Our
Staff
Dr Kate Raynor
Dr Kate Raynor is the Director of the Centre for Equitable Housing. Her career spans digital communication, academia and consulting, with previous roles as Post Doctoral Research Fellow and coordinator of housing research at the University of Melbourne and Principal Social Consultant at Umwelt Environmental and Social Consultants. She holds a Bachelor of Urban Planning and a PhD in Urban Planning from Queensland University of Technology.
Kate is passionate about the role of research and advocacy in supporting a more just housing system. Kate is an acknowledged thought leader and expert in social and affordable housing and has published widely in academic journals, industry reports, news media and articles. She has provided commentary across radio, tv and print media and is a regular contributor to The Conversation where her articles have reached over 160,000 viewers. She has lead research projects on older women’s homelessness, experiences of stigma and housing satisfaction in public housing, housing stress during COVID-19, access to crisis accommodation for survivors of family violence, just transitions in Australia’s renewable energy zones and perceptions of high-density housing.
She is currently a member for the City of Melbourne Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, formerly a member of the Lord Mayors Charitable Foundations Affordable Housing Challenge committee and a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Melbourne and Monash.
Lucas Lewit-Mendes
Lucas is a Research Associate at Per Capita’s Centre for Equitable Housing. He is enthusiastic about using research and evidence to bring us closer to a society with universal access to affordable and well-located housing.
Lucas previously worked at Victoria’s Department of Treasury and Finance, focusing on property tax policy. His work contributed to several tax reforms designed to improve housing affordability, including an expansion of the vacant residential land tax and the introduction of a levy on short-stay accommodation.
Lucas holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, with Honours in economics. His Honours thesis focused on evaluating the impact of a public health program on children’s education in Uganda.
In a volunteer capacity, Lucas has been involved in the evaluation of charitable programs, aiming to identify and promote programs that achieve a high social benefit per dollar.