Gabi Velasco is a policy associate in the Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute. They are a skilled project manager, qualitative researcher, policy translator, and technical assistance provider to community-based organizations and local governments. Velasco’s work focuses on housing justice, environmental justice, and upward mobility. They are committed to integrating critical frameworks throughout their research and are particularly interested in place-based and community engaged work.

Before joining Urban, they worked with the sustainability program at the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, providing research and project management support across the state. Velasco’s work at Texas Parks and Wildlife centered on green infrastructure, resilience plans for state parks, and institutional-scale sustainability policy reform.

Velasco received a BA in sustainability studies, a BA in urban political ecology, and a minor in women’s and gender studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation, Velasco was recognized as one of the Dean’s Distinguished Graduates, the highest distinction awarded by the college. While at the University of Texas, Velasco conducted community engaged research on environmental racism, zoning, and children’s health in East Austin.