Nicolas P. Retsinas

Nicolas P.
Retsinas is a Senior Lecturer in Real Estate at the Harvard Business School where he teaches courses in housing finance and real estate in frontier markets.
Mr. Retsinas is also Director Emeritus of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, a collaborative venture of the Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Lecturer in Housing Studies at the Graduate School of Design.
Prior to his Harvard appointment, Retsinas served as Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and as Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.
Mr. Retsinas also served on the Board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
He received a Meritorious Service Award from the US Treasury Department in 1997.
He also received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Rental Housing Association in 1998 and the Housing Leadership Award from the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2001.
Mr. Retsinas also served the State of Rhode Island as the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation from 1987 to 1993.
He received his master’s degree in city planning from Harvard University and his AB in economics from New York University.
In 2008, he received an honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Rhode Island College.
Mr. Retsinas serves on the Board of Trustees for Enterprise Community Partners, and is on the Board of Directors of Community Development Trust, Inc., Freddie Mac, and the Center for Responsible Lending.
He chairs the Providence Housing Authority and is a past Chair of the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity International.
In 2012, Homes: Pathways to Housing and Homeownership in America’s Cities and States (2007).
He is a Fellow at the National Academy for Public Administration.