President of the Institute
Michael is the President of the Advance Colorado Institute. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of Colorado Rising Action and the State Director of Americans for Prosperity - Colorado. He brings years of nonprofit, educational, and legislative experience. He has served as a policy aide at the Colorado State House and also as a press aide for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. He taught both elementary and middle school at a charter school in Aurora – later serving as the governing board president of that school. He is a FOX31 Denver political analyst, as well as an adjunct professor of American Politics. Michael graduated from Valparaiso University and earned his J.D. from University of Colorado – Boulder. He and his wife, Mele, and their four children live in Parker.
Senior Policy Analyst
Kristi is the Senior Policy Advisor at the Advance Colorado Institute. She is the former Chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party -- the first woman to be elected in 40 years and the youngest Chair in Colorado Republican history. Kristi is a constitutional attorney, focusing on First Amendment and Equal Protection issues and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a former Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a current board member of the Boy Scouts' Greater Colorado Council and the Colorado Family Life Center. As the former managing editor of a news site, Kristi tutors 4th-6th graders in grammar and writing and is a guest host for the Dan Caplis Show on 630 KHOW. She lives with her family in Douglas County.
