March 2010
Dear Members of the Colorado GLBT Bar Association:
Welcome to 2010! We write to update you on your bar association and to invite you to renew your membership. Online membership applications are available on our website, www.coloradoglbtbar.org.
Our Winter Social was held on Thursday, January 21st, and we were happy to see so many familiar and new faces. A new membership year began January 1, and paid 2010 members attended without additional charge. Now is the time to renew your membership for 2010. Benefits of membership include: professional networking opportunities such as our Spring Social and Summer Judicial Reception, continued receipt of our email dispatches, and opportunity for active participation in our education and outreach efforts. Our 2010 annual events will include:
- Spring Social – April
- Judicial Reception – June
- Seventh Annual Awards Dinner – September
At the Winter Social, we were pleased to introduce a new board for 2010:
President: Liz Titus
Vice President: Eric Kuhn
Secretary: Jess Boynton
Treasurer: Kevin Bemis
Immediate Past President: Jason Cobb
Special Events: Susie Roh and Sarah Hall
Center’s Legal Director/CBA Liaison: Mindy Barton (ex officio)
University of Denver Student Rep: Susan Summers
University of Colorado Student Rep: Jon Corrigan
Judicial Endorsements: Jason Prussman and Katina Banks
Community Outreach: Andy McCallin
Website/Listserv: Monica Marquez
At Large: Ryann Peyton
Al Large: Alyssa Yatsko
In 2009, our bar association continued to build on the successes of the previous years. Under the leadership of 2009 President Jason Cobb we grew our membership, saw increased participation at our events, and worked hard to increase our presence within the Colorado and national legal communities.
Last year, our Judicial Endorsement Committee, headed by Chair Jason Prussman, interviewed candidates and made endorsements for a number of judicial vacancies in Colorado’s County, District and Appellate Courts – many of which were appointed. Many thanks to our members who joined Jason for these interviews. Jason and his new Co-Chair Katina Banks look forward to increased member participation in 2010. Subcommittees are typically organized in short order following vacancy announcements, and notifications are sent to the membership through the listserv (don’t miss them by failing to renew!). If you have interest in serving on a future committee or have questions, please contact Jason Prussman at jason.prussman@huschblackwell.com or Katina Banks at banks.katina@dorsey.com.
And speaking of judges, our members had the opportunity to interact with many newly appointed and veteran judges at the Summer Judicial Reception, an event presented annually at the lovely home and gardens of Milo Gonser and Steve Kiley. As in years past, the reception was well attended by jurists from all levels of the Colorado state and federal benches and was our best attended event, aside from our annual award dinner.
In the last year, also we worked closely with the Colorado Campaign for Inclusive Excellence, including sponsoring its second national-caliber legal diversity summit in March. Last July, Andy McCallin and CCIE Director Kathleen Nalty traveled to Chicago testify for the ABA’s Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Group (―SOGI‖). SOGI has existed for two years and was taking public testimony regarding discrimination in the legal profession. In the upcoming year, the Colorado GLBT Bar Association intends to remains active in a CCIE programs to continue its progress is creating a more diverse legal community.
We continue to work closely with the Center’s Legal Advocacy Program (formerly known as ―CLIP‖) in promoting our attorneys and their practices. We are again a sponsor of the Center’s marquee event, Jokers, Jewels and Justice, which brings together a large cross-section of political leaders, business persons, and advocates in promoting the principles of equality in the law and equal access for GLBT persons. In 2009, the Center and its legal Director Mindy Barton worked hard on a number of legal initiatives and cases for the benefit of the GLBT community, including the new designated beneficiary law. After passage, the Center launched an educational campaign aimed at helping people take advantage of the new law.
Both University of Colorado and the University of Denver and law students are the source of our profession and bar association’s renewal. By having both CU and DU GLBT student groups represented on our board, we actively seek opportunities to support their efforts on campus, and to provide mentoring. In 2008 and 2009, Annual Awards Dinner was held at DU. And despite the challenging economy, the attendance of 2009 Annual Awards Dinner reached record levels – due in no small part to our featured speaker Laramie Police Chief Dave O’Malley, and awardees Deputy Attorney General Monica Marquez for GLBT Outstanding Attorney of the Year and Brandi Lynn Nieto and Robb Miller of the Weld County District Attorney’s Office as the 2009 Outstanding Allies of the year.
In 2010, we endeavor to build on our successes of the past years. In seeking to remain relevant and visible, we will be asking everyone’s help in promoting GLBT values at a personal level. For your bar association, this means: making sure you’ve renewed your own membership, asking your acquaintances to become fully-fledged members, gathering a table of friends to attend an event, joining a judicial endorsements subcommittee, offering the Colorado GLBT Bar Association as potential partner to your other professional networks, approaching your firm about sponsoring the Annual Awards Dinner, or gathering a table of friends to attend the dinner together.
We have not forgotten that this organization had its origins in — and has been sustained by — the dedication of committed GLBT legal professionals standing up for one another and claiming their place of leadership in the profession and community. We welcome your ideas and suggestions, and look forward to working with you in 2010.
Very truly yours,
The Colorado GLBT Bar Association Board
