Leadership

Shari F. Shink, Esq., Founder/President

Shari F. Shink has dedicated her life to improving those of abused and neglected children through legal advocacy. A 1975 Rutgers University Law School graduate, Shari began her career at Pittsburgh’s Child Advocacy Legal Aid Clinic. In 1981, she and other child advocates founded the Children’s Legal Clinic in Colorado which evolved into the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center.

Under Shink’s leadership, the Children’s Law Center has saved the lives of more than 7,500 children, become a forerunner in child-centered legislative reform and developed innovative programs to address numerous aspects of child abuse.

Shink’s work has earned her dozens of national honors including the National Child Labor Committee’s 2004 Hine Award, the American Bar Association’s 2001 Child Advocate of the Year Award, Harvard University Law School’s 2000 Wasserstein Fellowship and the National Association of Council for Children’s 1999 “Outstanding Child Advocate of the Year.”

Shink sits on the National Children’s Law Center council and speaks on behalf of abused children at conferences worldwide including the American Bar Association, Hedge Funds Care, etc.

As a practicing attorney, Founder/President of the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and child advocacy speaker, Shink has changed what it means to advocate for children worldwide.

Locally, Ms. Shink has participated on numerous legislative task forces to examine and provide suggestions about how to improve Colorado’s foster care system. Nationally, she serves as the co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Children’s Advocacy Group to fight for the rights of maltreated children nationwide. She also represents the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center as a member of the National Children’s Law Network, a group of eight Children’s Law Centers across the country that focuses on the unmet educational needs and meaningful outcomes of children in foster care. Additionally, Ms. Shink travels the country speaking on behalf of abused and neglected children.

Under her leadership, the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center has saved the lives of thousands of children, created numerous groundbreaking programs and passed innovative legislative bills to improve the lives of abused and neglected children.