Barry Zigas is a Senior Fellow at Consumer Federation of America, where he served as Director of Housing Policy 2008-2019.  He also consults with housing and community development nonprofits and foundations on strategy, innovation and leadership through his firm Zigas and Associates LLC.

Zigas was Senior Vice President at Fannie Mae from 1995-2006, where he led the company’s single family community lending initiatives, as well as corporate and regulatory reporting on the company’s housing goals, investments in CDFIs, and support for homeownership counseling and education.  He joined Fannie Mae in 1993 as Vice President for Housing Impact.

Zigas served as President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition from 1984-1993. His tenure included leading efforts to create the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the  HOME program, and expanded responsibilities for community lending at Fannie and Freddie.  He served as Associate Executive Director and other staff positions at the US Conference of Mayors from 1976-1984.  He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Grinnell College with an honors degree in history, from which he also received an Alumni Award in 2012, and he is a 1997 graduate of the Wharton School’s Advanced Management Program.

Zigas has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Mercy Housing, Inc, and Vice Chair of the Low Income Investment Fund.  He was appointed to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission in December 2011, and previously served on the Rouse-Maxwell Task Force and the Mitchell-Danforth Task Force in the 1980’s.  Mercy Housing, Inc honored him in 2017 with its Guardian Angel award for lifetime service and achievement.  Zigas was inducted into the Affordable Housing Hall of Fame in November 2017.

Zigas has served on consumer advisory councils for Bank of America, Quicken, Ocwen Financial, JPMorgan Chase, Mortgage Bankers Associates and Freddie Mac.  His articles and commentary have appeared in American Prospect, American Banker, Housing Wire, Washingtonian, and other publications, and he is frequently quoted in print and electronic media.