Join CJI in Congratulating the 2017 Judicial Excellence Awards Nominees CJI received 19 nominations for this year’s Judicial Excellence Awards. These nominations represented ten judicial districts across Colorado. We offer a big “Thank You” to everyone who submitted a nomination for taking the time to help CJI recognize these exceptional representatives of Colorado’s already impressive judiciary. The 2017 Judicial Excellence Awards Nominees are: District Court Judges The Honorable Ingrid Bakke / 20th Judicial District / Boulder County The Honorable Julie Field / 8th Judicial District / Larimer County The Honorable Shelley Gilman / 2nd Judicial District / Denver County The Honorable Morris Hoffman / 2nd Judicial District / Denver County The Honorable Julie Hoskins / 19th Judicial District / Weld County The Honorable John Popovich / 17th Judicial District / Adams County The Honorable Charles Pratt / 18th Judicial District / Arapahoe County The Honorable Carlos Samour / 18th Judicial District / Arapahoe County The Honorable Larry Schwartz / 10th Judicial District / Pueblo County County Court Judges The Honorable Gary Jackson / 2nd Judicial District / Denver County The Honorable Jenni Lynn Lawrence / 22nd Judicial District / Montezuma County The Honorable Thomas Vance / 1st Judicial District / Jefferson County Magistrates The Honorable Melanie Gilbert / 2nd Judicial District / Denver County The Honorable Frances Johnson / 4th Judicial District / El Paso County The Honorable Frances Simonet / 17th Judicial District / Adams & Broomfield Counties The 2017 honorees will be announced in June and recognized at the 2017 Judicial Excellence for Colorado Dinner on October 18, 2017, 6 p.m., at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California Street. Seats for this event will go on sale in July. CJI Welcomes New Board Members By Amy Ostheimer, Executive Director Four new CJI board members were elected at the 2017 CJI Annual Meeting on May 11th at The Palm, Denver. Please join CJI in thanking them for their service. True Apodaca True Apodaca, a native to Colorado, was the first in his family to obtain a college degree. He has been the Vice President of the gender and sexualities alliance (GSA@UCD) and remains on the Dean’s Advisory Committee. He graduated from the University of Colorado Denver summa cum laude and is currently earning his Master’s Degree in Social Sciences (MSS). In 2015, True took part in the CLLARO Capitols Fellows Program. The following legislative session he was hired by State Senator Jessie Ulibarri to be his Chief of Staff. Since that time, he has worked on various political campaigns and now is the program director for the Build the Bench Pipeline Fellowship. He is looking forward to going to law school and continuing a career in politics. Ronne Lippitt Hines Ronne Hines was appointed Director of the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) in 2016. DPO is an umbrella agency that regulates more than 50 professions and over 400,000 licensees. She is responsible for licensing nearly 15-percent of the state’s workforce and protects consumers through the enforcement of rigorous licensing standard and standards of practice. Ms. Hines has been with the Department since 2008 and most recently served as Deputy Director for Healthcare. Prior to that, Ms. Hines was a program director charged with the day-to-day operations and enforcement for six mental health regulatory boards. Previously, Ms. Hines was an attorney in private practice. She holds a Master in Public Administration from the University of Colorado-Denver, earned her J.D. from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver and a Bachelor in Philosophy. John Sosville John Sosville is the President and Co-founder of LawCFO. John developed the LawCFO business model to expand his expertise in managed services to include CFO, accounting and billing services. Prior to starting LawCFO, he worked in strategic business development, marketing and management at several companies. As Executive Vice President of Envision IT Partners his management of all aspects of Sales and Marketing resulted in exponential growth of the company. John’s core strengths are his relationship building, negotiation and management skills which are driven by his broad industry, functional and cultural experiences. He thrives on challenges as he works closely with executive teams facing the complexities of executing on strategic initiatives. John earned his undergraduate degree from Ft. Lewis College. He also attended the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce International du Pas de Calais (ESCIP) in Longuenesse, France. Shannon Stevenson Shannon Stevenson is a partner at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where she chairs the firm’s Trial Department and serves on the Executive Committee. She has litigated, tried, and arbitrated a wide variety of cases for clients in the energy, natural resources, and construction industries. In 2014, Ms. Stevenson was appointed to the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. She has served on the board of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association since 2008, including as its President in 2013-2014 and serves on the Denver Bar Association’s Board of Trustees. Ms. Stevenson earned her B.A and J.D. from Duke University, graduating from law school magna cum laude and Order of the Coif. Following law school, Ms. Stevenson clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Honorable David M. Ebel. Cynthia Ophaug‐Johansen Colorado Judicial Institute 303‐766‐7501 [email protected] www.ColoradoJudicialInstitute.org .