Damon O. Barry, Esq. is a 1992 initiate of the University of Washington Chapter, the Gamma Eta of Kappa Alpha Psi® Fraternity, Inc., where he served in several positions including Polemarch and was elected to the Western Province Board of Directors as an Undergraduate. At the Grand Chapter Meeting in Philadelphia (1995), Damon received the Guy L. Grant award, the highest honor bestowed to an undergraduate member of Kappa Alpha Psi®. Damon is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi® and the Middle Western Province. Over the years, Damon has served as Polemarch of the Denver Alumni and Lincoln Alumni Chapters. In 2007, Denver Alumni recognized him as “Man of the Year”. From 2010-2015, Damon served the Middle Western Province as its Senior Province Vice Polemarch. September 2015, Damon was appointed as the 19th Middle Western Province Polemarch by the 33rd Grand Polemarch Thomas Battles, Jr. and served as Province Polemarch through September 31, 2019. In 2020, Damon was selected by the Middle Western Province Board of Directors as the 38th recipient of the Charles W. Morgan, III Lifetime Achievement Award for meritorious achievement and service to Fraternity.

Damon is a proven leader. As Province Polemarch of the Middle Western Province, he coined the motto “Building Bridges for a Stronger Tomorrow…Brother by Brother”. As a leader in Kappa Alpha Psi®, he has helped chapters and a province develop leaders for tomorrow’s challenges by bridging generational gaps. As Polemarch, not only did he help develop leaders but he led reclamation efforts to grow several undergraduate and alumni chapters throughout the Middle Western Province.

Professionally, Damon is the Office Managing Partner of Ballard Spahr’s Denver and Boulder offices and a member of the firm’s Expanded Board. As an experienced M&A and government affairs attorney with over 23 years of experience, Damon solves problems for his clients and assists companies with complex business and legal transactions. He advises and represents both buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, and other strategic transactions ranging in size from $1 million to $500 million. He has been ranked as a top lawyer by The Legal 500 US, mergers and acquisitions – middle market (sub-$500m), 2017-2019. He also acts as outside corporate counsel to emerging and mature companies throughout their life cycle, advising executives and boards on a full range of strategic legal issues that arise from entity formation through an acquisition. As the leader of the firm’s Colorado Government Relations and Public Policy Group, he advocates for businesses, organizations, and institutions before elected officials, their staffs, governing bodies, and public agencies to help advance client’s business and policy objectives.

Over the years, he has served as a director on several non-profit and political boards and commissions. Currently, he serves as a Trustee to the University of Nebraska Foundation. Most recently, he was appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis to serve on the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District and Culture Subcommittee of the Governors’ Emergency Council for Economic Stability and Growth. Additionally, he is a Trustee/Director for Mile High United Way, National Association of Corporate Directors (Colorado Chapter), The Denver Foundation, Goodwill of Colorado, Denver Kappa Alpha Psi® Scholarship Foundation and is a Past Sire Archon of Delta Eta of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

As a result of his dedication to the community, business leadership and professional accomplishments, the University of Nebraska College of Law honored Damon with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Denver Business Journal recognized him as one of its “Forty Under 40” honorees. The Nebraska Alumni Association and the Chancellor’s Office recognized Damon as an “Alumni Master” for being an outstanding alumnus who has shown great promise, success and leadership in the legal profession. Ebony magazine honored him as one of its “30 Leaders of the Future.”

Damon earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington. While at Washington, he was a member of the varsity football team, which made three consecutive Rose Bowl appearances and won the 1991 National Championship.

Damon is married to Heather Barry and they have two daughters—London (12) and Alexis (10).