Scientist. Woman Aquanaut. Educator. Public Servant.
About Lesley
My name is Lesley Smith. My life has always focused on the improvement of the environment and education. I want to take that experience and expertise to the Capitol on the behalf of the people of HD-49. I worked for thirty years as a scientist and educator at CU, served on Boulder Valley School Board for eight years, was the first woman aquanaut in the underwater Aquarius research facility and currently serve as CU Regent at-Large.
As your next state representative, I will fight to protect our climate, and our public lands. I will prioritize education, affordability, environment, and take a scientific and progressive approach to our pressing challenges.
Groundbreaking Scientist
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara (Aquatic Biology, 1980) I earned a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. For one year, I spent three weeks every month living and working on a floating lab in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon for my research.
I had the honor to be the first woman aquanaut in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s underwater research habitat, Aquarius. Only a few women worked at UMD’s marine labs, and I was the only one selected to join the aquanaut team, where I lived underwater and conducted research on coral reefs.
Making Boulder Home
My 30-year career at CU began in 1989 with a Visiting Scientist Fellowship at CU Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES). I fell in love with Colorado, and shortly thereafter I fell for my husband, Michael. Boulder has been our home ever since and is where we’ve raised our two now-grown children.
After the devastating 2013 floods, I was appointed to serve on the City of Boulder’s Water Resources Advisory Board, where I advised the city on how to rebuild and strengthen the city’s water infrastructure.
Education Advocate
Like so many citizen leaders, I took on leadership because of the personal impacts of public education policy on my family and community. In 2005 I was elected to the Boulder Valley School Board. During my eight years of service on the school board, I managed a $300 million budget, increased community trust and engagement, and helped strengthen funding for public education. I am a champion of public education, and I understand the importance of strong funding and wise management of funds.
As CU Regent, I oversaw the hiring of the new CU president, Todd Saliman. I worked to ensure that CU included sustainability in the system-wide strategic plan, developed the first Land Acknowledgement for the CU system, and successfully lobbied the legislature to allow CU to grant in-state tuition for any out of state student that has tribal ties to Colorado. I served as the vice-chair of the board during COVID-19 and became the first Democratic chair of the CU regent board in 2022. The board oversees CU’s $5.2 billion budget.
