Elisabeth Arenales, Esq. has been the Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy's Health Care Program since January 2000.  CCLP engages in legislative, administrative and legal advocacy on behalf of lower income Coloradans concentrating in the areas of health care, welfare reform and fiscal policy.  

Elisabeth graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania and Order of the Coif from the University of Colorado School of Law.   Prior to joining the staff of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, she was the staff attorney for the Colorado Lawyers Committee, where she worked to support parents in rural Colorado as they made improvements in local school systems and in Colorado school law.   After leaving the Colorado Lawyers Committee, Elisabeth spent a year coordinating plaintiffs¿ case through trial in a complex piece of litigation involving the rights of property owners in and around San Luis, Colorado to access a portion of the Sangre de Cristo land grant land known as La Sierra or the Taylor Ranch. 

Elisabeth is Board Chair and was one of the founders of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.  She serves on the Advisory Committee for Colorado Covering Kids and Families, the Advisory Board of the Medicaid Ombudsman for Managed Care and the Advisory Board of Family Voices Colorado.  She has served as a member and as Chair of the University of Colorado School of Law¿s Law Alumni Board.   She has also been recognized by various organizations including the University of Colorado (Law School Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement), the Colorado Bar Association (Donald Hoagland Award), and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (Trial Lawyer of the Year).  In 2006, she was recognized as a Community Health Leader by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.