Lei Ding is the Community Development Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Ding was initially trained as a mechanical engineer, but his strong interest in social science led him to pursue a Ph.D. in public policy, work as a senior research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2005-2009) and later as a faculty member in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State University (2009-2013). He joined the Community Development and Regional Outreach Department at the Philadelphia Fed in 2013, conducting research and managing projects on housing and community development topics.

Ding is a well-known expert on access to credit, housing policy, and gentrification and neighborhood change. He has published numerous articles on the topics of mortgage finance, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), neighborhood change, and property tax. His recent research on the consequences of gentrification and the effects of the CRA has drawn significant attention from policymakers, practitioners, and the media. It has led to the publication of numerous research articles and has been covered by outlets that include CNN, Bloomberg, NPR, and other major media outlets. Ding has also worked in the public policy arena and contributed to the interagency update to CRA regulation from 2019 to 2022.

Ding has a Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tsinghua University.