Alison Cook-Davis is Associate Director for Research at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, a statewide leader for independent, consequential public policy research and knowledge exchange. In her role, she has led research and evaluation projects that inform understanding of policy issues facing Arizona.  Key areas of focus include housing affordability, housing and support of vulnerable populations (e.g., neurodiverse and SMI populations), the heat and health policy analysis and household impacts of extreme heat during COVID-19 among communities of color, voting in Arizona among younger demographics, and evaluation of community-led impacts of the Maryvale One Square Mile initiative.

In October 2023, Morrison Institute became the ASU home of the Arizona Research Center for Housing Equity and Sustainability (ARCHES), and Dr. Cook-Davis assumed the co-director role with her University of Arizona partner, Kenny Wong, Drachman Institute. The HUD-funded Center of Excellence focuses on housing research that is place-based and solution-oriented to provide options and inform challenges of housing access, climate-adaptation, and health impacting Hispanic and other underserved communities within Arizona the southwest. ARCHES is a collaboration of ASU, U of A, NAU, and University of New Mexico along with community partners and stakeholders to inform the housing challenges faced by the state and the region.

Cook-Davis holds a Doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She also earned Master’s in Legal Studies from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and with Honors from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology