Andrew Romanoff - Early Life, Education and Career

Early Life, Education and Career

Romanoff was raised in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Columbus Academy. He has a Democratic mother and a Republican father, a twin sister, and a border collie named Zorro. Romanoff's full name is Harlan Andrew Romanoff but he prefers to be known by his middle name. His mother "Cap" (née Gayle) was a social worker and his father Marvin was a judge. Andrew’s grandparents worked for Project Hope, bringing medical supplies and treatment to Africa and Latin America. Romanoff took an early interest in civil rights. As a student, he learned about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s efforts to combat Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups. The Center’s Klanwatch Project and a state civil rights agency became two of his first employers.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at Yale University, Romanoff taught English in rural high schools in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. After coming home, he earned a Master's degree in public policy from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a law degree at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Romanoff worked in the private sector, as a senior associate at the Colorado consulting firm of Greenberg Baron Simon & Miller, before accepting a job with Gov. Roy Romer. He worked in the Office of Policy and Initiatives, analyzing state and national proposals for education reform.

Romanoff has taught at the University of Colorado, the Community College of Aurora, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Red Rocks Community College. He has served on the boards of the Center for Women’s Employment and Education, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, Colorado Common Cause, and the Colorado Health Foundation; headed two neighborhood groups; and mentored at-risk students through Denver Kids.