About Us

The Center for Health, Work & Environment is an academic center within the Colorado School of Public Health. The center is one of 10 Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health® and houses the Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC), one of 18 centers of its kind supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The center team works with faculty, students, and community partners to advance worker health, safety, and well-being. We are committed to developing education, research, and public health practice initiatives that address the problems of racial and environmental inequity and injustice facing workers. To effectively address the future of work, we strive to ensure a healthier and safer workplace for all.

Main offices for the center are located at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado.

CU Anschutz Land Acknowledgement

Our signature programs


MAP ERC student standing in front of her research poster
Our Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) educates, and funds the training of, future occupational health and safety leaders. We also provide financial support for innovative pilot studies in the western United States and offer continuing education courses for professionals.
worker at her desk holding a baby in her lap
Health Links is a mentoring program that champions health and safety at work. We offer evidence-based Healthy Workplace Certification™ and advising to help organizations and their team members achieve Total Worker Health. Our deep experience as researchers and industry trailblazers informs everything we do.
sugar cane workers
Since 2016, CHWE has partnered with a multinational agribusiness in Latin America to implement Total Worker Health (TWH) principles, integrating work-related safety with the promotion of overall health and well-being. Our work has ranged from conducting multiple research and intervention studies with sugarcane workers to improve kidney health, to implementing TWH leadership trainings to enhance the health of the entire workforce in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Mexico.
construction worker wearing hard hat and gear
Our research focuses on testing new methodologies and implementing practical solutions to advance worker health, safety, and well-being. The research is interdisciplinary and designed to impact workplaces in greatest need locally and around the world, including small and medium-sized businesses and industries such as construction, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. ​
two women talking at conference
Today more than ever, organizational success factors include fostering a work culture where people feel valued and employee well-being is a central business strategy. Our Total Worker Health training programs are designed for individuals who want to create a sustainable work culture that is safe, healthy, and productive. Our programs are applicable to business owners, executives, senior managers, benefits and HR professionals, occupational health and safety professionals, and public health professionals in public and private organizations in every industry.
The center is supported by a combination of funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), philanthropic gifts, research grants, and contracts.

Center for Health, Work & Environment

Colorado School of Public Health

CU Anschutz

Fitzsimons Building

13001 East 17th Place

Suite W3111

Mail Stop B119

Aurora, CO 80045


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