Xavier de Souza Briggs

Vice President Economic Opportunity and Markets, Ford Foundation

Xavier de Souza Briggs is Vice President of the Ford Foundation’s Economic Opportunity and Markets program. He leads the foundation’s work promoting economic fairness, advancing sustainable development, and building just and inclusive cities. He oversees regional programming in China, Indonesia, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Xav is a former professor of sociology and urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and former head of MIT’s Housing, Community, and Economic Development Group. Xav holds an engineering degree from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in sociology and education from Columbia University.