Taylor is a distinguished director, producer, educator, and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater, a nationally recognized institution committed to “eradicat[ing] racism and its damaging effects on our society through the utilization of theater arts and community engagement.”

Born in Chicago, and raised in the Cabrini-Green Homes, Taylor has had featured roles in major films—starting with the Chicago classic Cooley High—and has written and produced more than a hundred plays and musical biographies. Taylor holds an undergraduate degree in theater from Loyola University, a master’s in Education from American College of Education, and an honorary doctorate from DePaul University. She serves as the board president of the Black Arts & Culture Alliance, among numerous other cultural contributions. Black Ensemble Theater marks its 50th anniversary in 2026.

As one of the first supporters of the National Public Housing Museum, Denis Pierce was inspired by its dedication to a story of home not told anywhere else: “All of us have the right to a home where we surround ourselves with those we care about.”

Pierce spent his career as an attorney in Chicago and was the founder, with his wife Martha, of the Pierce Family Foundation, which was sunset in 2023. As a philanthropist and housing advocate, Pierce has been committed to helping organizations—especially nonprofits that provide essential social services in the areas of housing and homelessness in Chicago—to build the capacity and support core organizational development needs. Pierce serves on the board of All Chicago, Housing Opportunities for Women, and Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.