Equity Policy Solutions
About
Gretchen Armijo, AICP, LEED AP
Gretchen Armijo is the founder and president of Equity Policy Solutions. She is an urban planner and public health practitioner working to improve health and equity through community development and design. For the last decade she has worked as a Built Environment specialist for both the State of Colorado and the City of Denver, where she was the first person hired to specifically connect urban planning with public health and equity in the City’s policies, plans and projects.
Gretchen’s experience includes advancing health and equity in sectors such as land use, transportation, housing, parks and recreation, access to healthy food, and climate and the environment. She uses a Health in All Policies approach which includes a focus on community engagement and the use of evidence-based strategies to increase equitable access to opportunity. Her passion is advancing the field of equitable development through writing, teaching, speaking, and translating research into practice to build healthy, prosperous and socially just communities.
What We Do
We help our clients apply an equity framework to community development policies, plans, and projects to build healthy, equitable and thriving communities. An equity framework acknowledges that historic policymaking decisions in land use, housing, transportation and the built environment resulted in disproportionate barriers to opportunity for certain groups of people. We apply research, stakeholder engagement and evidence-based best practices to dismantle barriers and expand access to opportunity and prosperity.
Who We Are
Gretchen is a Senior Fellow with the National Civic League, promoting civic engagement to build equitable, thriving communities. She also serves on the Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver Advocacy Advisory Committee. Gretchen lectures at the University of Colorado-Denver College of Architecture and Planning and is a frequent speaker at planning and public health conferences.
Gretchen is a past board member of Streetsmart and a current board member of the Historic Montclair Community Association.
Gretchen holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver and a Bachelor of American Studies from Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA.
Outside of work, Gretchen enjoys hiking, biking and skiing in the Rocky Mountains and spending time with her daughters, and will always be a golden retriever mom at heart.
Strategic Partners
