State Rep. Clarice Navarro, R-Pueblo, on the House floor Monday (with House Majority Leader Brian DelGrosso in the background) is one of four Colorado legislators chosen as state directors of the non-partisan Women in Government organization. (Photo by Joey Bunch, The Denver Post)
Four members of the Colorado legislature have been named state directors for Women in Government, the in statehouses across the country.
Reps. Clarice Navarro, R-Pueblo, Su Ryden, D-Aurora, Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, and Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, were chosen by the organization’s board of directors.
“I’m honored to be a part of such an outstanding group of women leaders in America,” said Navarro. “Encouraging women to become actively involved in politics is a passion of mine, and this group certainly offers the platform to continue my work of empowering women across the great state of Colorado.”
Colorado is among the nation’s leaders — tied for first with Vermont — for the number of women in its statehouse. Thirty of the 65 members of the House and 12 of the 35 members of the Senate this term are women, the highest ratio of female legislators in Colorado history. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst of Boulder became the first Democratic female to serve as speaker of the House, 12 years after Republican Lola Spradley of Beaulah became the first woman to do so. The Democrats, for the first time, are led by two women in the House, with Duran as House majority leader.
The four state directors and the Westin Denver Downtown hotel will host the organization’s 18th annual Western Regional Conference May 14-16.
“This is a great opportunity to mesh my love for economic prosperity in Colorado, and to welcome some of the best and brightest women from around the nation to Colorado,” Navarro said regarding the conference. “The conference will have a beneficial economic impact”.
