Kristin Blagg is a principal research associate in the Work, Education, and Labor Division at the Urban Institute. Her research spans K–12 and higher education, with a focus on funding and finance policy. In higher education, Blagg has studied student loans, federal and state grant aid, student basic needs, and measurement of return on investment. In K–12 education, she has led work on measuring student economic disadvantage, funding formulas, and projecting the long-run returns on educational investments.

Blagg holds a BA in government from Harvard University, an MSEd from Hunter College, an MPP from Georgetown University, and a PhD in public policy and public administration from the George Washington University.