About

Charles Blain is a Houston-based researcher, writer, and commentator focused on transparent and accountable urban governance, municipal finance, and upward mobility in major metro areas.

His forthcoming book The Brotherhood Effect (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026) investigates male friendship, social capital, and the civic infrastructure communities need to thrive.

He contributed to The Future of Cities (AEI, 2023) and serves on the boards of Prison Entrepreneurship Program, The Civic, and Entre Capital. He is an appointee to the Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.