Jewish Members of Congress: Jared Polis (Representative, Colorado)

Representative Jared Polis was elected to represent Colorado’s 2nd district in 2008.  Polis serves on the House Rules Committee, the Committee on Education and Labor, and the Democratic Steering Committee.

Prior to his political career, Polis founded several profitable companies such as American Information Systems, an Internet access, web hosting and application service provider. He also co-founded an online greeting card website as well as the first online florist company.  In 2000, Polis founded the Jared Polis Foundation, whose mission “is to create opportunities for success through education and access to technology.”   Polis was named Outstanding Philanthropist for the 2006 National Philanthropy Day in Colorado.

Polis served on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2000 to 2007.  During this time, he was part of the team that designed and passed Amendment 23, an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that required the state to annually increase expenditures on per pupil K-12 education by the rate of inflation plus enrollment plus one percent until 2010, in order to prevent K-12 spending cuts.