Applications now being accepted for PHFA's 2026 Housing Policy Fellowship

Two fellowships are available, each offering a $12,000 annual stipend

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With the goals of funding critical research and promoting leadership development, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today announces the opening of the application period for its 2026 Kathy A. Possinger Housing Policy Fellowship.

The fellowship will fund a maximum of 12 months of research on a pressing housing or community development topic by two policy fellows. With a monthly stipend of $1,000, the maximum funding available for each researcher will be $12,000. The financial support can be used for a variety of activities supporting the approved research, including interviews with experts, securing resources and study materials, travel for attending relevant conferences and more.

Fellowships will be awarded to two researchers with different backgrounds: one from a university setting and one from outside academia. This is expected to produce two vastly different research topics, as well as two different perspectives from the fellows guiding the research.

This fellowship is intended to benefit the housing field by underwriting research on subjects that currently present housing or community development challenges. A secondary benefit of the fellowship is its investment in an individual to promote their growth as a housing leader. The fellowship will produce documented findings that will be made publicly available for everyone's benefit.

"We plan to fund the research of two fellows again in 2026," said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. "With strong interest both inside and outside academia, we believe there is value in supporting two fellows because of the different perspectives that will be reflected in the research conducted. That, of course, benefits the state's housing industry by giving housing professionals, and the general public, access to the findings of both housing studies."

The fellowship is named for Kathy Possinger, who was a leading affordable housing advocate who served Pennsylvanians for two decades through her work in both the public and private sectors. Her service with nonprofit and government agencies provided significant contributions to the field of affordable housing and community development. This service included contributions to PHFA as a board designee and advocate.

The fellowship application is available on the agency's website. All legal residents of the state over the age of 18 are eligible to apply, excluding PHFA staff and board members. All applications will be reviewed by PHFA staff according to the fellowship criteria, which are outlined on the website.

Since its start, the Housing Policy Fellowship has been awarded to recipients with a wide variety of research interests. Their projects have included such topics as the investigation of property taxes and their impact on aging-in-place, cooperative housing models, the potential of land trusts as an affordable housing option, and the relationship between zoning and race.

The fellowship application deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, August 1, 2025.

Questions about the fellowship may be directed to Amy Sechrist at (717) 780-3945 or [email protected].

About PHFA
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $19.7 billion of funding for more than 205,147 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 110,284 rental units, distributed approximately $362 million to support local housing initiatives, and saved the homes of more than 51,400 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board.

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency