Polis, Jared, 1975-

<p>Governor Polis is an entrepreneur, education leader, and public servant. He started his first business, American Information Systems, while in college out of his dorm room. By the time he was 30, he’d launched three successful companies, including ProFlowers, one of the world’s leading online flower retailers. Jared’s pioneering role in the internet economy earned him an “Entrepreneur of the Year” distinction from Ernst and Young.</p>

<p>Following these business success, Governor Polis committed himself to making sure other Coloradans had the opportunity to pursue their dreams. He co-founded Techstars, a startup accelerator that mentors entrepreneurs from all walks of life, and Patriot Boot Camp, which helps veterans start their own small businesses after coming home from their service.</p>

<p>In addition to his career as an entrepreneur, much of Governor Polis’ adult life has been focused on improving public education. He served six years on the State Board of Education, where he worked to raise pay for teachers and reduce class size for students. He also founded several public charter schools for at-risk youth, and served as superintendent of one of them, the New America School, which helps immigrants earn their high school diploma.</p>

<p>Jared Schutz Polis (/ˈpoʊlɪs/; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur and businessman, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007 and five terms as the United States Representative from Colorado's 2nd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. He was the only Democratic member of the libertarian conservative Liberty Caucus and was the second-wealthiest member of the United States Congress, with an estimated net worth of $313.5 million. He was elected governor of Colorado in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Walker Stapleton.</p>

<p>As an openly gay man, Polis has made history several times through his electoral success. In 2008, he became the first same-sex parent elected to the United States Congress. In 2018, he became the first openly gay person and second openly LGBT person (after Kate Brown of Oregon) elected governor of a state in the United States. He is also the first Jew to be elected governor of Colorado. In 2020, he became the first U.S. governor to be engaged to a same-sex partner and they wed in 2021.</p>

<p>Polis is the son of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz, founders of greeting card and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. He was born at Boulder Community Hospital in Boulder, Colorado in 1975. He lived in San Diego, California as a high school student, graduating from La Jolla Country Day School in three years with multiple honors. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in politics in 1996, writing a 157-page senior thesis, "Paradigm Shift: Politics in the Information Age", under the supervision of Carol M. Swain. While at Princeton, Polis served as communications director of the undergraduate student government and was involved in other campus organizations, such as Model Congress and the Princeton Juggling Club. In 2000, he legally changed his surname to his mother's to raise awareness for a fundraiser and because he simply "liked it better".</p>

POLIS, Jared, a Representative from Colorado; born in Boulder, Boulder County, Colo., May 12, 1975; A.B., Princeton University, Princeton, N. J., 1996; business owner; entrepreneur; member of the Colorado state board of education, 2001-2007; chairman of the Colorado state board of education, 2004-2005; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Eleventh and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2009-January 3, 2019); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress in 2018; Governor of Colorado, 2019-present.