Xavier Briggs Scientist

Xavier de Souza Briggs (born 1968) is an American sociologist and planner, known for his work on social capital, civic capacity, and community building, as well as the concept of the "geography of opportunity," which addresses the consequences of race and class segregation for the well-being and life prospects of the disadvantaged. He is a member of the MIT faculty and is currently on leave, serving as vice president of the Ford Foundation. In January 2009, Briggs went on a public service leave from MIT, appointed by President Barack Obama to become Associate Director of the White HouseOffice of Management and Budget. At OMB, he oversaw policy and budget for six cabinet agencies (Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Justice, and Homeland Security) as well as the Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, and other agencies, with a discretionary budget totaling approximately $225 billion per year. He returned to the MIT faculty in August 2011. In January 2014, he went on leave anew, to join the Ford Foundation.He is Professor of Sociology and Urban Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also a former faculty member of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He was a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration, serving as a senior policy official at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.