Simon Tafoya is a Colorado native, growing up in Pueblo County. He has served in a variety of roles in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Early in his career he worked as a Fellow at El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs, where he worked to bolster philanthropic giving in rural areas of Colorado. He then went on to serve as legislative staff to U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and U.S. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, working on issues such as agriculture, immigration and Native American issues. Tafoya later joined the office of Governor Hickenlooper, where he led efforts on technology, telecommunications, cybersecurity and federal relations. Most recently, he served as Managing Director for a government technology company, PayIt. 

Tafoya received his Bachelors of Arts from The Colorado College and a Masters of Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University. He resides in Denver, Colorado where he remains active with a variety of civic and nonprofit organizations.