July 1, 2026 – Boston, MA — The Partnership for Financial Equity (PFE) is pleased to announce that Amalie Zinn, a doctoral student at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, has been named the organization’s inaugural Jim Campen Non-Resident Fellow.

The fellowship was established to honor the extraordinary contributions of Jim Campen, whose scholarship and commitment to housing justice helped shape the organization’s research agenda for more than two decades.

Zinn’s research focuses on housing and household finance, equitable access to credit, and intergenerational transfers of wealth. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she spent three years as a researcher in the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where she worked at the intersection of racial equity and housing finance.

At Urban, Zinn spearheaded a body of research examining trust in banking and elevated the importance of trust in financial institutions, government agencies, and legal systems within broader conversations about wealth disparities, upward mobility, and intergenerational asset building. Her work combines quantitative and qualitative methods and emphasizes translating research into actionable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, community organizations, media, and academic audiences.

Zinn is already familiar to many of PFE’s partners through her work as a consultant and subject-matter expert on the organization’s groundbreaking Trust in Banking research project.

“Amalie brings a rare combination of intellectual rigor, policy insight, and a deep commitment to equity,” said Thomas Callahan, executive director of Partnership for Financial Equity. “Her work reflects the same values that have guided Jim Campen’s career—using research to illuminate barriers to opportunity and inform solutions that expand access to credit, housing, and wealth-building opportunities.”

The fellowship is named in honor of Jim Campen, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston and one of the nation’s most influential home mortgage lending researchers since the passage of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act in 1975.

From 1994 through 2018, Campen conducted mortgage lending research for PFE’s predecessor organization, the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC). His landmark annual reports, Changing Patterns, published for 25 years, and Borrowing Trouble, published for seven years, provided critical analysis of mortgage lending trends and informed conversations among bankers, community organizations, regulators, advocates, and policymakers throughout the Commonwealth.

Beyond his research contributions, Campen has been a longstanding leader in the fair housing movement. He previously served as chairman of the board of the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston and currently serves on the board of the Massachusetts Affordable Homeownership Alliance.

“The Jim Campen Non-Resident Fellowship recognizes the enduring impact of Jim’s work and his belief that rigorous, independent research can help advance fair lending, housing opportunity, and economic equity,” said Jason Andrade, Director of Research and Membership Engagement at PFE. “We are honored to launch this fellowship with a scholar whose work embodies those same principles.”

As the inaugural fellow, Zinn will collaborate with PFE on research initiatives, policy analysis, and strategic projects that advance the organization’s mission of promoting financial equity and expanding economic opportunity.

“It is a privilege to serve as PFE’s inaugural Jim Campen Non-Resident Fellow,” remarked Amalie Zinn. “My research examines racial inequality in housing and finance with data and rigor, but without losing sight of the people and communities behind the numbers. At a moment when addressing racial discrimination in finance is facing real headwinds, I am especially excited to contribute my research experience to an organization with an unrelenting commitment to advancing equity, and I look forward to learning from and building on Jim’s decades of thoughtful scholarship.”

“I’m honored by the naming of PFE’s new research fellowship, and delighted by the inspired choice for its first recipient,” said Jim Campen.  “Amalie Zinn has already produced impressive research in the areas of PFE’s central concerns, and I look forward with great interest to seeing the results of her collaboration with Tom and Jason.”