Chris Romer - Biography

Biography

Born in Denver, the son of former Colorado governor Roy Romer, Romer graduated from Graland Country Day School and Denver's East High School and then attended Stanford University, earning a bachelor's degree in economics.

Mr Romer worked as a financial consultant focusing on biomass energy plants and transit development projects such as Denver Union Station. Romer has worked as a public finance banker with JPMorgan Chase, working on public projects including the Denver International Airport, Children's Hospital, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, National Jewish Medical and Research Center and FasTracks. While at JPMorgan Chase, Romer was the lead banker on bond deals implicated in a pay-to-play investigation surrounding New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; The investigation was concluded without any action or charges. Romer himself was never accused of wrongdoing.

In late 2008, Romer left his position at JPMorgan Chase to work with the Knowledge is Power Program, a Denver network of charter schools. He was named the group's president in December 2008.

At the age of 28, Romer founded the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, a non-profit providing mentoring and scholarships to at-risk children; he has also served as its president. He has chaired the Colorado Children's Campaign and served on the boards of the Denver School of Science and Technology, the Metropolitan State College of Denver Foundation, and Open World Learning, as well as Denver's New America Schools, where he spent two years as a volunteer superintendent. He was also a founder and president of Great Education Colorado which advocates for improved funding of Colorado schools and promotes education reform; in 2006, the group proposed an increase in severance taxes provide funding for public schools, but the measure was never placed on the statewide ballot.

Romer was also a leader behind Colorado's Amendment 23, a ballot measure approved by voters in 2000 which guarantees state funding levels for Colorado public schools, and a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission.