Dona J. Stewart is a fellow for the Future of Land and Housing program at New America. Previously, as a volunteer with DataKind, she helped lead the program’s research on housing loss in the United States. Based in Florida, Dona joins FPR with a deep interest in the impact of climate change and sea level rise on housing insecurity. Her work will focus on the potential use of eminent domain to move at-risk households on the U.S. coast.
A former Geography professor, Dona’s past research interests include housing insecurity and the relationship between economic factors and the urban landscape. She has published in a wide array of scholarly journals, including Urban Studies, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Urban Geography, and the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.
A growing interest in applied work and big data led her to another career in data analytics. Her projects include the first affordable housing assessment for Haywood County in rural Appalachia. Currently, she is the Senior Product Manager at AcademicLabs.
She holds a B.A in International Relations from New College of Florida, and both a Masters of Arts (Political Science) and Doctor of Philosophy (Geography) from the University of Florida.