Teresa Villalobos is the Director of Criminal Investigation at the Office of the State Public Defender. She has been with the OSPD team for over 25 years. Teresa was the Bilingual Investigator and Chief Investigator at the Boulder Trial Office from December 1997 to February 2022. She’s served as Director of Criminal Investigation at the State Office since February 2022.

As Director of Criminal Investigation, Ms. Villalobos supports criminal defense investigators systemwide. She’s responsible for functional oversight, planning and coordination of the criminal defense investigation practices across the agency.

Under the direction of, and in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, Teresa serves as a liaison between the State Office, Training Department and Regional Offices in matters related to communication, problem resolution, and the development and implementation of policies, procedures and comprehensive training programs. In addition, she develops and delivers curriculum designed to provide a range of training in basic, entry level through advanced criminal defense investigation practices, rules and laws relative to the OSPD and judicial districts served.

Having personally experienced disparities within the judicial system, Ms. Villalobos strives to better understand the systems of oppression which continue to exacerbate disadvantaged populations both in society and in the courtroom. Public defense provides a voice and a fighting chance to marginalized populations in an inadequate system, and she is committed to working towards such an important cause.

Teresa takes tremendous pride in the work we do at the OSPD. Over the last 25 years, she has been inspired by the compassion and dedication of her colleagues and the resilience of our clients. Her colleagues invest countless hours into each individual client, and our clients entrust a tremendous amount of faith in our team at a time in their lives when society fails to have empathy and see the humanity in them.

Education and Credentials

Teresa earned an Associates of Applied Science degree at Front Range Community College. She then earned a Criminal Justice/Legal Administration Degree and obtained an Administrative Assistant Certificate.

Family and Personal Interests

In her personal time, Teresa enjoys spending time with family and friends. She’s the proud mother of two sons and a daughter. She also enjoys working out and spending time outdoors. During the height of the pandemic, she adopted a shelter cat that has turned out to be more than a handful!