Heidi Aggeler

Managing Director and Co-Founder

Heidi co-founded Root Policy Research to further the role of applied research in community planning. She enjoys thinking about how markets respond to public policy, and is committed to helping clients address ever-changing economic, housing, and community development needs.

Heidi started her research and consulting career as an economic analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis after graduating from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. She is a former member of the Denver Planning Board and is a frequent presenter on housing policy. She has been an invited speaker for the American Planning Association (APA), Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (RMLUI), National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED), and National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).

Heidi loves spending time with her human and (rescued) canine family members, and is an enthusiast of distance running, backpacking, skiing, and classical guitar. She is confused by sports references, goat yoga, and reality TV.

Mollie Fitzpatrick

Managing Director and Co-Founder

Mollie is a housing policy expert, socioeconomic data nerd, and equity enthusiast. She co-founded Root Policy Research to help public sector clients understand their housing and community development challenges and develop meaningful policy actions to improve communities. Mollie also has expertise in public sector fiscal and economic impact studies, as well as childcare and human services needs assessments.

Mollie holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Colorado Denver and a somewhat unrelated bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences from Texas A&M.

Outside of work, Mollie enjoys failing at maintaining a Colorado lifestyle. Instead, she allocates extensive time and mental energy to raising three small humans with the enduring partnership of a dry-witted husband.

Avilia Bueno

Associate

Avilia is a labor economist and is passionate about how we construct communities and the implications our neighborhoods and surroundings have on life outcomes. Originally from the mountainous desert of El Paso/Ciudad Juárez, Avilia is fluent in Spanish and enjoys analyzing complex relationships with the help of data.

Avilia holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Marketing as well as a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Texas: El Paso. She is currently in the final death throes of a dissertation at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is finalizing her PhD in Economics.

Prior to joining Root Policy, she held a number of positions at the University of Colorado Boulder, varying from teaching Microeconomics to working with the College of Arts and Science on research projects. She also worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas as a Senior Research Analyst, conducting research on the U.S.-Mexico border economy.

She enjoys spending time with her family in Mexico, Colorado beer, and taking her dog “Zia” on road trips.

Julia Jones

Associate

Julia is passionate about providing accessible information to inform solutions to complex issues in the communities that she serves. She brings a keen sense of understanding to the technical and underlying issues that permeate affordable housing policy and implementation. With a background in Urban Planning, Julia brings a unique perspective to her areas of interest which include housing policy, equitable community development, fair housing issues, and the intersection of land use planning and housing affordability.

Julia received her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), the American Planning Association Colorado Chapter, and serves on the Housing Colorado Young Professionals Committee.

When she is not in the office on East Colfax, Julia is either at home rehabilitating troubled cats or being humbled by oil paints at the Art Students League of Denver.

Frankie Lewington

Research Associate

Frankie is a public policy analyst passionate about using his technical and engagement skills to further communities’ affordable housing and equitable development goals. With more than five years of experience at the local and regional government levels in policy analysis, community engagement, and strategic communications, Frankie brings a well-rounded understanding of how to approach land use and housing challenges to arrive at impactful, community-driven solutions.

Frankie received his Bachelor’s degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management from the University of Oregon and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Certificate in Tribal Relations from Portland State University.

Outside of the office, Frankie enjoys running the neighborhoods of Denver, brewing semi-drinkable beer from his kitchen, and navigating the emotional hills and valleys of being a Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns supporter.

Lucy McGehee

Research Associate

Lucy is a sociologist interested in how neighborhoods shape individuals and how individuals shape their neighborhoods. Her background in both qualitative and quantitative research enables a rich understanding of data that centers around the lived experience of individuals and their families.

Before joining Root, Lucy received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the American University in Washington, D.C. and a Master of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Oxford where she studied evictions in London. She also worked in her home state of Iowa as a paralegal assisting low-income tenants with eviction filings—an experience that has informed her comprehensive understanding of the origins of displacement and its consequences.

On the weekends you can find her pizza-ing down green ski runs, enjoying the shade on hiking trails outside of Denver, and hanging out with her cat Willow.

Vanessa Bramante

Research Associate

Vanessa is a policy analyst interested in the way in which policies create barriers to housing and education opportunities. Before joining Root, Vanessa received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy at Salem State University and a Masters degree in Global Thought from Columbia University. She worked with the University as a Research Assistant to determine community perspectives on sharks and seals at Cape Cod, giving her a greater understanding of synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data to determine public opinion. She also worked as a grassroots advocate to expand access to higher education.

You can find her binge watching Friends, shopping, or ranting insistently about her love for sharks.