Ken Salazar is a fifth-generation Coloradan whose ancestors have lived in the American Southwest for more than four hundred years. Ken grew up in the rural San Luis Valley, where the Salazars continue to farm and ranch the same lands his family has been working since before Colorado became a state. Most recently, Ken served as US ambassador to Mexico (2021–2025), where he led the US diplomatic mission during a pivotal time for North America. Before this, Ken served as US secretary of the Interior under President Obama (2009–2013), as Colorado’s 35th US senator (2005–2009), and as Colorado state attorney general (1999–2005). Ken is senior counsel at the internationally renowned law firm WilmerHale. He devotes much of his time to family and ranching in the San Luis Valley. He continues to be a champion for conservation, civil rights, and an inclusive United States of America.