District 2: Shelley Cook

Jefferson County and a portion of Broomfield County

Shelley Cook has over 30 years of experience in transportation advocacy, policy making, and operations. As a City Council member in Arvada, she was one of two key figures on transportation. She played a pivotal role in developing ballot issues and a bond that improved five roads and completed a sixth. 

She was an early and sustained advocate for extending rail and transit within the metro area. She served as the City’s representative on Major Investment Study (MIS) policy advisory committees for the Gold Line, East Line (to DIA), and US 36 corridors when RTD was developing what became Guide the Ride (and later the FasTracks initiative). A point of pride for her was serving as one of two official petitioners of record to place the FasTracks initiative on the ballot in 2004.

With public funding, Cook started and ran a non-profit transit organization that took over and reimagined a failed RTD Skyride route to DIA. The organization operated for more than thirteen years, achieving impressive increases in ridership and a fare box recovery ratio exceeding 70%, while maintaining low fares. 

More recently, she was elected to the RTD Board of Directors, representing District L, and served from 2019 to 2022. Additionally, she was a member of the board’s Executive Committee for three of the four years.

Cook maintains a strong community focus as a non-profit manager. She holds an MBA from the University of Colorado Denver and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Term ends: July 1, 2027