Kate Cooney

Kate Cooney is a Senior Lecturer in Social Enterprise and Management and Founding Director of the Inclusive Economic Development Lab. She teaches classes on community economic development in US Cities, including an award-winning interdisciplinary clinic on affordable housing co-taught with faculty from Yale Law School and Yale School of Architecture.

Kate Cooney's research uses institutional theory to study the intersection of business and social sectors. Current work focuses on the design mechanisms for social finance, inclusive economic development strategies in the American city, and data visualization and storytelling for the social sector.  She has studied commercialization in the nonprofit sector, hybrid organizational design models for social enterprise, and employer-linked workforce development programs.  She has expertise in ethnographic and qualitative research methods and community-engaged action research models. For many years, Kate served on the Board of Directors of Dwight Hall at Yale, Center for Public Service and Justice.