Jacki Cooper Melmed

Chief Legal Officer | UC Health

Jacki Cooper Melmed currently serves as Chief Legal Officer for UCHealth, where she oversees legal, compliance, governmental, and regulatory affairs.
Before joining UCHealth, Ms. Cooper Melmed served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governors Jared Polis and John Hickenlooper for over 6 years. As a member of the Governor’s executive leadership team, she worked closely with the Governor and other executive staff members to manage state government, plan the strategic direction of the administration, and design key initiatives. Ms. Cooper Melmed’s key responsibilities included managing the Governor’s office of legal counsel, overseeing litigation and other legal matters in partnership with the Attorney General, administering judicial appointments, and serving as general counsel to the governor and leadership of 20 principal departments.
Prior to working for state government, Ms. Cooper Melmed practiced law at Shoemaker Ghiselli + Schwartz in Boulder, Colorado and Hogan & Hartson in Denver, Colorado, and served as a law clerk for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Michael Bender. She attended law school at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Colorado Law Review.
Ms. Cooper Melmed has served on a number of non-profit boards focusing on affordable housing, community relations, and education. Currently, she serves on the Board of Breakthrough, Colorado, and in June 2021, she was appointed to the Scientific and Cultural Facilities Board by Governor Polis.
Ms. Cooper Melmed holds a master’s degree in English Literature and Film from the University of Chicago and bachelor’s degrees in English and French from the University of Michigan. She is an avid hiker and skier and enjoys reading, cooking, travel, and spending time with her husband and, when allowed, two adult sons.