[6] Graduating from Irvine High School in 1980, she went on to the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1983.
[4][dead link] A practicing lawyer with the Denver law firm Hall & Evans, LLC specializing in civil ligitagation, Veiga was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1996 and re-elected three times, in 1998, 2000, and 2002.
[4][dead link] A lesbian, she came out publicly in August 2002 and is the first ever openly gay person to serve in the Colorado legislature.
[8] As a representative and then as a senator, Veiga introduced legislation every year to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, at first with little success.
[11] At the time of her retirement, she was one of three openly gay members of the legislature, serving alongside representatives Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) and Sue Schafer (D-Wheat Ridge).