In 2006, Jamie Van Leeuwen was appointed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper as the project manager for Denver’s Road Home, the city’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. In its first three years, the initiative has generated $38 million in new resources for the homeless, reported an 11% reduction in overall homelessness and a 36% reduction in chronic homelessness. In 2007, Jamie also was appointed to chair the Drug Strategy Commission and oversee the Office of Drug Strategy, which launched a community-wide strategic plan in summer 2008 to close Denver’s treatment gap.

Prior to his role in the public sector, Jamie directed fundraising, legislative work and research as the director of development and public affairs at Urban Peak, a Colorado nonprofit agency serving homeless and at-risk youth. During his tenure at Urban Peak, he was appointed to serve a two-year term on the National Council for Youth Policy for the National Network of Youth. Jamie has served as an associate faculty member at Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Denver and in 2008 was appointed to the faculty of the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Health.

Jamie’s community involvement includes serving on the Capitol Hill United Neighborhood Board and the Level One Health Board. He is also active as a national and international researcher and presenter.

Jamie completed his PhD in public policy at the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. He has a master’s degree in international public health and a master’s degree in sociology from Tulane University.