Rick Palacio (born November 3, 1974) is an American political executive who served as Chairman of the

Colorado Democratic Party The Colorado Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. Morgan Carroll serves as its chair. The governing body of the party is the State Central Committee, which consists of the chair and vice chair of ...

from 2011 to 2017.

Early life and education

He was born in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...

. Palacio graduated from

Regis University Regis University is a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees through 5 colleges in a variety of subjects, including education, liberal arts, business, ...

in Denver.

Career

Prior to his service as Chair, Palacio worked in a variety of roles in Colorado and national politics. Palacio held multiple roles with then-U.S. Rep.

John Salazar John Tony Salazar (born July 21, 1953) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 until 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the ...

, including Legislative Assistant and later Deputy Communications Director. In 2008, he was hired as Deputy Director of Member Service in the office of the House Majority Leader

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat, Hoyer was first elected in a special election on May 19, 19 ...

. Palacio was one of the primary Congressional staffers responsible for the repeal of

Don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on Decembe ...

. Palacio was elected Chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party on March 5, 2011. He is the first Latino in Colorado's history to hold the office of chair of a major political party, and when elected was second in the nation. Palacio served as a Senior Advisor for the John Hickenlooper 2020 presidential campaign. Palacio is the founder of PSGroup, a political and corporate consulting firm based in Denver, Colorado. In April 2020, Palacio joined

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP is a lobbying and law firm based in the United States with 250 attorneys and policy consultants in 13 offices across the western U.S. and in Washington, D.C. History The firm was founded in 1968 by Norman Bro ...

, a law and lobbying firm, in their State & Local Legislation & Policy Group.

Awards and recognition

*2008: 5280 Magazine's list of Colorado's Most Influential Latinos *2011: Advocate Magazine's List of 40 Under Forty *2011: Out Front Colorado's "Power" list of most Influential GLBT Coloradans *2011: Southern Colorado Equality Alliance "Pride of Pueblo" award *2015: 40 Under 40: Latinos in American Politics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palacio, Rick 1974 births Colorado Democratic Party chairs LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT people from Colorado Living people Politicians from Pueblo, Colorado