Jared Schutz Polis is an American politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was elected governor of Colorado in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Walker Stapleton. He is the son of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz, founders of greeting card and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007 and five terms as the United States Representative from Colorado’s 2nd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. In 2008, he became the first same-sex parent elected to the U.S. Congress.
About Jared Polis in brief
Jared Schutz Polis is an American politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was elected governor of Colorado in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Walker Stapleton. He is the son of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz, founders of greeting card and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007 and five terms as the United States Representative from Colorado’s 2nd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. During his tenure in Congress, Polis was among the wealthiest members of Congress, with a net worth estimated at over USD 300 million. In 2000 Polis founded the Jared Polis Foundation, whose mission is to “create opportunities for success by supporting educators, increasing access to technology, and strengthening our community.” He has also founded two charter schools, one with multiple campuses across three states and a post-secondary school, the New America College, for at-risk students. He has received many awards, including the Boulder Daily Camera’s 2007 Pacesetter Award in Education; the Kauffman Foundation Community Award; the Denver consul general of Mexico’s inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award; and the Anti-Defamation League’s inaugural Boulder Community Builder Award. In 2008, he became the first same-sex parent elected to the U.S. Congress. In 2010, he was the only Democratic member of the libertarian conservative Liberty Caucus. In 2012, he founded a number of companies and was one of the 10 richest member of Congress with Tim Gill, Pat Stryker, Rutt Bridges, and Tim Gill.
His net worth is estimated at more than $300 million. He changed his surname to his mother’s to raise awareness for a fundraiser and because he simply “liked it better’”. In 2000, he legally changed his name to ‘Polis’ to raise money for his foundation. In 2005, he and Urban Peak co-founded the Academy of Urban Learning in Denver to help youth at risk of becoming homeless or living in unstable living conditions. Polis and other investors founded TechStars in Boulder, Colorado in 2006. In 2004 he established New America School, a charter high school that primarily serves older immigrant youth ages 16–21 and has three campuses in Colorado, two in New Mexico and one in Las Vegas, Nevada. His election was the closest in Colorado history, as he defeated incumbent Ben Alexander by 90 votes out of 6 million cast. In 2006, he served as chairman and vice chairman of the Board of education and served a single-year term until January 2007, when the district was eliminated, when he was elected as chairman of both the board and vice-chairman of the Colorado School Board. In 2009, he ran for the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat, and was elected to a second term as a House member. In 2011, he won a seat in the Colorado Senate, and in 2012 he was re-elected to a third term in the Senate.
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