The Hon. Katie Sullivan
Judge Katie Sullivan has over 20 years of sobriety after finding recovery herself. She has since used the legal system and her compassion and to make recovery a reality for those entangled in the judicial system. After working as a New York State Assistant Attorney, a Deputy District Attorney in Aspen, Colorado and running her civil and criminal defense private practice in Colorado, Katie was appointed to serve as a state trial court Judge in the 5th Judicial District of Colorado. Judge Sullivan presided over 42,000 cases in her 11 years. Judge Sullivan handled criminal and civil dockets, jury trials, complex sentencing matters, as well as cases of constitutional import. Judge Sullivan created and presided over 2 separate problem-solving courts, leading a multi-disciplinary team in serving high risk high need defendants to rehabilitation, thereby reducing recidivism.
In her 3rd judicial term, she retired from the bench to serve as Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the United States Department of Justice. After serving as a Senior Advisor to the Domestic Policy Counsel on issues related to human trafficking, criminal justice reform, tribal matters, and violence against women, Judge Sullivan had the honor of acting as the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs under Attorney General William P. Barr. In this role Judge Sullivan oversaw all justice funding for law enforcement, victims of crime, juvenile justice, as well as the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice, the statistical and research arms of the United States Department of Justice. Judge Sullivan was General Barr’s representative on Operation Lady Justice and was appointed to be the Vice Chair of the President’s Commission of Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice.