Patricia Hill Pascoe

Professional Writer
Former Colorado State Senator

Welcome

Pat Pascoe has written a biography of the first woman state senator in Colorado, Helen Ring Robinson, a progressive Democrat elected in 1912 before any woman served in Congress or the British Parliament. This amazing woman joined the small all-male club of the senate to pass a minimum wage bill for women, sponsor legislation to allow women to serve on juries, and increase the length of the school year for all children. Although Colorado women had already gained the vote in 1893, Helen fought for the vote for women in other states.

Helen Ring Robinson: Colorado Senator and Suffragist is available in November 2011.

To order, please go to:

The Tattered Cover
or
The University Press of Colorado
or
Amazon.com

About Pat

Pat represented a Denver district in the Colorado Senate for twelve years ending in 2003. In the legislature she was especially interested in education and in improving the lives of women and children, sponsoring bills on preschool, child care, truancy, and bilingual education. She passed bills on temporary marital maintenance and spousal protection. Providing freedom of press for students, creating an organ donor registry, and reducing wood smoke pollution were the subjects of other successful bills. She chaired the Public Policy and Planning Committee and the Education Committee in the Senate, as well as the Democratic Caucus.

In the 1800s Pat's family pioneered Wisconsin where she was born. She moved to Colorado in 1951 and finished high school at Aurora High. She graduated cum laude from the University of Colorado in Boulder where she was selected for Phi Beta Kappa. After teaching at the high school and college level, she earned her MA and PhD in English from the University of Denver. She was married to the late Monte Pascoe, attorney. Their three children live in Denver.

Pat's articles have appeared in The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, Denver Magazine, Denver Business and Headfirst. For several years she was a regular Leading Voices commentator on KUVO. The Society of Professional Journalists awarded her first place in the editorial division in 1986.

Community Activities

Pat has served on the following boards:

College of Arts and Sciences Development Council, University of Colorado
Alumni Board, University of Colorado
Commissioner, Education Commission of the States
Community Education Council appointed by Judge William Doyle
Common Cause
Capitol Hill Community Center
The Conflict Center
Samaritan House
Ft. Logan Mental Health Institute Citizens Advisory Board
Colorado Endowment for the Humanities
Opera Colorado
American Civil Liberties Union- Colorado Affiliate
Colorado Coalition for the Arts
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Humanities Task Force for the State Board of Education
State Capitol Building Advisory Committee
Denver Woman's Press Club
Colorado Preservation Inc.
Elder, Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church

Awards

Society of Professional Journalists, Excellence in Journalism, First Place, Editorials A, 1986
Society of Professional Journalists, Outstanding Service to the Colorado Chapter, 1994
Colorado Coordinating Council of Women's Organizations, Inc, Award, 1990
Colorado Coalition for Abortion Rights, Religious Freedom Award, 1992
Colorado Democratic Party, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003
Colorado Education Association, Friend of Education, 2003
Colorado Women's Bar and the Alliance of Professional Women, 2002
Denver Democratic Party, Pat Schroeder Families First Award, 2000
Denver Women's Commission and Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce, Outstanding Lawmaker, 2001
University of Colorado at Denver, Alumni Legislative Award, 2001