My Story
I grew up as one of eight children on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. I am a first-generation college graduate, and supported myself through school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by working several jobs, including packing fish in Alaska, and earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. After college, I was a water analyst for the state of Wisconsin. Eventually, I taught elementary school and worked with a local agricultural co-op in a rural town in Jamaica as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. I established that community’s first lending library and organic learning garden — both of which still exist today.
After the Peace Corps, I was inspired to pursue a career as an educator. I attended the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City and graduated with a master’s degree in secondary science education. At the end of the academic year, I moved to Charlottesville, following my soon-to-be husband, Aaron, whom I met in the Peace Corps. Aaron attended Charlottesville High School and the University of Virginia for undergraduate and graduate school. I taught math and science at Louisa County Middle School and Tandem Friends School and was appointed to the Commission of Children and Families.
Prior to being elected into the House of Delegates, I was honored to be elected as a member of the Charlottesville City School Board from 2011 to 2019, and to serve as the Board’s Chair from 2015 to 2016. One of my greatest accomplishments in that role was enacting the Equality Virginia non-discrimination policy in 2015; at the time, we were one of only two counties in Virginia to approve this policy. I also served as a board member for the Social Services Board of Albemarle County, the Arc of the Piedmont, and the Charlottesville National Organization for Women; was a member of the Virginia Disability Commission; and served as the Chair of the Albemarle County Democrats in 2022.
After my experiences in UVA’s Sorensen Institute of Political Leaders Program and Emerge Virginia’s elected leadership bootcamp, I launched Virginia’s List in 2014 to support Democratic women running for state office and have helped dozens of candidates get elected. When I’m not legislating, I’m training women who run for school boards across the Commonwealth!
Since being sworn in to the Virginia House of Delegates in January of 2024, I have proudly served the people of Virginia’s 55th District as a member of the House Finance Committee, Education Committee, and the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources. I am also honored to have been appointed as the Chair of the Disability Commission, and currently act as a member on a number of other boards and commissions, including the House Select Committee on Rural Health Care, the State Water Commission, and the Special Task Force on Free Speech.
I currently live in Albemarle County with my family–my husband Aaron and my children Hannah, Adam, and Henry.
My Story
I grew up as one of eight children on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. I am a first-generation college graduate, and supported myself through school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by working several jobs, including packing fish in Alaska, and earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. After college, I was a water analyst for the state of Wisconsin. Eventually, I taught elementary school and worked with a local agricultural co-op in a rural town in Jamaica as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. I established that community’s first lending library and organic learning garden — both of which still exist today.
After the Peace Corps, I was inspired to pursue a career as an educator. I attended the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City and graduated with a master’s degree in secondary science education. At the end of the academic year, I moved to Charlottesville, following my soon-to-be husband, Aaron, whom I met in the Peace Corps. Aaron attended Charlottesville High School and the University of Virginia for undergraduate and graduate school. I taught math and science at Louisa County Middle School and Tandem Friends School and was appointed to the Commission of Children and Families.
Prior to being elected into the House of Delegates, I was honored to be elected as a member of the Charlottesville City School Board from 2011 to 2019, and to serve as the Board’s Chair from 2015 to 2016. One of my greatest accomplishments in that role was enacting the Equality Virginia non-discrimination policy in 2015; at the time, we were one of only two counties in Virginia to approve this policy. I also served as a board member for the Social Services Board of Albemarle County, the Arc of the Piedmont, and the Charlottesville National Organization for Women; was a member of the Virginia Disability Commission; and served as the Chair of the Albemarle County Democrats in 2022.
After my experiences in UVA’s Sorensen Institute of Political Leaders Program and Emerge Virginia’s elected leadership bootcamp, I launched Virginia’s List in 2014 to support Democratic women running for state office and have helped dozens of candidates get elected. When I’m not legislating, I’m training women who run for school boards across the Commonwealth!
Since being sworn in to the Virginia House of Delegates in January of 2024, I have proudly served the people of Virginia’s 55th District as a member of the House Finance Committee, Education Committee, and the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources. I am also honored to have been appointed as the Chair of the Disability Commission, and currently act as a member on a number of other boards and commissions, including the House Select Committee on Rural Health Care, the State Water Commission, and the Special Task Force on Free Speech.
I currently live in Albemarle County with my family–my husband Aaron and my children Hannah, Adam, and Henry.