The Political Science Department is thrilled to welcome Robin Kniech as the Director of New Directions in Politics and Public Policy!
Robin Kniech comes to the New Directions program with nearly 30 years of experience in local and state government, non-profit leadership and politics and policy. She holds a J.D., has university teaching experience, and is a frequent writer and commentator on politics and policy. Robin was raised in a working-class family, the daughter of union construction and factory workers. Her background ignited her passion for fair wages and safety nets to ensure families can make ends meet and live good lives.
Robin recently completed three terms as an at-large member of the Denver City Council. Elected in 2011, she was the first out LGBTQ member to serve on council. Robin delivered bold outcomes in the areas of access to and funding for affordable housing, good paying jobs, sustainability, inclusivity and equity. She shepherded Colorado’s first local minimum wage, the highest real minimum wage in the nation when compared to cost of living, which delivered raises to hundreds of thousands of workers. She spearheaded the passage of two crucial, permanent funding streams for affordable housing and reducing homelessness across Denver which, by 2030, will provide nearly a billion dollars for these efforts. Robin also led innovations in resolving homelessness, raised standards for service workers, passed equitable zoning reforms and ensured protections and safety net benefits for immigrant workers. In late 2023 Robin was awarded a Bell Policy Center Economic Mobility Fellowship where she researches and writes extensively on the promise of land-use and zoning reforms to achieve affordability for Coloradans facing our state's housing crisis.
Robin served for a decade on the Board of Local Progress, a national network of local elected officials committed to economic and racial justice and continues to serve as a resource and trainer to elected officials through this network. She has also partnered extensively, and shares models of success, training and technical assistance, with elected leaders, labor and community organizations across Colorado's state and local governments. Robin earned her undergraduate degrees in Sociology and English with concentrations in Women's and Cultural Studies from Drake University, and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Prior to her elected service, Robin worked as a community-based economic justice Program Director leading coalition organizing and policy advocacy, in state government, and in abortion rights and anti-violence roles. She's married to her wife Katie and has a teenage son, Nathan.