Jessica Peck Corry

Jessica Peck Corry, a Denver-based public policy analyst and political strategist, specializes in civil rights, land use policy, and higher education. In 2007, she was named one of Colorado's top political "Movers and Shakers" by the Colorado Statesman.

Jessica's innovations and reform efforts have been featured by media across Colorado and around the globe, with highlights including The Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, MSNBC and Fox News. She frequently appears on Denver TV and radio for her policy expertise. She writes a weekly political column for The Denver Post's PoliticsWest.com and writes on a freelance basis for a variety of print and web-based publications, including FacetheState.com.

Jessica, 29, has been a public policy analyst with the Independence Institute since 2003, and now heads the Institute's Property Rights Project and Campus Accountability Project. She has held leadership positions with more than 20 civic organizations and currently serves as a spokeswoman for the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban race and gender discrimination in public hiring, contracting, and education. In 2006, as the Front Range Director of Colorado Citizens For Property Rights, she helped champion legislative changes designed to strengthen the rights of property owners facing condemnation disputes. She serves on the University of Colorado's Blue Ribbon Diversity Commission, where she is a leading voice for fiscal accountability and transparency.

Jessica is the author of "At the Crossroads of Condemnation: The Debate Over the Use of Eminent Domain For Private Development & Open Space." PDF here.

At the age of 25, Jessica ran as a Republican for the Colorado Senate, where despite being outspent more than four-to-one, she garnered nearly 47 percent of the vote against a two-term incumbent. Jessica began her career as a press secretary in the United States Senate, working for U.S. Senators Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

In addition, Jessica has given campaign contributions and volunteer support to local, state and federal Republican candidates.

Jessica completed her graduate degree with honors in Government at the Johns Hopkins University, where she served as commentary editor for The Johns Hopkins Journal of American Politics. She earned her journalism degree with honors from the University of Colorado, and is currently pursuing a law degree from the University of Denver as a recipient of the prestigious full-tuition Chancellor's Scholarship. The youngest of four children from a single-parent family, Jessica worked full-time as a student to fund her undergraduate and graduate school educations.

Jessica's national fellowships include the Pulliam Fellowship at The Indianapolis Star, a Georgetown University political journalism fellowship, and the Washington Center for Politics & Journalism Fellowship. She has previously held freelance and internship positions with major media networks, including CNN, ESPN, and PBS, in addition to National Journal's CongressDaily and numerous Colorado newspapers.

Jessica is happily married to Robert J. Corry, Jr., a Denver attorney named one of America's top 40 lawyers under 40. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Catherine and Caroline, and are avid travelers, having visited more than 30 countries around the world. The Corry family lives in Denver's Cheesman Park neighborhood.

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