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We’re thrilled to announce Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic and thought leader on housing, urban policy, and economic equity, as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Equity Summit. Jerusalem is known for her ability to connect policy with real-world impact, and her writing deftly sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in creating equitable communities. Her keynote address will inspire us to think boldly as we build a shared movement for vibrant communities.

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Jerusalem Demsas is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she is an established voice on the housing crisis and local democracy. Her writing spans issues from infrastructure, labor economics, and federalism to race, gender, mobility, and the politics of exclusion. She is the author of On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy and is also the host of The Atlantic’s flagship policy podcast Good on Paper. She was recognized for her work in 2023 by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) with the ASME Next Award for Journalists Under 30. She was also the recipient of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council’s Insight Award for her work covering the housing crisis. Demsas was a visiting fellow with the Center for Economy and Society at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to writing at The Atlantic, Demsas was a policy journalist at Vox, where she also co-hosted the popular policy podcast The Weeds.