DENVER, April 13, 2021 — The Boettcher Foundation is pleased to announce that Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis has been appointed to the Board of Trustees. A Colorado Springs native, Justice Kourlis’ accomplished legal career spans more than 40 years in both rural and urban Colorado.
Comprised of Colorado’s most dynamic business and community leaders, Boettcher Foundation Trustees are responsible for supporting and guiding the Foundation in its mission to support the promise of Colorado and the potential of Coloradans.
“Throughout her career, civic, and personal life, Justice Kourlis has demonstrated exceptional commitment to service and leadership,” said President & CEO Katie Kramer. “She has a passion for Colorado and understands the opportunities and challenges we face in communities of all sizes across our state.”
Kourlis said she chose to join the Boettcher Foundation Board of Trustees because of the organization’s mission and history of impacting communities and individuals in Colorado.
“The Boettcher Foundation exemplifies a commitment to Colorado’s past, present, and future in deep and meaningful ways,” said Kourlis. “I am proud to be part of that team.”
Justice Kourlis is the founder and former executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver, a national, nonpartisan ‘think-do’ tank, as she describes it, dedicated to improving the legal system.
In addition, Justice Kourlis was one of only five lawyers in the northwestern Colorado town of Craig before working as a trial court judge and eventually becoming the third woman to serve on the Colorado State Supreme Court. She valued her time on the bench for giving her the opportunity to improve the efficacy and fairness of the American legal system.
Justice Kourlis earned a BA in English Literature with distinction from Stanford University, graduating in 1973. She attended the Stanford School of Law and received her JD in 1976. She has also received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Denver College of Law.
Justice Kourlis has received many accolades for her work, including the American College of Trial Lawyers’ Samuel E. Gates award in 2016; the American Bar Association Justice Center’s John Marshall award in 2012; and the Leader of Democracy award from the League of Women Voters in Colorado in 2015. In 2011, she published her book Rebuilding Justice: Civil Courts in Jeopardy and Why You Should Care.
Kourlis and her husband, Tom – a businessman and cattle and sheep rancher – have three children. She is the daughter of former Colorado Gov. John A. Love.
About the Boettcher Foundation:
At Boettcher, we believe in the promise of Colorado and the potential of Coloradans. Every day we champion excellence across our state by investing in our most talented citizens and high-potential organizations, because supporting their hard work and leadership will enable them to give back for years to come.
