Elisabeth Epps
Colorado House District 6
Elisabeth Epps loves Denver.
Elisabeth Epps, JD, is a mother, community organizer, civil rights leader, and abolitionist who founded and serves as Executive Director of Colorado Freedom Fund. For years she has inspired, shaped, championed, and helped pass critical legislation focused on liberty, justice, and equity in Colorado. Elisabeth is the Principled, Proven, Progressive candidate for HD6.
PICTURED: Elisabeth Epps at Cheesman Park.
Herstory.
Born and raised in a Black family in the American South, Elisabeth grew up surrounded by love, but also pain. Elisabeth’s mother died of breast cancer at age 33, when Elisabeth was just 9. Her father, now retired, was a 29-year AFA-CWA union member. Elisabeth attended a dozen schools before 12th grade when she became a single parent herself at age 16.
After graduating early from high school, with a newborn baby often on her hip, Elisabeth worked dozens of jobs to make ends meets--she nannied, provided in-home child and adult care, was a bank teller, insurance underwriter, delivered phone books, worked at multiple call centers, and was a patient care coordinator at a free health clinic.
Elisabeth has worked and volunteered on many issue-based and candidate campaigns since childhood. Video of her at age 12 debating the death penalty, and letters to the editor she wrote at age 14, foreshadowed the activist she would become. She’s worked for Democrats in 4 states, including as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate and a field organizer for Colorado Democratic Party working to re-elect President Barack Obama in 2012.
Migration is a human right, and like so many of our neighbors Elisabeth moved her young family west to Colorado to pursue opportunity. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, her first job in Colorado was with the Colorado State Public Defender. After a brief challenging period of housing insecurity, during which her family lived in a coworker’s basement and in motels, Elisabeth, her son, and their ancient dog Carter eventually made their home in Denver, where her son graduated as a scholar and athlete from Denver East High School.
As is the case for many students not born to generational wealth, graduate school was not a ticket to financial freedom but instead saddled Elisabeth with crushing 6-figure student loan debt. Even after earning her law degree Elisabeth worked extra jobs--she was a cocktail waitress and hostess, she tutored, taught test prep, copy-edited, drove for a ride-share company, and did temp work to take care of her family.
Always a worker, she’s also always been a renter. Elisabeth has been uninsured, under-insured, and as a young single mom was often reliant upon critical government support for health care and food security. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley reminds us that the people who are closest to the pain, should be the people closest to the power. When it comes to issues like housing insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, and being over-policed, Elisabeth has known those challenges.
Serving Colorado’s most vulnerable.
In 2018 Elisabeth founded Colorado Freedom Fund (CFF), which works to end wealth-based detention through legislation, litigation and direct action. CFF has bought freedom for over 1000 Coloradans. Elisabeth and her team have driven thousands of miles across the state helping neighbors who were stuck in cages only because they are poor.
From 2018-2021 Elisabeth worked with ACLU of Colorado as first its Pretrial Justice Organizer and then a Smart Justice Organizer. Elisabeth helped create the Bring Our Neighbors Home campaign and worked on criminal legal issues like supporting the repeal of Colorado’s death penalty, and advocating for clemency through the Redemption campaign.
As Executive Director of Colorado Freedom Fund, Elisabeth works tirelessly in jail lobbies and courtrooms across our state to help the most vulnerable members of our community.
Herself a survivor of police violence and intimate partner violence, Elisabeth understands how cops, courts, and cages fall short in protecting victims and preventing crime.
Elisabeth has dedicated her life to keeping the most vulnerable members of our community safe, free, and healthy. She’ll take that same dedication to the Colorado State House.
Pictured from left to right: Elisabeth in Congress Park, Elisabeth with Representative Leslie Herod and Governor Jared Polis, Elisabeth at the courthouse.
