Betsy Fordyce (for Mike Fordyce)

Betsy Fordyce
Executive Director, Children's Law Center

Betsy Fordyce has spent her career advocating on behalf of youth in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and homelessness arenas. Originally joining the Children’s Law Center in 2008, Betsy currently serves as the organization’s Executive Director. She has an array of experience in direct legal representation as a guardian ad litem in Colorado dependency & neglect and delinquency cases, in teaching and training, and in legislative and policy advocacy. Betsy began her legal career as a law clerk for Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court. She later served as a staff attorney managing the national training program at the National Association of Counsel for Children, before returning to the Children’s Law Center in 2016 as the Director of the Youth Empowerment and Legal Advocacy Program. Betsy currently serves as an adjunct professor with University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a trainer with the Colorado Child Welfare Training Academy. During the 2018-2019 academic year, she was awarded the Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard Law School, recognizing exemplary lawyers who have distinguished themselves in public interest work and who can assist students who are considering similar career paths. Betsy received her law degree from Villanova University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame.