by Faith Marcovecchio 

Esther van Mourik, the new Secretary of the Senate of the Colorado General Assembly, was sworn in on January 8, 2025.  No stranger to the Colorado Capitol, van Mourik has worked in various roles in the legislative and executive branches for over two decades, and she is delighted that former Secretary Cindi Markwell is passing her the torch. The nonpartisan Senate Secretary oversees all the operations on the Senate floor, working closely with Colorado’s 35 senators and the numerous staff who support their work. LegiSource spoke to van Mourik as the 75th General Assembly prepared to convene for the upcoming legislative session.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Tell us about your background with the legislature.

I started with the Office of Legislative Legal Services as an attorney in 2004 with the Government Team. I stayed with the office for almost 17 years. My drafting expertise was focused mostly on tax legislation. So that’s why it was a natural transition for me to take on the role of Deputy Director of Tax Policy at the Department of Revenue in 2021. I rejoined the legislature, after realizing how much I missed it, in 2024, as Assistant Secretary of the Senate. I’ve had a long career in this building.

Where are you from?

That’s a long story for me. I was born in Deventer, the Netherlands. My parents immigrated from the Netherlands to Sao Paulo, Brazil, when I was about five. We lived there for two years, and from Sao Paulo we immigrated to Colorado. I spoke Dutch as a child, and when we lived in Sao Paulo, I spoke Portuguese. When my dad was anticipating moving us to the United States, my parents enrolled me in a British English school so I could start to learn to speak English. 

What are your hobbies?

First and foremost is spending time with my kids, my husband, and my family—my parents are also nearby.

I snowboard. I learned when I met my husband because it was a big passion for him. I also hike. We love to be up in the mountains to spend as much time as we can in the great outdoors. That’s my happy place.

Where is your favorite place in Colorado?

Anywhere in the mountains, but particularly Copper Mountain. 

What is a typical work day like for you?

Really, there is no typical day. I’m amazed at the sheer number of matters the Secretary handles for the Senate—it is nonstop. From managing Senate spaces, to taking care of employees, to working with IT folks, to answering any questions the senators or their staff might have—the days are filled with constant interactions and work.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from Cindi Markwell, former Secretary of the Senate?

She is such a wealth of knowledge. I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am for the time I’ve been able to spend with her. I am also very thankful that she’s not going away. Cindi will continue on as Senior Advisor to the Secretary and will oversee the construction project to bring all the members back to the Capitol. I’m really pleased that she’s going to stick around, because that means that I have her close by as a resource and mentor. 

Getting back to your question, Cindi’s really given me so much valuable advice that if I were to give you all of it, this article would be as long as a book. But there are two things that I think stand out for me. One is that she has made it clear that being Secretary is a big job, but she has reminded me to make sure I also prioritize my family. That is very valuable advice. 

And the other piece of advice that has really resonated with me is to continue to be mindful of the details that go into making the Senate a great place to work and to visit. It’s the little things, like making sure the eagles on the top of the flagpoles are facing the right direction, the chairs are lined up correctly, and the wall hangings are straight; and it’s also the parliamentary-type details such as making sure that the rules of decorum are applied continually and consistently. All of the details contribute to the experience of being in the Senate, whether you’re a senator, a staff person, or a visitor.

What advice do you have for new members?

I can’t stop myself from giving my old office a shout-out: Pay attention to your bill draft deadlines!

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in your time with the legislature?

I think the best changes I’ve seen in the past 20 years are all the magnificent renovations. The Capitol is so beautiful, and I hope that every visitor really appreciates it. The care that has gone into all of the spaces is wonderful. I forget that I worked in both chambers when those old acoustic tiles were on the walls! 

What part of the job are you looking forward to most?

Honestly, all of it. I feel very honored to have this opportunity. I’m happy that Cindi feels she’s leaving the Senate in good hands and that she can retire. I’m looking forward to working with the legislators and staff in this capacity for years to come!

by Jessica Chapman

Vanessa Reilly is the new Chief Clerk of the Colorado House of Representatives. She started the job on November 1, 2024, filling the large shoes of Robin Jones, who retired last year after decades of service to the state. As Chief Clerk, Reilly oversees operations on the House floor and serves as one of the first points of contact for legislators seeking procedural or logistical information. She is also responsible for overseeing a number of House staff, including House sergeants, front desk staff, assignables, and the House enrolling room. LegiSource spoke with Reilly in mid-September.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Tell us about your background.

I was born and raised in Fort Collins. I went to CSU for undergrad and did a double major in political science and French. As you can imagine, the French job opportunities are sparse in Fort Collins, so I moved down to Denver in 2008 to go to law school at DU. After law school, I moved to Seattle for a couple years, then came back to Denver in 2013 and started working at the Secretary of State’s office. That was my first state government job. I came to LCS in 2015 and staffed a variety of different committees in both the House and Senate. I really enjoyed working at LCS. It’s such a great team. I staffed the Capital Development Committee for a few years, which is what eventually took me to the Office of State Planning and Budgeting in 2021. Then I went to the Department of Revenue for a short stint before coming back to LCS in the fall of 2022. I staffed House Education for a year and then last year around this time came upstairs to be the Assistant Chief Clerk.

What are your hobbies?

I’m a huge hobby person. I’m currently learning to play tennis and golf. I do some woodworking, painting, and knitting. I’m a huge gardener. I love to cook and bake. I like to travel. I’m a person who ends up overscheduling myself in my off time because I think, “Oh, that sounds like a fun thing to sign up for!” I just like to make stuff with my hands.

Where is your favorite place in Colorado?

For all of my hobbies, I don’t ski, I’m not a big hiker. I love to go up to the mountains, but I’ve had major back surgery, so that limits me. I certainly love to go up to the mountains in the summer but I don’t know that I have a particular favorite place in Colorado. My absolute favorite place is Amsterdam. For me, there’s a sense of ease there. It’s very comfortable. People are friendly and very straightforward. It’s a really easy city to get around on foot, on bike, or on public transportation. I really like the architecture, and being around water. 

Where is your favorite place to eat around the Capitol?

I pack my lunch a lot, which I know is not very exciting. I packed my lunch every day of last session. The interim is a little more hit or miss. I like to get ramen and dumplings. There aren’t a ton of great dumpling options near the Capitol.  During the interim I’ve gone to a spot called Dumpling Kitchen, which is on Colfax just a little bit east of Colorado. If you have a car, it’s a pretty quick trip for an interim lunch. I also really like the dumplings at ChoLon. 

What part of your new job are you looking forward to the most? 

I’m really excited to meet the new group of legislators this fall. I really enjoy working with the legislators, and I am excited to be leading the team this year with the new group.

What is a typical work day like for you? 

During session, if we’re doing floor work, that sets the tone, but otherwise there are some similarities — a typical day is some amount of meetings, some amount of working with staff on the projects they’re working on or questions they have, and then a lot of it is just responding to legislator requests —  anything from procedural questions to logistics questions to parking issues to legislative aide questions. It’s certainly less urgent in the interim and there are fewer procedural questions, but it’s not that much different than during the session.

For lots of questions, legislators come to us first. We may not be the people who have the answer, but it’s really important to me that the House nonpartisan staff never say “That’s not my job” – that no matter what we’re asked, we get folks closer to the answer. Often that means connecting members with the Office of Legislative Legal Services, Legislative Council Staff, Joint Budget Committee staff, the state auditor’s office, or legislative liaisons. It’s part of what I love about working at the Capitol and working with all of the nonpartisan service agencies. The atmosphere in all of the agencies is very similar. We want to help. That’s really important to the mission overall, but it’s also important to the feeling of teamwork across agencies. I feel like I can call folks up from OLLS and I can say “I don’t know, but I feel like you’re the people who do this,” and you’ll be helpful to me, and that builds those relationships and makes us feel like a team with a shared goal. 

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from Robin?

I think the best advice that I’ve gotten from Robin is to not take things personally. Things will happen in the political landscape, with the caucuses, in between the legislators, with the schedule, and really none of it has anything to do with us. It’s hard to not take it personally because I care deeply about my work and about whether I’m doing a good job at it, but so much of what we have to deal with just isn’t personal.

What advice do you have for new legislators?

Listen more than you speak. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I used to tell committee staff that I trained that it’s better to say you don’t know and follow up with an answer later, and build credibility that way, than to be overconfident and wrong up front. If you listen to the most seasoned people at the Capitol, they are very comfortable saying “I don’t know” and that’s the best example that they can provide. The legislator version of that approach is it’s ok to not know, it’s ok to ask questions, even if you feel like it’s a silly question.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’m so excited to have this opportunity. I love working for the legislature and my door is always open if anyone has questions or concerns or anything they’d like to address.