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About Me
I'm a software engineer, data analyst, project manager and political organizer.
I'm mom to two beautiful adult children, dog mom to two rambunctious golden doodles, and wife of 31 years to the best husband in the universe and my best friend.
I grew up in St. Paul, MN and have lived in the Colorado Springs area for 18 years.
I like to Fix Things and Solve Puzzles
I inherited my love of crossword puzzles from my mom and my drive to fix stuff from my DIY dad. I guess it's no surprise that I became an engineer.
I started my career as a software engineer developing operating systems software and eventually became a software product development project manager.
I embrace the philosophy of continuous improvement in my work and in everything I do, always asking: how can this be done better next time?
Embracing Motherhood
When my second child was born I decided to stay home full time with the kids and did so for well over a decade. When the kids started school, I became an avid volunteer at their school, taking on pretty much every possible volunteer task at one time or another.
I Love the Outdoors
I love to ski and hike and simply spend time in nature with family and friends. My husband and I decided to raise our children in Colorado where the great outdoors is so readily accessible and where we could afford for my husband to start a small business while I stayed home with the kids.
How I Got Into Politics
One day in November, 2014 my husband and I were out walking our dogs. I woke up the next day in the ICU at Penrose Hospital downtown.
We had been hit by a car while crossing the street in a cross walk. It was a hit and run. The good news is that we all survived (including the dogs). The bad news was that I became all too familiar with the dysfunctional and predatory nature of our insurance system. Even from the perspective of two full-time, permanently employed software engineers who had purchased all the recommended insurance benefits.
I realized it's no wonder that medical bankruptcy is the most common form of bankruptcy in the United States.
Thinking something must be done about this, I decided to attend caucus for the first time in 2016. At caucus I signed up to be an election judge and a precinct organizer and the rest, as they say, is history. I have held multiple positions in the Democratic Party in El Paso County and the Colorado Democratic Party in the years since.
I also became an election judge for El Paso county, serving at the polls and as a canvas board member for several elections. With the uprise in election denial, I took on the hobby of combating disinformation about Colorado's election system, one of the best in the nation.
Why I'm Running For Office
Watching my kids go through college and into the work world, I came to realize the "American Dream" is no longer accessible to the vast majority of our youngest generations. We have failed our children.
Watching the Jan. 6 insurrection and the associated election denial, I came to realize the existential threat to our election system, the cornerstone of our democracy.
This is not the future I want for my children nor for America. I'm moved to do everything I can to change that. I hope to make that impact in the Colorado Assembly.
I would be honored to be your Colorado House District 18 Representative.