Hon. Jessie M. Ulibarri (he/him) is a nationally recognized leader in democracy, public policy, community organizing, and collaborative governance with more than two decades of experience spanning government, training, movement strategy, philanthropy, and nonprofit executive leadership.
Jessie’s public service includes serving as a Colorado State Senator from Adams County, representing one of the most culturally diverse and low-income districts in the state. Over his legislative tenure, he authored and passed more than 60 bills into law, including modernizing Colorado’s election system, establishing wage theft protections and a wage enforcement division, expanding paid family medical leave, increasing affordable housing investments, protecting immigrant communities, and curbing police misconduct.
As a lifelong organizer and former elected official, his work lives in the tension between the urgency communities feel for change and the constraints public institutions operate within. His teaching draws from this dual perspective: the organizer building pressure from the outside, and the policymaker working to institutionalize change from within.
Previously, Jessie served as Co-Executive Director of the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a national organization supporting more than 2,800 state legislators advancing reproductive freedom, inclusive democracy, economic security, climate justice, and equitable governance. Earlier in his career, as Vice President of Programs and later Interim Co-Executive Director of Wellstone Action (now re:power), Jessie trained thousands of candidates, organizers, union leaders, and grassroots activists across the country, while developing core curriculum on collaborative governance, leadership development, and community organizing.
Jessie holds a Master’s of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. He serves on the national boards of Common Cause, Proteus Fund, and Community Change. He contributes regularly to national publications on democracy, governance, and civic infrastructure.