Yvonne Peña
Public Benefits and Housing Policy Analyst
Joined CSS: 2010
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Departments & Programs
Housing Policy
Bio
As a public benefits and housing policy analyst, Yvonne supports CSS’s research on public benefits and housing programs for low-income New Yorkers. She also conducts training courses on federally subsidized housing programs, housing subsidies, and various housing systems. Prior to joining the Policy, Research & Advocacy team, Yvonne spent 8 years with CSS’s Benefits Plus Learning Center (BPLC) where she developed and facilitated trainings for social service professionals on housing programs. She also authored and edited the housing chapters within Benefits Plus Online, BPLC’s searchable online resource manual on over 80 different federal, state and local benefit programs.
Yvonne joined CSS as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program’s (RSVP) Financial Advocacy Program. With the Financial Advocacy Program, Yvonne provided training, technical assistance, and ongoing support to older adult volunteers serving as public benefit counselors deployed throughout NYC. After completing her AmeriCorps year of service, Yvonne became a part of CSS’s Experience Corps literacy program, where she managed the day-to-day operations and implementation of the program in one of NYC’s public school for three years. After Experience Corps, Yvonne returned to CSS’s RSVP, where she assisted with the recruitment and placement of older adult volunteers at over 300 partner organizations until she joined the BPLC team in 2016.
Yvonne holds a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College’s Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in political science and business management from Stony Brook University.
Recent Publications by Yvonne Peña
