Jasneet Bains Heyward

Email: Jasneet_at_Prevention_Institute_dot_org

Jasneet Bains Heyward, MPH, MURP, works at the nexus of health equity, racial justice, and land use policy and planning. Based in PI’s Los Angeles office, her work focuses on healthy, equitable land use planning, park equity, transportation justice, and equitable public infrastructure investments through research, technical assistance/training, grantmaking, and policy advocacy. Jasneet manages the Toward Equitable Transportation and Land Use Policies project, which focuses on building the capacity of local government and policymakers to implement equitable transportation and land use policies and investments particularly for communities facing health inequities and historical disinvestment. She also coordinates the Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use Network (HEALU Network), which advocates for healthy community environments through the reduction of health disparities in built environments in Los Angeles County. Jasneet has co-authored several publications on health equity and the built environment, including a chapter titled, "Community Engagement for Health, Equity, and Sustainability" in the seminal text Making Healthy Places, 2nd Edition.

From 2020-2022, Jasneet managed the Built Environment Policy Advocacy Fund, which was local grantmaking initiative funded by First 5 LA to support policy advocacy on three built environment focus areas—parks and open space, transportation/mobility, and food security. In 2019, Jasneet managed the Powering Healthy Lives through Parks project and the development of PI’s Park Equity, Life Expectancy, and Power Building Toolkit, which shows new research about the relationship between parks/green space and life expectancy to support community-based organizations, their members, and others building power to secure equitable investments in park infrastructure in disinvested communities.

Her past experience includes work in the academic, legal, and public agency sectors on research and policy projects related to health equity, transportation equity and environmental justice. Jasneet holds a Master of Public Health, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.