About Me

6 min readJun 24, 2017

Ken Toltz is an Israel-based writer, in his previous life as a proud third-generation Coloradan born in Denver he was a successful businessman, community leader, professor, and a vocal advocate for the causes for which he has a special passion. Ken later embraced Boulder as his home where he spent six active years engaged in the affairs of his local communities — both in the city of Boulder and at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 2019 Ken embarked on his new activism journey, relocating to Mitzpe Ramon, a small town in Israel’s Negev region. The town sits on the edge of a vast crater called Makhtesh Ramon, attracted by the the transformative power of the location, Ken arrived eager to redefine his purpose in the world.

Har HaCamel Viewing Platform in Mitzpe Ramon

Writing

As a writer, Ken has contributed numerous advocacy op-eds, opinion columns and feature articles to a range of publications including Huffington Post, The Hill, Newsweek, Times of Israel, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Jewish Daily Forward and many Colorado newspapers. Ken has written on gun violence prevention, his experience with the US — Israel relationship and Diaspora-Israel Jewish community relations. More recently Ken has been writing feature articles in the Jerusalem Post on Israeli-made documentary films and filmmakers. (see links below).

Academic

Born and raised in southeast Denver, Ken attended the Denver Public Schools graduating from George Washington High School. He earned degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder in Political Science and an MBA from the University of Denver with an emphasis in Marketing. From 2007 to 2009, Ken was a member of the faculty of University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, teaching MBA and undergraduate level courses in Marketing Management and Strategy, Consumer Behavior.

Ken is also very proud that his two daughters, Allison and Leigh, both followed in his academic footsteps by completing graduate degrees in their fields.

Jewish Community

Ken’s close-knit family provided a firm foundation in his Jewish heritage and traditions. His grandparents on both sides were founding members of Denver’s Jewish community and its institutions, helping to build synagogues, old-age homes, and Jewish hospitals, as well as serving in leadership positions with local Jewish organizations. His parents followed that example as generous donors, fundraisers, board members, officers, and leaders in local Jewish communal organizations such as the ADL, AJC, Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, and the local chapter of AIPAC.

Ken’s mother Ruth Bugdanowitz received the Lion of Judah award by UJA national and the Golda Meir award by JewishColorado which signifies years of high-level giving and fundraising leadership. Ken’s father Warren Toltz was awarded the Jewish Federation Young Leadership award recognizing his leadership during the emergency Yom Kippur War fundraising campaign in 1973. Ken’s younger sister Amy Toltz Miller continued with involvement in local organizations, eventually serving as president of the Allied Jewish Federation (now called JewishColorado) and co-chairing the host committee for the General Assembly when it was held in Denver.

Ken attended religious after-school programs through high school, working toward and completing his Jewish Confirmation. He has written about his personal connection to Israel frequently, but surprising his parents he decided to dedicate his junior year of college studying Israel’s foreign relations and history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Upon returning home from a life-changing year, Ken’s desire to seek new challenges and frontiers served him well as he capstoned his political science degree by working on two U.S. political campaigns. He then began his professional career in Washington, DC, in the legislative department at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and went on to work on campaigns for U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, and a presidential campaign as Deputy National Finance Director.

Private Sector/ Business

After moving back to Denver, Ken’s business experience ranged from small entrepreneurial businesses to large corporations to owning his own business. Ken was the President of Dependable Southwest Inc., owning and operating seven Dependable Cleaners in the Denver metro area. He held marketing and management positions in financial services, consumer products, and consumer services with United Banks of Colorado, Brothers Gourmet Coffees, and Dependable Cleaners.

Ken has given back to Colorado communities in countless ways. Ken has linked his business and community interests frequently through his service on the boards of many local businesses, community groups, and national organizations. Ken has served on the board of the Denver-Boulder Better Business Bureau and the Anti-Defamation League. He also served on the board of the Corporate Alliance for Better Air and was appointed to the Citizens Advisory Panel for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, a position mandated by the Clean Air Act. Ken is also a founding Colorado member of the National Jewish Democratic Coalition (Jewish Democratic Council of America).

Political

Ken’s interest in government began in high school when he served as a legislative aide in the Colorado State Legislature. Ken then went on to work with several local campaigns including: Carlos Lucero, candidate for the U.S. Senate and David Skaggs successful campaign for U.S. Congress in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District. Ken also served as Deputy National Finance Director for Colorado Senator Gary Hart’s 1984 presidential campaign.

In 2000, Ken entered the political arena as a candidate, successfully winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. As a first-time candidate for Congress, he garnered 42% of the vote in a heavily Republican district.The 2000 election campaign in Colorado’s 6th District was dominated by the tragedy which occurred in Littleton, Colorado in the heart of the district — the horrific shootings by students at Columbine High School. Issues of gun violence prevention dominated the campaign which changed the trajectory of Ken’s political work and turned into a 20-year personal commitment to activism toward reducing the tragic toll gun violence has exacted on American society.

Ken was a founding board member of Colorado Ceasefire, a statewide gun violence prevention organization formed in 2000 in response to the Columbine High School tragedy. Later, Ken founded and is now co-chair of Safe Campus Colorado, a grassroots citizens organization dedicated to prohibiting the carrying of concealed guns on Colorado’s college and university campuses.

representing Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America — Boulder 2017

Israel

Early in his career, Ken worked in the legislative department of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. Following his work with AIPAC, Ken assisted in the direction of Washington Political Action Committee (one of the first national pro-Israel political action committees founded by former AIPAC Executive Director Morrie Amitay). Ken is also a founding Colorado member of the National Jewish Democratic Coalition (Jewish Democratic Council of America). As a decades long activist with AIPAC, Ken also sees the value of working with other pro-Israel organizations including JStreet and others to help bridge any gaps and find common ground to express his support for a close US-Israel relationship.

Ken’s recent move to Israel’s Negev region was prompted by his desire to lead and inspire a new generation to take up the unfinished work of the last generation and carry it further towards the vision of Israel’s founders. He has engaged in a mission of highlighting the creative endeavors of this new generation in his writing on various Israel-based platforms.

Follow Ken Toltz on twitter.