Housing Affordability Institute names

Nick Erickson as Executive Director

Housing Affordability Institute has named Nick Erickson to the newly created position of executive director. Erickson comes from Housing First Minnesota, the Institute’s parent entity, where he will continue to serve as senior director of housing policy.

“With Minnesota’s housing challenges continuing to grow, Housing Affordability Institute has asked industry expert, Nick Erickson, to lead its programming,” said James Vagle, president of Housing Affordability Institute and CEO of Housing First Minnesota. “Nick’s keen understanding of housing policy, strategic vision and passion for this issue make him uniquely qualified to direct Housing Affordability Institute’s efforts to address our housing affordability and access challenges.”

Erickson has assisted with Housing Affordability Institute since its inception in 2018, having served as author and lead researcher on the Institute’s past efforts. Erickson has played a critical role in the housing policy discussion in Minnesota since joining Housing First Minnesota in 2017, where he’s managed its regulatory advocacy and research programs.

“Both in Minnesota and nationally, we see immense housing affordability and access challenges,” said Nick Erickson, executive director of Housing Affordability Institute. “Housing Affordability Institute’s work is critical to helping key players in the housing discussion better understand the issue. It is an honor to be tasked with leading Housing Affordability Institute’s efforts to increase housing affordability and access.”

Erickson holds a degree in Business Communication from the University of St. Thomas’s Opus College of Business and was a Policy Fellow (2018-2019) at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Erickson resides in Eagan, Minn., with his wife Lisa and daughters Elizabeth and Julia.