Susan Blanco

Chief Judge Susan Blanco is the first female to serve as the Chief Judge of the 8th Judicial District of Colorado (Larimer and Jackson Counties).  She was appointed to the bench in January 2017 where she has presided over criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations, adoptions, and appeals.  She also presides over specialty and problem-solving court dockets including the Competency Court, Wellness Court, and Veteran’s Court.  Prior to the bench, she served as a Deputy District Attorney followed by a decade in private practice in criminal defense and as a guardian ad litem for children and vulnerable adults.     

Chief Judge Blanco has earned an LLM from Duke, JD from the University of Colorado School of Law, and B.S. from Colorado State University.  She currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado School of Law and previously taught for the School of Social Work at Colorado State University.

Chief Judge Blanco is dedicated to the advancement of access and inclusivity for those served by the courts. Through her community engagement and leadership, she pioneered the first Competency Court in Colorado and launched the first Veteran’s Court in the 8th Judicial District. Chief Judge Blanco also developed the 8th Judicial District’s Latinx Task Force and has served as a Commissioner on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission since 2020.  Chief Judge Blanco currently serves on the board for Bridges of Colorado as well as the Institute for the Advancement for the American Legal System. 

For the Judicial Branch, Chief Judge Blanco serves as Co-Chair of the Chief Judge's Council, chairs two standing committees to the Colorado Supreme Court: The Pathways to Access Committee and The Information Technology Committee.  In addition, she chairs the Digital Courts and Records Committee and the Advisory Committee on Language Access.  Chief Judge Blanco serves on the Executive Council for Peer 2 Peer Coaching and the Criminal Model Jury Instruction Committee.  

Outside of her work for the Judicial Branch, Chief Judge Blanco has served on the Colorado Women’s Bar Association’s Board of Directors and helped create their “Lawyer’s Teaching for Change” program.  She has served on the Colorado Bar Association’s Executive Council, Judicial Section, and Criminal Law Executive Council. She was a founding board member of the Colorado Bar Association’s Diverse Attorney Community Circle and serves as a co-chair of the Colorado Bar Association’s leadership training program, COBALT.  She is a founding member of Colorado’s Middle Eastern North African Bar Association. 

Chief Judge Blanco is a Tedx Speaker and the recipient of the 2025 Colorado Judicial Institute’s Judicial Excellence Award, 2024 Conrad Ball Award, 2023 CWBA Judicial Excellence Award, and 2022 Colorado Hispanic Bar Association Community Service Award.  Under her leadership the Competency Court has earned the City of Fort Collins Human Relations Award in 2022 and the Visionary in Law Award in 2024.