Shontel M. Lewis

Denver City Council Member, District 8

Shontel Lewis

Meet Councilwoman Lewis

Shontel M. Lewis was born and raised in the historic Five Points, and has lived in several neighborhoods throughout District 8. She is the proud mother of two beautiful boys: a college student and two-year-old son.She is a proud graduate of Manual High School and the University of Colorado Denver.

Her journey—one of redemption, second chances and transformation—has not been absent of mistakes, failures, personal growth and pain. It has been through this pain that she found precision in her pursuits to justice.

Shontel went from being a student in Denver Public Schools (DPS) to becoming a director at DPS leading family and community engagement initiatives. She knows what it takes to move from eviction to homeownership, and she channeled that pain and perseverance into becoming a Vice President at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. She knows the resilience required to endure three-hour bus rides while working multiple jobs as a young mother and a full-time student, which fueled her run to become an elected Director at the Regional Transportation District (RTD) Board.

During her time on the RTD Board, she served as the inaugural Chair of the Performance Committee, helping to facilitate the development of the agency's strategic priorities and strategic direction in partnership with the CEO. Shontel was also a fierce advocate for RTD frontline staff, including ensuring their access to PPE, the implementation of rear-door boarding, and advocacy of social distancing for transit providers throughout the state of Colorado during the COVID19 emergency.

Shontel is an unapologetic, Black, Queer Womxn grounded in her values of love and humanity. Looking forward, she will continue to fight for people over politics every day, and infuse city government with policy expertise, a lens for justice, and ancestral wisdom.