As a Research Fellow in the Asset Building Program, Rourke O’Brien concentrates on policies aimed at promoting economic self-sufficiency for low- and moderate-income families. Mr. O'Brien's current research projects include analyzing the economic behavior of low income families, specifically to determine how public assistance eligibility and informal lending networks influence savings. He also contributes to the program’s policy work on reforming and expanding the use of 529 college savings plans and designing saving and behavior incentives for low-income families.

Mr. O’Brien holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies from Harvard University and is currently a doctoral student in sociology and social policy at Princeton University, where he is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. His writing on issues related to saving, asset building, and economic independence has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Christian Science Monitor, among others.