Randy Atkinson, Board Member

Randy, a Colorado native, was raised in unincorporated Arapahoe County. After graduating from Arapahoe High School, and seemingly destined to cause branding issues for institutions of higher education, he went on to study Political Science at Western State College, eventually earning his degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Metro State, whereupon both schools quickly changed their names. The son of a Republican political consultant and a politically engaged democrat firefighter, Randy spent almost ten years avoiding the family businesses of politics and public service by working in the food services industry. 

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The siren song of leaving the world a better place finally caught up to Randy in 2017 when, after some arm twisting by former JCHS Director Lynn Johnson, he joined Jeffco Human Services as a Special Projects Coordinator. While working for JCHS, Randy’s eyes were opened to the issues surrounding poverty and those caught in the cycle of generational poverty, realizing that his father, late IAFF Vice President Randy Atkinson, broke the cycle when he joined the Denver Fire Department, where he found professional and personal support, role models, and mentors.

  

Randy’s mother, the late political consultant Katy Atkinson, was an early supporter of JPP. After her passing, Randy established the Katy Atkinson Memorial Endowment, with the goal of continuing to support the causes that mattered most to her, primarily JPP.  

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When not working for “the man”, Randy enjoys traveling, attending concerts and shows, hiking, reading, and in true millennial fashion, video games. A long-time Denver resident and urbanite, Randy is a diehard Avalanche fanatic and long-suffering Rockies and Broncos fan.