Jared Polis was born today, May 12, in 1975. is an American politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Polis is a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives for Colorado's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2009. He is one of the wealthiest members of the United States Congress, with a personal net worth estimated at nearly $400 million.
Polis is also currently one of six out gay members of Congress, and caucuses in the LGBT Equality Caucus. Polis fought for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Polis was the leading sponsor of the Student Non-Discrimination Act. SNDA would establish a comprehensive federal non-discrimination prohibition in all public and elementary and secondary schools based on sexual orientation and gender identity, expanding Title IX of the Education Amendments Act to LGBT students. In a statement, Polis said "education is the right of every student" regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. "The alarming increase in teen suicides has shown us just how far we are from making our children's schools safe spaces."
Polis voted for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which prohibited openly gay and lesbian members of the Military from serving. Along with 67 members of the House, in a letter to President Obama, Polis urged for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In the letter it cited a California district judge's ruling of the unconstitutionality of DADT, and the 14,000 service members that have been discharged from the military since the passage of DADT.
Polis is also a supporter and cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, giving adequate funding and ability to federal authorities to investigate hate crimes, and has advocated for protections against LGBT victims of domestic violence to be included in the Violence Against Women Act.
Polis is one of the few openly gay people elected to the House as a freshman and the first gay parent in Congress. Polis and his partner, Marlon Reis, have two children: son Caspian Julius, born on September 30, 2011, and daughter Cora Barucha, born July 4, 2014.
Polis voted for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which prohibited openly gay and lesbian members of the Military from serving. Along with 67 members of the House, in a letter to President Obama, Polis urged for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In the letter it cited a California district judge's ruling of the unconstitutionality of DADT, and the 14,000 service members that have been discharged from the military since the passage of DADT.
Polis is also a supporter and cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, giving adequate funding and ability to federal authorities to investigate hate crimes, and has advocated for protections against LGBT victims of domestic violence to be included in the Violence Against Women Act.
Polis is the son of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz, founders of greeting card and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. He was born in Boulder, Colorado. He lived in San Diego, California during his high school years, and graduated in three years with multiple honors. He also received a Bachelor of Arts in politics from Princeton University. In 2000 he legally changed his name to use his mother's surname, in part to raise awareness for a fund-raiser and because he simply "liked it better."
Polis co-founded American Information Systems (AIS), Inc while still in college. AIS was an internet access provider and was sold in 1998. In 1996, he co-founded a free electronic greeting card website, Bluemountain.com, which was sold to Excite@Home in 1999 for $430 million in stock and $350 million in cash. In February 1998, Polis founded ProFlowers, an online florist, in La Jolla, California. ProFlowers, later renamed Provide Commerce, Inc., went public on NASDAQ as PRVD on December 17, 2003. In 2005, Provide Commerce was acquired by media conglomerate Liberty Media Corporation for $477 million.
In 2000, Polis founded the Jared Polis Foundation, whose mission is to "create opportunities for success by supporting educators, increasing access to technology, and strengthening our community." Its main programs are the annual "Teacher Recognition Awards"; the "Community Computer Connection" program, which refurbishes and donates more than 3,500 computers a year to schools and non-profit organizations; and the semi-annual "Jared Polis Foundation Education Report." Polis has also founded two charter schools, one with multiple campuses across three states and a post-secondary school, the New America College, for at-risk students. In 2004, he established the charter school "New America School," which is a high school that primarily serves older immigrant youth ages 16–21 and has three campuses in Colorado, in the Denver Metro area, two campuses in New Mexico and a campus opening in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2013. In 2005, Polis co-founded with Urban Peak the charter school Academy of Urban Learning in Denver to help youth at risk of becoming homeless or living in unstable living conditions.
Polis was named Outstanding Philanthropist for the 2006 National Philanthropy Day in Colorado. He is a recipient of many awards, including the Boulder Daily Camera's 2007 Pacesetter Award in Education; the Kauffman Foundation Community Award; the Denver consul general of Mexico "Ohtli"; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Humanitarian Award; and the Anti-Defamation League's inaugural Boulder Community Builder Award.
At the time of his election, Polis had founded a number of companies and is one of the 10 richest members of the United States Congress.
Polis announced that he is running for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 election. Polis is on the ballot for the Democratic primary being held on June 26. See his campaign website here.
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