As director of the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets Housing Finance Program, Eric Kaplan focuses on the health, sustainability, and reform of the U.S. housing finance ecosystem. He regularly engages policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders on such issues as the roles of public and private capital, primary and secondary market dynamics, and lending and servicing practices. Mr. Kaplan brings over 25 years of housing and mortgage experience across a variety of finance, legal, and policy roles. Prior to joining Milken, Mr. Kaplan served as a managing partner at Ranieri Strategies LLC, where he worked closely with founding partner and chairman, Lewis S. Ranieri, and as head of mortgage finance at Shellpoint Partners LLC, where he established a post-crisis private label residential mortgage-backed securitization platform. He is a leading industry advocate for the creation of new and improved mortgage-backed securitization standards to enable the return of private capital as a safe and scalable source of home financing. Mr. Kaplan holds an AB in Politics from Princeton University and a JD from Boston University School of Law. He currently serves on the board of directors of MISMO and the Cameron Kravitt Foundation.