Sarah Gillespie is associate vice president for metropolitan housing and communities policy at the Urban Institute. Her research focuses on housing and homelessness, particularly examining how these issues intersect with criminal justice, health, and child welfare systems.

Gillespie is leading a seven-year experimental evaluation of a supportive housing pay-for-success initiative in Denver, targeting frequent users of emergency services and the criminal justice system. She also studies alternatives to arrest for people experiencing homelessness through mixed-methods evaluations in Denver and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Additionally, her research includes an evaluation of the impact of expanding supportive housing on Medicaid use and costs in Colorado.