Elisa Overall (known also as “Emo”), has dedicated her career to issues of equity, social justice, and inclusion. She is an experienced non-profit executive, organizational strategist, and advocate.
As Executive Director at Colorado Access to Justice Commission (ATJC), Elisa supports its 32 Commissioners in implementing a robust, statewide strategic plan for expanding access to the civil justice system for all Coloradans.
Prior to joining the Access to Justice Commission as Executive Director, Elisa worked in private practice as defense counsel for indigent defendants, and as court-appointed counsel through the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel.
From 2011 to 2014 Elisa served as Executive Director to San Miguel County’s Physical Education Program (PEP) Grant, a large Federal initiative that targeted health disparities in the region’s low-income and minority youth. Prior to directing the PEP Grant, Elisa worked to support immigrant communities throughout the Western Slope as Assistant Director to One Telluride, a non-profit organization.
Elisa has also led political initiatives and lobbied for legislative change. In 2012 she successfully lobbied the Telluride City Council’s unanimous approval of a soda tax referendum. She helped form Kick the Can, a campaign committee that partnered with leaders in health policy nationwide, attracted high-profile campaign contributions, and brought global media attention to the concept of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages as a public health initiative. Elisa went on to advise other similar campaigns across Colorado in 2013 and 2014, and was invited to speak at the Colorado Health Symposium in Keystone, Colorado in 2015.
A lifelong public servant, Elisa is currently a Board member of RISE Colorado, a nationally recognized non-profit for educational equity that works to educate, engage, and empower families of color as agents for change in the education system. She also serves as a mentor for the Denver Public Schools Career and College Success Program’s track for native Spanish speakers learning English.
Elisa earned her BA from Stanford University and earned her JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. A seventh-generation Arizonan, Elisa is Mexican American and grew up between Tucson, Arizona and Hermosillo, México. Since then, she has lived in seven countries, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
