Lucia Ornelas

Biography

Lucia Ornelas obtained her B.S. in Radio-TV-Film and B.A. in Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and her Juris Doctorate from The University of Denver Sturm College of Law as a Chancellor Scholar.

Ms. Ornelas was born in Los Angeles, California but grew up in Dallas, Texas. Before law school, she completed two years of service with AmeriCorps in Austin, Texas where she worked with children and women fleeing domestic violence. This experience led her to pursue a career in immigration law and she was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 2020. Prior to Chavez & Valko, Ms. Ornelas represented immigrants that were in removal proceedings in Los Angeles, California. She also represented immigrants that were detained in the GEO Group Detention Center in Aurora, Colorado. She was the first recipient of the Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowship from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. This fellowship allowed her to work at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network in Colorado and represent vulnerable clients before the Aurora and Denver Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and USCIS.

In her free time, Ms. Ornelas enjoys creating short films and going for hikes with her husband and Dalmatian pup, Diego.

Education

• University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado
  • Juris Doctorate – 2019
• University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
  • B.A., Bachelor of Arts in Mexican American Studies – 2012
  • B.S., Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film – 2012

Bar Admissions

• Colorado Supreme Court, 2020

Professional Associations

• American Immigration Lawyers Association, Present

Languages

• English
• Spanish