Judy Amabile

Judy Amabile is a Democratic state senator representing Senate District 18 in Colorado, which includes Boulder, Louisville, Superior, and Gunbarrel. She was sworn in as a Colorado State Senator in 2025.

Before entering politics, Amabile worked as a consultant for Coopers and Lybrand. She co-founded Product Architects, Inc., the manufacturing company behind the Polar Bottle brand sport water bottle, which she operated for 25 years while managing up to 65 employees.

Amabile has three adult sons, one of whom has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and experienced homelessness. Witnessing her son's struggles with Colorado's inadequate mental health care system inspired her to seek public office to improve mental health resources in the state.

Political Experience

Amabile was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in November 2020, succeeding former Speaker KC Becker. She represented House District 49 from January 2021 through 2024.

During her two terms in the House, she served as Chair of the Business Committee and held memberships on the Judiciary, Appropriations, and Health & Human Services Committees. She also chaired legislative oversight committees concerning Colorado Jail Standards and the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System.

In the Senate, Amabile is a member of the Senate Committee on Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services.

Notable Achievements

Amabile's legislative work has focused on expanding mental health resources, improving the criminal justice system, increasing gun safety, and building community resilience to climate change. Her accomplishments include directing millions in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward mental health treatment capacity and passing innovative bills to expand Colorado's mental health workforce. She has also sponsored multiple bills addressing Colorado's backlog in the competency-to-proceed system, where defendants with mental illness often wait in jail without treatment.