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Sarah Mercer, Chair
Sarah Mercer was recently appointed to the Ethics Commission by Chief Justice Brian Boatright. She has been practicing law for over 14 years, earning her B.A. from Harvard University, and in true Colorado native fashion, earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado. Upon completion of her J.D., Commissioner Mercer served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Justice Michael Bender of the Colorado Supreme Court. After practicing natural resources litigation for several years, she returned to the Court to serve at Counsel to Chief Justice Bender. She currently practices with AM Law200 firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck where she combines her litigation background with her experience navigating state and local government as a shareholder in the state government relations group.
Her determination and passion extend beyond her client work. Commissioner Mercer is a steadfast community volunteer serving as board members for the National Sports Center for the Disabled and Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She was also recently named chair of the Colorado Competitive Council, and previously served on the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors and Board of Trustees. The Commissioner has a roster of pro bono clients helping Denver’s underserved communities. She has also been on the forefront of the pandemic assisting pro bono clients navigate evictions and has become one of the nation’s experts on assisting countless for-profit and non-profit businesses receive funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The Commissioner has received countless recognition including Law Week Colorado’s Top Women Lawyers, 2021, Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, 2020, 5280's Top Lawyers, 2019-2020, and Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2015-2021.
Daniel Wolf, Vice-Chair
Daniel Wolf was appointed to the Independent Ethics Commission by the Speaker of Colorado House of Representatives, Julie McCluskie, in 2023. He is a long-time resident of Summit County. Commissioner Wolf is a real estate, business, and commercial law attorney with over thirty years of experience, primarily practicing in Summit and Eagle Counties and surrounding mountain communities. After practicing for over twenty years with smaller mountain firms, in January 2022 he joined the leading Boulder based firm of Caplan & Earnest in its Business Law Group. Commissioner Wolf received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his juris doctorate, with honors, from the University of Connecticut.
Commissioner Wolf is a founder, trustee, and a former long-time chairman of The Peak School in Frisco, Colorado, and has also served on the boards of directors for the Vail Valley Chapter of the Salvation Army and Team Breckenridge Sport Club. He currently serves on the Fifth Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission and has served two terms on the Fifth Judicial District Nominating Commission.
Commissioner Wolf represents a wide variety of clients, from the small businesses to publicly traded corporations, and advises clients on a broad range of issues including ethics and regulatory compliance.
Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa, Commissioner
Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa is a Colorado Native. She has been an attorney for over 20 years, currently in private practice. Ms. Krupa practices primarily in the areas of criminal defense, white collar and civil litigation, securities law and internal investigations, professional conduct and attorney admissions to Colorado. She graduated from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law in 1994, served a judicial clerkship and then worked for the Colorado State Public Defender Office providing criminal defense for indigent clients. Ms. Krupa also worked for the Federal Defender for the District of Colorado. Ms. Krupa then worked as a Trial Attorney for the Denver Regional Office of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission conducting trials and administrative proceedings throughout the United States. Ms. Krupa also served as Assistant Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and Faculty Member for National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She has been teaching NITA since 2009 in regional, public service and custom programs including the Program Director for the NITA/National Organization of Bar Counsel Advanced Trial Advocates Training.
Ms. Krupa has argued before courts in the state, appellate and federal levels. She has been active in many bar associations including the Hispanic National Bar and Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, for which she served as Vice President and President. She has been appointed to and served on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, the Commission on Judicial Discipline, the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Board, the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct, the Colorado State Supreme Court Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, and the Western Regional Advisory Board for the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She is a frequent lecturer at CLE programs, was an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy and coached the American Association for Justice mock trial team for the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law.
Lora Thomas, Commissioner
Lora Thomas was appointed by her fellow IEC commissioners on May 1, 2023, as a representative of local government. Thomas is a third-generation Colorado native and thirty-one-year resident of Douglas County, where she is currently serving her second term as a Douglas County Commissioner from District Three (Northwest Douglas County, including Highlands Ranch and Sterling Ranch). For the past two years she has served as Secretary of Colorado Counties, Inc., the statewide association of county commissioners. She previously served as Douglas County Coroner from 2011 to 2015, where she overhauled a corrupt office and made it a model of efficiency, reducing the budget by one-third and eliminating employees who were stealing guns and drugs. Thomas is a 26-year veteran of the Colorado State Patrol, starting as a dispatcher before coming the ninth female Colorado State Trooper, and advanced through the ranks to become the CSP’s first woman Captain and Major. Among her many statewide command duties was her appointment by Governor Bill Owens to Chair Homeland Security for the Denver Metro Area after 9-11.
Thomas holds an AA degree in Criminal Justice from Arapahoe Community College, a BA from Regis University in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance as well as an MBA, also from Regis University. She taught at Arapahoe Community College in the Criminal Justice Department. She was appointed by Governor Hickenlooper and re-appointed by Governor Polis to both the Colorado Coroners Standards and Training Board and the State Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Advisory Board.
Cole Wist, Commissioner
Cole Wist is a fourth-generation Coloradan. He recently completed two terms in the Colorado General Assembly, serving as the Assistant Minority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives and a Commissioner on the Uniform Law Commission.
Commissioner Wist is a 30-year defense attorney with the Denver office of Squire Patton Boggs, a global law firm with 45 offices and over 1,500 attorneys. His legal practice emphasizes representation of employers in labor and employment matters and workplace accident investigations. Commissioner Wist has counseled and defended clients following some of the country’s highest profile occupational disasters. He has appeared in state and federal courts across the country.
Over the course of his legislative career, Commissioner Wist earned a reputation as a productive, bipartisan lawmaker. He sponsored and passed significant legislation, including Colorado’s sweeping data privacy and breach notification statute, a bill to reform the state’s construction defect litigation process, a law creating an alternative dispute mechanism for open records disputes, and a civil rape shield statute. Commissioner Wist’s legislative accomplishments and policy work have been recognized by national and state organizations, including Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Colorado Civil Justice League and Mental Health America.
Commissioner Wist is a graduate of the University of Denver and Georgetown University Law Center.