Ellen Anderson, AICP

Ellen Anderson brings extensive experience in economic development, data analysis, and research to Market Street.  As Director of Research for Market Street, Ms. Anderson directs our research systems and trains employees on the latest methodology. Ms. Anderson has lived and worked in both urban and rural environments and is a longstanding volunteer and advocate.    

As a Project Associate, Ms. Anderson performed economic and demographic research for many clients, including work for economic development strategies for Austin, Texas; Arlington, Texas; Greenville, South Carolina; Gwinnett County, Georgia; Mandan, North Dakota; Montgomery, Alabama; Decatur, Alabama; Johnson City; Tennessee, and Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Anderson has also contributed work to a SWOT Analysis for the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina and was the lead researcher updating statewide community and economic development priorities for State of West Virginia and Vision Shared.  As Director of Research, she serves as an advisor on all of Market Street’s active projects. Ms. Anderson joined Market Street as a Graduate Research Assistant in 2005.

Ms. Anderson lives in her hometown of Chicago.  She recently contributed work to an exhibition at the Chicago History Museum exploring the linkages between Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago and a proposed regional high-speed rail network.  Before joining Market Street, Ms. Anderson worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer with Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE), a community development initiative sponsored by the University of Oregon, the State of Oregon’s Economic and Community Development Department, and the United States Department of Agriculture.  While serving as the special projects manager for a port district in rural Oregon, Ms. Anderson managed the redevelopment of a local marine park, wrote and administered grants from state and federal agencies, facilitated the port’s strategic planning process, and worked to revitalize the community’s downtown area.   While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Chicago, Ms. Anderson contributed research to the Center for Urban Research and Learning on housing market discrimination.  Ms. Anderson also actively volunteered at the Nathalie Salomon House, a Chicago Housing Authority residence for the elderly.    

She holds a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in economic development and land use, and a Bachelors degree in psychology from Loyola University, Chicago with minors in urban and women’s studies.  Ms. Anderson was certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) in 2009.