Diane Balkin is Chief Deputy District Attorney for the City and County of Denver and has worked in the District Attorney’s office since 1979. For nearly 30 years, Ms. Balkin has been an advocate for humans and animals, working tirelessly to send a message that animal abuse will not be tolerated. While she has prosecuted all types of felonies such as sexual assault, homicide and aggravated robbery, her passion is to promote animal welfare by prosecuting those who neglect or abuse animals. 

Over the past year, Ms. Balkin successfully prosecuted a South Dakota dog breeder for cruelty to animals and saved 19 of his horribly neglected puppies that were left unattended in a truck. In another cruelty case, she prosecuted a Denver man who killed a Chihuahua with a shovel and then threw the pet's lifeless body in a dumpster. Both defendants were found guilty, and in the Chihuahua case, the defendant was sentenced to six years in prison.  

Ms. Balkin, a member of the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine, speaks at conferences nationwide about animal cruelty prosecutions and trains veterinarians, law enforcement officials, students and citizens on the link between cruelty to animals and violence toward humans.  She has been instrumental in changing Colorado laws to facilitate the prosecution of animal abusers, and her commitment and steadfast determination to raise awareness about animal cruelty have made an immense impact in Colorado, as well as nationwide.