Subject Matter Expert

Katie Peterson is a Subject Matter Expert in the Housing and Community Development practice area, working alongside communities to prevent and end homelessness. She provides technical assistance to Continuum of Care grantees, develops trainings, tools, and products, and advises on program design, strategic planning, and program effectiveness.

Ms. Peterson has over 10 years of experience with HUD programs. Sitting in the HUD Chicago Regional Office, she worked closely with the City of Chicago as Co-Chair of the Ending Veteran Homelessness Initiative to build a Coordinated Entry system that housed more than 5000 homeless Veterans. Ms. Peterson is also experienced in creating housing solutions in HUD’s Public Housing and Multifamily programs for homeless households.

Noticing a gap in housing for human trafficking survivors, Ms. Peterson created a pilot program between HUD, HHS, Chicago Housing Authority, and HHS trafficking grantees to provide housing choice vouchers to trafficking survivors, the first program in the nation to intentionally address the housing issues for those who have experienced human trafficking. Ms. Peterson was responsible for housing recovery planning and response to disasters in a six-state region which included collaborating with FEMA, other federal agencies, and state agencies to update the New Madrid Seismic Zone Plan. She also deployed and worked in a Disaster Recovery Center after Hurricane Sandy and the Joint Field Office after Hurricane Harvey.

Ms. Peterson has a B.A. in Sociology from Lehigh University and a JD from The University of Denver Sturm College of Law.