Ben Horowitz is a senior policy analyst in the Minneapolis Fed’s Community Development and Engagement Division, where he investigates and writes about housing affordability, early childhood development, and the ways that changes in the labor market and prices are impacting low- and moderate-income communities. Ben has a B.A. in journalism from Arizona State University and a master’s in public administration from Princeton University. Before coming to the Bank, Ben worked for a labor union and in the nonprofit sector.

Using the Minneapolis Fed’s capacity for applied research, data exploration, and policy analysis, Libby Starling focuses on deepening the Bank’s understanding of housing affordability, concentrating on effective housing policies and practices that make a difference for low- and moderate-income families in the Ninth Federal Reserve District.

Prior to joining the Fed in 2019, Starling was the deputy director of the Community Development Division at the Metropolitan Council, where, among other accomplishments, she led the agency’s development of its 2040 Housing Policy Plan. Previously, she was the director of research and evaluation for the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. She holds a Master of Planning degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Maxine Xu is a data scientist in the Minneapolis Fed’s Community Development and Engagement division, where she develops data tools and leads analyses to explore issues affecting the economic well-being of low- to moderate-income communities.

Maxine has a B.A. in economics from Soka University of America and a master’s in computational analysis and public policy from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the Minneapolis Fed, she held positions as a research assistant at the University of Chicago, first at the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab and later at the Center for the Economics of Human Development.