Sonya Jaquez Lewis

Sonya Jaquez Lewis is an American politician serving as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 17th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party and resides in Lafayette, Colorado. Previously, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 12th district in Boulder County.

Early life and education
Sonya Jaquez Lewis was born to Georgia and Robert Lewis in Charlotte, North Carolina, in c. 1956-1957.

Lewis graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1981. She was a member of Alpha Chi Sigma and on the board of directors of WXYC.

Local politics
Lewis was elected to the Campus Governing Council in 1977 and 1979. She placed third in the initial round of the 1978 student president election. She was appointed to Carrboro, North Carolina's town planning board in 1980.

Lewis announced her campaign for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on September 16, 1981, but later withdrew in favor of incumbent aldermen, who were fellow members of the Carrboro Community Coalition. She was appointed to the Durham County Women's Commission by the county board of commissioners in 1987, and later became its chair. During the 1990 senatorial election she was county coordinator for Harvey Gantt's campaign in Durham County. She worked for his campaign during the 1996 election.

Lewis served as an at-large delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention from Colorado and from Colorado's 2nd congressional district in 2012 and 2016.

State legislature
During Lewis' tenure in the state house she served on the Public Health Care and Human Services committee and as vice-chair of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee. She is a member of the LGBTQ Caucus.