Andrea has extensive experience in social research on housing and homelessness, and is also highly experienced in other areas of social research including public policy and urban governance, with a focus on social and economic disadvantage.

 

Her highly innovative conceptual and theoretical work on residential development utilises the economic theory underlying digital transformation of the economy (Market Design/matching markets), and is a significant scholarly, public policy and practical contribution to improving housing affordability. With Tom Alves, she coined the term “deliberative development” to refer to multi-residential developments undertaken by syndicates of aspiring owner-occupiers.  On the spectrum of speculative though to deliberative development, NHL is located towards the deliberative development end.

 

Andrea helped to establish Nightingale Housing Ltd (NHL) and brought social impact investors and the Nightingale1 team together. Her ground-breaking work on development financing and the nature of settlement risk has informed the finance deals for Nightingale projects and the development of the UrBau model. She is currently an advisor to NHL.

 

Her work over the past decade has raised the profile of single older women as an emerging cohort at risk of homelessness later in life.

 

Between 2004–2008 she was an elected councillor at the City of Moreland and an influential member of council’s Urban Planning Committee. She also held responsibility for affordable housing.

 

Before returning to the university sector, Andrea worked for the Community Housing Federation of Victoria. She is the immediate past chair of WISHIN a gender specific homelessness service for single women and their children

 

She is currently a Strategy Board member of the Melbourne Housing Expo, and is working for the establishment of an equity land trust in Melbourne.