From Law School to the Legislature: Senator Dylan Roberts '16 Works to Uplift Rural Colorado

Colorado State Senator Dylan Roberts '16 has built a legislative career marked by meaningful impact. From securing historic investments for affordable housing development to lowering health care and prescription drug costs, Roberts, a third-generation Coloradan, has championed the unique needs of Colorado’s rural and mountain communities.

Roberts’ legislative career began in 2018 when he was elected state representative for Eagle and Routt counties. After serving two terms in that role, he was elected to the Colorado Senate in 2022 to represent the state’s Eighth Senate District. However, his interest in politics began far earlier, stretching back to his high school years.

“When I was in high school, my brother was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes,” Roberts shared. “He was 11 years old at the time, and that was a big change and adjustment for him and for our family,”

Around the same time, the U.S. Congress was debating bills around stem cell research. Roberts recalls being drawn to this legislation, as he knew this work could potentially lead to cures for diabetes and other diseases. While Congress passed some of these bills, former President George W. Bush ultimately vetoed them.

“That was the first time I realized that what happens in politics and government impacts my life, even in a small town in Colorado,” he said.

This interest and engagement in politics stuck with Roberts through undergrad and was sparked even further when Barack Obama began his run for president. During his campaign, Obama expressed strong support for expanding stem cell research and health care reform.

“That really inspired me,” Roberts said. “When I came back from my freshman year [of college], I started with an internship on his campaign in Denver, and they offered me the chance to stay on as a field organizer through the end of the election.”

Roberts worked as an organizer in his hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he recalls enjoying contributing to a national campaign while also making a tangible difference in the rural and mountain communities he cherished.

Today, Roberts continues to serve his community as a senator. Throughout his legislative career, he has been the prime sponsor of over 200 bills that have passed and become law, 99 percent of which received bipartisan support.

“What I love about the Colorado legislature is that it is still a place where things get done,” Roberts shared. “I can bring ideas from my district and constituents—whether it’s challenges they face or opportunities they want to pursue—down to the Capitol, write a bill, work it through the legislative process, see it signed into law, and witness it take effect and improve people's lives.”

In the Senate, Roberts has championed legislation to lower health care costs, invest in affordable housing development, cap the costs of prescription drugs, protect the state’s natural resources, and make life easier for families in mountain communities.

“My first year in the legislature, I wrote and passed a bill that made Colorado the first state to cap the cost of insulin,” Roberts said. “Since then, more than a dozen other states have passed similar laws, and the U.S. Congress capped the cost of insulin for those on Medicare. To see that small idea [that came] from my personal experience expand across the county is a top achievement of mine.”

Roberts’ accomplishments as a legislator would not have been possible without his Colorado Law education. He realized early on that if he wanted to improve the things he saw as problems across the state, he would need a law degree to help.

“I saw having a legal degree as a way to continue my public service and involvement in policy,” Roberts said. “I wanted to find a way to have a bigger voice in that, and having a degree from Colorado Law has led me to where I am now.”

“I wanted to find a way to have a bigger voice in [policy], and having a degree from Colorado Law has led me to where I am now.”

From his water law coursework with Professor Mark Squillace to his time in the Criminal Defense Clinic with Professor Ann England, Roberts’ legal education provided critical opportunities and foundational knowledge that have served him throughout his career. During his 1L year, he recalls taking on an internship at the Capitol with a state representative, an uncommon experience for first-year law students.

“At Colorado Law, I always felt supported to continue my political interest,” Roberts said. “Even though that [internship] was unique for a 1L, they were always very supportive. The time I got to spend at the legislature opened my eyes to how that building works and gave me interest in working there one day.”

After graduating from Colorado Law, Roberts became a deputy district attorney for Eagle County, supported by a Rural Prosecution Fellowship which seeks to encourage recent law school graduates to consider careers as prosecutors in rural areas of Colorado. He draws on this experience almost every day as a legislator.

“We have debated hundreds of bills related to the criminal justice system, and as the only former prosecutor I can talk about what that means,” Roberts said. “I have also been able to work with victims' groups and DAs from across the state that address problems I saw when I was deputy DA.”

From his early work as a student attorney in the Criminal Defense Clinic to his leadership at the Colorado State Capitol, Roberts exemplifies the values at the heart of the University of Colorado Law School. We are honored to count him among our distinguished alumni.