Susan Blanco is the first female Chief Judge of the 8th Judicial District of Colorado and was appointed to the bench in January 2017. She has presided over criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations, and terminations and adoptions. Prior to the bench, she served as a Deputy District Attorney, followed by over a decade in private practice with a focus on criminal defense, juvenile delinquency, and dependency and neglect.
Chief Judge Blanco earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Colorado School of Law in 2003 and is currently earning a LLM from Duke University. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado School of Law. She developed the first Competency Court in Colorado and the Latinx Task Force in Larimer County. She serves on the Chief Judge's Council, chairs the Pathways to Access Committee, co-chairs the Information Technology committee, serves as a Peer2Peer Coach, and is a commissioner on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission. She co-chairs the Colorado Bar Association’s Leadership Training program. She helped develop the “Lawyer’s Teaching for Change” program and Colorado Diverse Attorney Community Circle. She is the recipient of the 2023 CWBA Judicial Excellence Award, the 2022 CHBA Community Service Award, and the 2024 Conrad Ball Award.