My Story
Growing up
As a child I spent three years on a plot of land in the dead of winter, living in an old school bus heated by a wood stove. There were five of us. We didn’t have a “house,” but we always had a home. We moved around a lot, to wherever my dad could find work, allowing me to experience the diversity our country has to offer. I was born in Alabama and lived in five other states, all before I turned 11.
Military & College
I spent eight years in the US Army Reserves and the Oregon Army National Guard, beginning with basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky just after I graduated high school.
When I came to Portland for the first time in 1995 it was intended to be for the day. I fell in love with Portland and have called it home ever since. Inspired by public service, I enrolled at Portland Community College. By the time I became the first college graduate in my family I had already worked on my first political campaign and gotten a job working in the state legislature for State Representative Steve March.
Representative March was active in his union, the American Federation of Teachers, and fought for labor and for those who needed a voice throughout his career. That experience gave me my first glimpse at the need to stand up for and with workers and those who need it most.
I went on to earn a master's degree from Portland State University. During my graduate program, I worked as a veterans caseworker for Congressman Earl Blumenauer and as the Graduate Assistant to Senator Mark O Hatfield at PSU. During this era, I convened the early meetings to create the Oregon Bus Project, which is now known as Next Up. We empowered a new generation of activists to engage in civic life and helped flip the Oregon legislature from red to blue.
As my career progressed
As I completed my degree, I was offered a role as the senior policy advisor to then-Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. In that role, I traveled to all corners of the state with Secretary Bradbury, helping Oregonians of all walks of life gain direct access to a statewide elected official. During that era, I was tasked with being the lead staffer in charge of developing and passing legislation to create what we now call Orestar, and bringing Oregon’s campaign finance transparency rating from an “F” to an “A!”
I was then asked to become a Special Assistant to the President at Portland State, where I remained for three years. In my role, which grew to encompass serving as the Director of Government Relations, I oversaw a 17% increase in the state operating budget. This was the largest increase in history and allowed us to limit tuition hikes. We also raised tens of millions of dollars to ensure the safety of PSU’s aging buildings.
In 2016 I took a role helping manage events for Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, and after the primary, I continued that type of work but for the White House, supporting Secretary Hillary Clinton’s bid to become our Nation’s first woman president.
The experience of a lifetime
I became one of the first hires for Bernie 2020. In summer 2019, I was approached with the opportunity to be the Senator’s “body man.” There would be few moments from then until the end of the campaign when Senator Sanders was outside of his home or hotel room that I was not by his side. In fact, when the Senator conceded the race, counting the Senator, his wife, and our videographer, there were only four of us in the room.
It was a wild ride getting to that day. One morning, we woke up in DC where the Senator did five media interviews. Before we went to sleep that night in Las Vegas, we had held rallies in Charlotte, NC, Raleigh, NC, and Mesquite, TX. What I learned in a way I never had before, was how to be an unwavering advocate for those in our community that need it the most.
In June 2019, I was on the outside of the Homestead Children’s Detention Center with Senator Bernie Sanders. We stood on ladders, coming as close as they would allow us to the children our government had separated from their families. As the Senator left, I sat in my car and cried. I can trace back why I am running to that day.
After the campaign, I was offered a role in Senator Sanders' Vermont office. The scariest decision of my adult life was telling Bernie no. A secure federal job at the onset of Covid would have been a dream for so many. But Portland is home, and I had felt the call to be closer to my family and friends. Now I’m running for Portland City Council because I know that the city that I love is a place where the promises need to come true for all the people who call this place home, and I want to be the leader it deserves.
Since the last presidential election, I am proud to have served as the lead lobbyist to get Healthier Oregon (née Cover All People) funded. This program ensures coverage for 55,000 Oregonians who would be eligible for the Oregon Health Plan but for their immigration status.
I am proud of the coalition I helped lead, and remain in awe at the work of many of our partners, including having the full support of SEIU Local 49!
Healthcare for Oregonians in need
These days
I live in SE Portland with my partner Andrea. She has a wonderful pup, Penny. I have a small flock of chickens.
The yoga practice I started as a place to get warm and take a shower became a second home. As a hot yoga instructor, I work to draw in Portlanders in need of that practice and community.
On weekends you can find me trekking up and down trails in the gorge and snowboarding on Mount Hood
Get Involved
Let’s Unite Our City Together!
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