at the age of 28, romer founded the colorado i have a dream foundation, a non-profit providing mentoring and scholarships to at-risk children; he has also served as its president. he has chaired the colorado children's campaign and served on the boards of the denver school of science and technology, the metropolitan state college of denver foundation, and open world learning, as well as denver's new america schools, where he spent two years as a volunteer superintendent. he was also a founder and president of great education colorado which advocates for improved funding of colorado schools and promotes education reform; in 2006, the group proposed an increase in severance taxes provide funding for public schools, but the measure was never placed on the statewide ballot. romer was also a leader behind colorado's amendment 23, a ballot measure approved by voters in 2000 which guarantees state funding levels for colorado public schools, and a member of the colorado supreme court nominating commission.