Judge Linda H. Colfax, a San Francisco Superior Court Judge since 2011, currently sits in the criminal division of the court, and presides over the mandatory felony settlement conferences.  Judge Colfax has also served as a supervising judge of preliminary hearings, a juvenile court judge in both dependency and youth justice, a family court judge, and has presided over both civil and criminal trials. She also sat on her court’s Appellate Division for 3 years and served on the Executive Committee for 4 years.  Judge Colfax, a former Vice President of the California Judges Association (CJA), currently co-chairs CJA’s LGBT Judicial Officers of California Section CJA and the Committee on the Elimination of Bias and Inequality.  Judge Colfax, a former Vice president of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, currently sits on its board.  Prior to her election to the bench in 2010, Judge Colfax worked as a San Francisco deputy public defender.   She was privileged to win her seat during a primary election against 3 other candidates.

Judge Colfax, a native of the Midwest, earned her A.B. from Harvard and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.  Judge Colfax and her wife, Kristin, who met playing ultimate frisbee in 1995, have been married since 1999*, 2004 and 2008. They have 2 children, 2 dogs and spend their free time outdoors biking, hiking, jogging, climbing, SUPing, Pickleballing, gardening, or just ambling with the dogs.

Judge Darrin Gayles is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida.  Following his 2014 nomination to the District Court by President Obama, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Gayles’ nomination by a 98-0 vote – making Judge Gayles this nation’s first openly gay, African-American man to serve on the federal bench.  Judge Gayles previously served for more than ten years as a judge of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit.  A graduate of Howard University and the George Washington University Law School, Judge Gayles has been a leader and active participant in South Florida’s legal and civic communities.  He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Bar Association’s 2019 Judicial Service Award, the Dade County Bar Association’s President’s Award, and the Lawyers in Leadership Award from the University of Miami’s Center for Ethics & Public Service.

Judge Mike Jacobs has served since June 2015 on the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia. He is the first openly bisexual person to serve as a trial or appellate judge in the United States. Prior to his judicial service, he served ten and a half years in the Georgia House of Representatives. His legislative service included five years as chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC), the joint House and Senate committee that oversees the management, budget, and fiscal affairs of Metro Atlanta’s transit system. In 2010, he received the Allen Thornell Political Advancement Award from Georgia Equality for passing a stronger anti-bullying law for public schools. He received his law degree in 2003, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was the Executive Articles Editor of the Georgia Law Review. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1997 from Georgetown University. He serves on the boards of directors of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, and Leadership DeKalb. He was recognized by the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia in 2019 with its award for Outstanding Service to the Stonewall Community. He also was recognized by the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges in 2020 with one of its President’s Awards. He is the proud parent of three children, Jonah, Eli, and Samantha.

Jill Rose Quinn has an extensive legal background in the private sector. She has a lifelong dedication to community service. After graduating from The John Marshall Law School in 1983, she worked for small law firms including one in which she represented local government units. Throughout her career, she handled over 4,000 cases and performed appellate work. Jill started her own practice in 1997 and focused on helping neighborhood residents with financial challenges, family law matters, small business operations, probate and criminal law. Throughout her life Jill has believed in giving back to others. Before moving to Chicago, she was a community organizer in economically disadvantaged areas in Houston and Des Moines and helped form neighborhood action groups dedicated solving problems such as lack of zoning and dangerous traffic, as well as addressing utility and taxation issues. Her compassion for others and sense of fairness is what helped inspire Jill to practice law. As a child, she realized that many people were not treated equally under the law because of their race, religion or nationality. Jill decided then that she wanted to be a lawyer to fight for all people’s rights and equality. Being transgender has taught Jill firsthand what it is like to be marginalized and the vital importance of treating all people with fairness, decency and compassion. In November of 2020, Jill was elected to the office of Cook County Circuit Court Judge. She is the first openly transgender circuit court judge in the State of Illinois and the first openly transgender elected official in the State of Illinois. She is currently serving in the Traffic Division, Municipal Department. Her perspective as a member of the transgender community and as a sole practitioner brings a unique dimension to the Cook County Bench.

Monica M. Márquez was sworn in as Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court on December 10, 2010. She was appointed by Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. Before joining the Court, Justice Márquez served as Deputy Attorney General at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where she led the State Services section in representing several state executive branch agencies and Colorado’s statewide elected public officials. Justice Márquez also served as Assistant Solicitor General and as Assistant Attorney General in both the Public Officials Unit and the Criminal Appellate Section. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Justice Márquez practiced general commercial litigation and employment law at Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP. Justice Márquez grew up in Grand Junction, CO. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1991, then served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a volunteer inner-city school teacher and community organizer in Camden, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA, before earning her law degree from Yale Law School in 1997. Upon graduation, she clerked for Judge Michael A. Ponsor of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Springfield, MA, and for Judge David M. Ebel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, CO.

Justice Márquez is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, and the Minoru Yasui Inn of Court. Before joining the Court, Justice Márquez served on the boards of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, the Colorado GLBT Bar Association, and the Latina Initiative, and as Chair of the Denver Mayor’s GLBT Commission. Justice Márquez serves as a liaison justice to the Office of Attorney Regulation and its related committees, and as chair of the Water Court Rules Committee. She is a co-leader of the Bench Dream Team, a group of judges dedicated to diversity and inclusion in Colorado’s judicial system. She also serves as chair of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. Justice Márquez and several law clerks helped coach La Academia’s mock trial team from 2014 until 2018, when the alternative high school closed its doors. She regularly mentors students and aspiring young lawyers, including a first-generation Latina college student with Law School Yes We Can.

For her career of service, Justice Márquez has been recognized with the Colorado GLBT Bar Association’s 2009 Outstanding GLBT Attorney Award, Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP’s 2009 Richard Marden Davis Award, the Yale Latino Law Student Association’s 2011 Public Service Award, the Latinas First Foundation’s 2014 Trailblazer Award, the Hispanic National Bar Foundation’s 2017 Judicial Leadership Award, and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado’s 2019 Minoru Yasui Community Service Award. When not working or volunteering, Justice Márquez enjoys hiking with her spouse and partner of 20+ years, Sheila Barthel, and playing endless games of fetch with their boisterous yellow lab, Tegan.