Mission Statement

Colorado Name Change Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of transgender Coloradans by assisting them with their legal name change and gender marker corrections. Through workshops across the state, pro bono legal assistance, nonpartisan advocacy, and innovative technology implementation, we seek to make being who you truly are easier to accomplish.

Our goal is to increase access to resources, provide accurate information, reduce the bureaucracy, streamline the process, and reduce financial barriers for transgender Coloradans seeking to have their legal identity match their true identity.

What We’ve Done So Far

A group of friends founded the Colorado Name Change Project in the Fall of 2016 and had our first workshop in mid-November 2016.  Since then, we have:

• provided information and assistance to over 20,000 folks via in-person workshops and our website
• drafted and provided an open-source “Motion for Exemption from Publication” that was approved in hundreds of cases across Colorado
• created automated Petition generators to help folks put the right information in the right spots on their paperwork
• instructed virtual and in-person workshops across Colorado, including Denver, Fort Carson, Fort Collins, Evans/Greeley, and Grand Junction
• advocated and achieved changes in the law surrounding name changes and gender marker corrections, including:
  • removing the publication requirement for trans and non-binary Coloradans;
  • removing the surgical requirement for Colorado birth certificate corrections;
  • removing the District Court Order requirement for birth certificate corrections;
  • adding a non-binary gender marker to Colorado drivers licenses and state IDs; and
  • adding non-binary and intersex gender markers to Colorado birth certificates
• provided thousands of dollars in microgrants to offset or fully cover name and gender marker updates for transgender Coloradans.

Board of Directors

Shannara Quissell, Esq. (she/ella, her, hers) – Board Chair & Executive Director

Shannara is a Denver-based trusts & estates lawyer and 2018 graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. While at DU, she served as Vice-President of the DU OUTLaws, the DU student liaison for the Colorado LGBT Bar Assocation, and President of Elder Law Society. Her work during law school included participation in the Tribal Wills Project, an externship with Denver Probate Court, and directed research on laws regarding violence against women and the LGBT+ community. She received the Public Good Distinction and a Student Leadership Award.

As an attorney, she works to help advance civil rights causes and promote access to legal services for all. She also serves as the Programming and Technology Committee Chair for the Colorado LGBT Bar Association.

In her free time, Shannara enjoys knitting, playing video games, and spending time with husband and two cats.

Emma Shinn, Esq. (she/her/hers) – Board Member & Co-Founder

Emma, along with Cody Hickman, co-founded the Colorado Name Change Project (CNCP) in the fall of 2016. Since then, CNCP has helped thousands of trans Coloradans with their legal name changes and gender marker corrections. Emma served as the Board Chair and Executive Director from

Emma is an attorney, active duty Marine Corps officer, and prior-enlisted infantry leader with combat experience in Operation PHANTOM FURY in Fallujah, Iraq. After leaving active duty in 2014, Emma started her own law firm, representing individuals in courts-martial, administrative hearings, and civilian trials. Emma returned to active duty as a Marine judge advocate on December 19, 2019 to continue her decades of service to our Nation.

She was the lead counsel in B.D. v. State of Colorado, a landmark case that helped provide trans Coloradans correct their birth certificates without unnecessary surgeries and costly, invasive district court cases. Emma is also a nonprofit leader in SPART*A, Jim Collins Foundation, ClimbMax, and the Colorado LGBT Bar Association. Emma is the recipient of the 2020 “Civil Rights Award” from the Anti-Defamation League – Mountain States, the 2019 “Raising the Bar Award” from the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, the Colorado LGBT Bar Association’s 2017 “Attorney of the Year,” the “2017 Power Award” from the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, and the 2017 “Visionary in Action Award” from the GLBT Community Center of Colorado.

In her spare time, Emma enjoys rock climbing, hiking, camping, and spending time with her dog, Gunner.

Owen Zeigler (he/him, they/them) – Board Member

Owen Ziegler is from Colorado and an experienced senior paralegal and professional interpreter. Owen is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and offers professional language services through his translation service, Z Cultural Services. Owen also supports families dealing with the immigration and family law systems through his role as senior paralegal at McGuire Law. 

Owen dedicates pro-bono services to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) in support of immigration detainees and asylum seekers. Owen also previously served on the Board of Directors at the Colorado LGBT Bar Association and the (formerly) Gender Identity Center.

As a nonbinary trans person, Owen knows first-hand how daunting the Colorado name change process can be. He hopes his involvement with the Colorado Name Change Project will help to continue dismantling barriers to equal access to society for trans and gender diverse people from all walks of life.

Elliott Weil (he/him/his) – Board Member

Elliott Weil is a queer, neurodivergent, and transmasculine community organizer and advocate from New Hampshire. Elliott graduated from Ithaca College with a BA in Sociology and a triple-minor in Women’s & Gender Studies, Outdoor Recreation, and Art History.

Now based out of Colorado, Elliott has worked for years in the intersections of liberation through community work – labor advocacy, social and prevention programming, mutual aid, and queer nonprofit work. Elliott’s passion for community-centered care, and commitment to equity, accessibility, and collaborative uplift inform his efforts across all spheres of relationships and work.

Above all else, Elliott loves spending time with his partner Grey, their nervous dog Remy, caring for plants, cooking good food, and building communities of radical queer joy and collaboration.

A. Jordan McNamara, Esq. (he/him/his) – Board Member

Jordan McNamara a current At-Large Board Member and former Executive Director of the Colorado Name Change Project (2019-2023).

He received his undergraduate degree from Ball State University and became the first out transgender student to earn a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado Law School. Before his legal career, he served in the United States Air Force as an Aircraft Fuel Systems Journeyman.

Jordan was the first out transgender president to lead the Colorado LGBT Bar Association, and in 2021, the National LGBT Bar Association named him as one of the “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40“. He also received the 2022 Stonewall Award from the American Bar Association for his work advancing LGBTQ+ individuals and causes in the legal profession.

Jordan is based in Denver, CO where he enjoys fly fishing, off-roading, and spending time with his two dogs, Hamilton and Huxley.

Sara Fitouri, Esq. (she/her/hers) – Board Member

Sara received her law degree from University of Denver – Sturm College of Law and is a licensed attorney, working as the Uniserv Director for the Littleton Education Association. She received her undergraduate degree in Politics from Ithaca College. Prior to joining ALUU, Sara worked with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Pikes Peak Education Association.

In addition to CNCP, Sara serves on the Executive Board of Directors of Colorado Jobs with Justice, an organization committed to uniting community and labor in order to advance workers’ rights. Sara began her work with Labor and Education as a student at the University of Denver, where she co-founded the Colorado Student Power Alliance and through which represented students at the state and national level on policies related to affordable and accessible higher education.

Sara is a proud Arab-American, the daughter of a Libyan immigrant father and a mother from Pueblo, CO. She grew up in the Denver-Metro area and graduated from Douglas County High School. She believes that collective power is the only way to build a democratic society. She focuses her work on developing community and challenging systemic oppression.

Dennis Newman, Esq. (he/him/his) – Board Member

Dennis is an attorney, licensed to practice law for almost 20 years, in both Florida and Colorado. Proudly working with the Colorado Name Change Project since 2016, he has conducted seminars on legal name changes and gender marker corrections at CU Boulder, CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and at CU Denver.

In addition to practicing law, Dennis is a Nationally Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor candidate. He earned his J.D. at Florida State University and his M.A. in Counseling Psychology from CU Denver. In addition to his commitment to the CNCP, Dennis has worked with Project Visibility for LGBTQ+ elders, was a board member for the Alexander Foundation, and presented nationally on estate planning for same-sex families.

When not busy supporting the LGBTQ+ community, you can find Dennis at home enjoying time with his husband, kids, friends and family of choice.

Amanda Bauer, Esq. (she/her/hers) – Board Member

Amanda is a Colorado native who attended the University of Colorado Law School and joined the CNCP Board of Directors in 2019. While at CU Law, she served as Co-President of CU OUTLaw, the LGBT law student organization, and co-founded the CU Law School Name Change Clinic to aid members of the trans community with changing their names and gender markers on identity documents.

She currently works in employment law at Jackson Lewis.

In her free time, she trains for triathlons and hikes and skis in the Colorado mountains.

Cody Hickman, J.D. (he/him/his) – Co-Founder

Cody is a graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. During his second year, he shifted his academic focus toward LGBTQ law, specializing in transgender law. In his final year, he became an intern at the GLBT Community of Colorado, and was hired as the Center’s Legal Program Administrator later that year.

During his time with the GLBT Community Center, he was actively involved with the Colorado LGBT Bar Association; the Colorado LGBT Bar Public Policy Committee; and the name/gender marker change efforts. Cody proudly worked with Emma in establishing the Colorado Name Change Project in the fall of 2016.

When he is not working as an Implementation Specialist for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, Cody enjoys running, hiking, rock hounding, and raising four energetic children.

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