About Jamie

Jamie’s roots are directly in the west Denver community where she and her husband, Jaime, currently call home. She is a third generation Denverite, her grandmother was born in a small house in the Curtis Park neighborhood and grew up in the old Auraria Neighborhood and her grandfather grew up in Sun Valley.  Her family moved to Villa Park in the 1950’s where Jamie has now lived for over 30 years. It is her home and the community is her inspiration.

Jamie and her sister were raised by their mom who exemplified resourcefulness, strength, and vision. She worked hard to provide for and find opportunities for her children and instilled the values of hard work, thoughtfulness, and the power of community support.

Living in poverty most of her childhood and then experiencing homelessness while in her teens was a challenging time but it taught her resilience and tenacity to succeed. Her family was able to receive Section 8 housing assistance after that year-long experience.  Having secure housing truly saved Jamie and her family and gave her the opportunity to focus on education and provide a path out of poverty.

Prior to serving in Council, Jamie was the Deputy Director of the Human Rights & Community Partnerships Agency in the City and County of Denver where she helps oversee nine offices, ten community advisory commissions and a responsibility to ensure Denver is focused on the civil rights, human rights, and social justice needs of it’s residents. In addition to this role, Jamie was also the Director of the Denver Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, an office she started in 2005 because she saw a need for greater immigrant inclusion and acted on it.

In the 13 years she oversaw the Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, Jamie brought to the forefront, Denver’s need and ability to be a leader in immigrant integration. She initiated the Immigrant Integration Mini-Grant program, which brings hundreds of Denver residents together, building bonds between immigrant and non-immigrant community all over the city. This program has been replicated in three other city departments in Denver and in other cities around the country as a national best practice. Jamie, for the majority of her time leading the office, was the sole staff person carrying out advocacy, partnership development, community leadership development, policy influence and research on behalf of the residents of Denver. She is no stranger to tough battles, difficult conversations, and crafting innovative and thoughtful solutions. She looks to her communities for direct input and empowerment and walks with them toward better outcomes.

Jamie received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Colorado College and her master’s degree in Medical Anthropology from University of Colorado at Denver.  Anthropology plays a role in Jamie’s work on a daily basis. She is passionate about learning who people are, their cultural values and how they interact with challenging systems in order to create better pathways that work for the community.

Jamie received the Lena Archuleta Community Services award from the Denver Public Library, was recognized as one of Denver Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2017, and was honored by her alma mater, Colorado College, with an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. Jamie was recognized by Girls Inc. Metro Denver as an Individual Catalyst for Girls.

Jamie was a member of the Leadership Denver class of 2011 and received the Marshall Memorial Fellowship in 2009 from the German Marshall Fund. Most recently Jamie was nominated to the HOPE Binational Fellowship in 2022.