Biography
Designer, strategist, and urbanist building more equitable and responsive government.
Jennifer Gardner is a creative leader, big-picture thinker, and strategic advisor working across civic design, urban planning, and public policy to promote equity and opportunity. Jennifer focuses on the ways the built environment and public policy affect social justice and quality of life—particularly the health and sustainability of communities and cities. As a designer, Jennifer is committed to collaboration, making design accessible to all, sharing knowledge, and learning while doing.
Jennifer comes to Presidential Innovation Fellows from The Lab at OPM, where as a Design Strategist, she’s helped transform government by empowering federal leaders and teams to center people’s real needs through human-centered design-led research and strategic partnership since 2020. Jennifer brings 15 years of experience working across disciplines and sectors to shape and strengthen people-centered services, programs, and products through research and evaluation, capacity building, and innovation in program design. She’s worked in New York City, nationally, and internationally with and for organizations like Gehl Architects, New York City Parks, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, City of New York School of Public Health, The National Park Service, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the United States Army, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Jennifer grew up near Washington, DC and has lived and worked in Berlin, New York, and New York’s Hudson Valley. She received her MS in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute and her BA in English Literature from Cornell University.
