Dea M. Lindsey
20th District Court
The Honorable Dea M. Lindsey was appointed as a district court judge to the 20th Judicial (Boulder County) bench in April of 2021. She is the first black judge in history to be appointed there. Dea was raised in Denver, Colorado. She received an B.A. and an M.A. at the University of Northern Colorado, both in Kinesiology and, after a career in the fitness industry, she became interested in law and attended the University of Denver, College of Law., graduating in 1999. Dea was hired by the Colorado State Public Defender after graduation. After 2 years with the Public Defender, Dea worked with her law partners in her own firm mainly practicing in criminal defense, family law and dependency and neglect law. Dea began working as a county attorney in dependency and neglect cases when she saw a need to adjust her career to benefit time with her family. The transition from criminal defense to defending the county in dependency and neglect was very different, but Dea applied a philosophy of ensuring that individuals in that system were there fairly and collaborating with all the parties to preserve the family was paramount. While at Boulder County as a senior assistant county attorney, Dea was offered the opportunity to represent public safety in the County, including Community Justice Services, the Juvenile Detention Center, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, and the Office of Emergency Management. It was during this time Dea began to serve on a committee of individuals charged with advising the Boulder County Commissioners regarding racial equity practices. The awareness this experience created regarding systemic racism and balancing her various life roles in integrity with her own beliefs was a challenging but necessary undertaking. She has been involved in prioritizing racial equity in her life, her work and community ever since. She also began imparting the awareness and education about race to the peace officers she was responsible for training. Dea has been a Racial Equity Practitioner with the Courageous Conversations about Race™protocol and education for several years and continues to create projects to bring awareness about the existence of negative disparities caused by racial oppression and racism. As a judge she created the Judicial Equity Project, a project aimed at inspiring judge's and judicial administrator's awareness, education and practice concerning racial equity principles. She continues to engage and promote organizational activities to advance racial equity and to present in areas addressing equity and inclusion holistically to improve outcomes for all people. Judge Lindsey spends time with her husband mountain biking and traveling. She has three sons and two grandchildren, with whom she also enjoys spending time.
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