Managing Director, BuildStrong Foundation

Jamie Van Leeuwen, PhD, MA, MPH, is a distinguished leader and advocate in public policy, community development, and social justice. He is the Managing Director of the BuildStrong Foundation focusing on affordable housing and workforce development. He is the principal and founder of Bucephalus, a best practices community development and social impact firm and is the Chief of Philanthropic Partnerships at Fathom working to convene the voices of society to ensure a successful transition to a world with AI.

He is also the founder and former CEO of the Global Livingston Institute (GLI), a non-governmental organization in East Africa that engages students and community leaders in poverty alleviation through innovative solutions. He most recently served as the Senior Director of Youth & Community Engagement at the Emerson Collective, where he focused on cultivating and leveraging cross-sector relationships to engage young leaders in critical social issues in education, conservation, immigration, healthcare, and youth development.

With a career spanning over 15 years in public service, Jamie served as a trusted advisor to Mayor and Governor John Hickenlooper in Colorado. Jamie holds a PhD in Public Policy from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, specializing in affordable housing and homelessness. Jamie is a Fulbright scholar and an Aspen Institute Ideas Fellow.