Institute of Politics

Overview of Organization:

The Chicago Housing Authority serves more than 65,000 households in neighborhoods throughout the city. We are the 3rd largest housing authority in the country with a $1.4 billion operating budget that enables us to provide support to approximately 1 in every 20 Chicagoans. The average annual income of CHA-assisted households is $14,500 and 85% of households are considered extremely low income.

The intern will be placed with CHA’s Development team which is responsible supporting the development, financing and construction of new housing opportunities across Chicago neighborhoods. The CHA has over 20 active development initiatives in its pipeline and is anticipating to complete over 1,100 new homes in 2024.

Internship Summary:

This role will support the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) Development team with a wide range of initiatives related to developing new housing in communities across Chicago. The intern will gain a strong understanding of the CHA’s role in the housing development process in Chicago, and the general functioning of a large public housing authority in the United States. This is an entrepreneurial position and, depending on skills and interest, the intern will work closely with CHA colleagues to support a wide range of possible activities. All work will be related to substantive needs for specific projects, such as urban planning activities taking place for property the CHA owns in various locations. At the beginning of the placement, CHA staff will work with the intern to develop a work plan based on the intern’s skills and interests.

Responsibilities:

• Completing qualitative and quantitative research to inform housing development plans.
• Preparing public-facing documents related to the CHA’s housing development plans and activities.
• Research related to housing development such as demographic data, asset mapping, and stakeholder mapping.
• Data assembly related to CHA’s development pipeline.
• GIS mapping.
• Jurisdiction scans for housing development case studies.
• Preparing plain-language public-facing materials.
• Process mapping, identifying process improvement opportunities and creating supporting materials to improve processes.
• Other duties as assigned to support CHA’s mission and goals.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A strong interest in public housing, urban planning and zoning, architecture, land economics and real estate development, community engagement, and/or housing policy.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including interacting with a wide range of CHA staff and other stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word and Excel.
• Data management experience in Excel.
• GIS skills with ArcGIS Online, or equivalent software is a plus.

About the Supervisor:

Rishab Mehan is the Deputy Chief of Development at CHA. He has a background in urban planning and has previous experience working in the Office of the Mayor for the City of Chicago, as Chief of Staff to a Toronto City Councilor, and as a Housing Policy Planner in Toronto’s City Planning Division. He has worked with interns and in a supervisory capacity in several roles and is excited to welcome another IOP AY intern to CHA!

Eligibility:

• Undergraduate students
• Graduate students
• Domestic and international students

Location, Modality, and Commute:

Interns will have the option to attend fully in-person or hybrid. Location arrangements will be determined through consultation between intern and supervisor. In-person days will take place at CHA’s Central Office at 60 E. Van Buren Street which is served by several public transit options with an estimated typical commute of 30 minutes by bus or CTA train.

Start and End Date:

• Onboarding: November – December 2026
• Intern Work Period: January – May 2027