Ready on Day One

With our reproductive rights under attack by the Supreme Court and politicians in Washington, we are fortunate to continue to have access to reproductive healthcare in Colorado. We can’t take that for granted. I’m proud to have received endorsements from abortion care providers, reproductive healthcare advocates, and a 100% grade from Planned Parenthood based on my commitment to improve and protect reproductive health care access and the right to determine when and whether to become or stay pregnant. As your state representative, I will fight to ensure all Coloradans have access to quality healthcare and the right to make decisions about their own bodies.

The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated wide disparities in treatment and health outcomes based on race and gender in our country. As your next State Representative, I commit to working to dismantle these inequities and ensure that everyone has access to affordable, quality healthcare at every stage of life. 

As a therapist, I have seen firsthand the mental health impacts on our kids living in a state that has failed to prioritize behavioral health services and Colorado now has one of the highest child suicide rates in the country. As we face a mental health crisis made worse by the effects of Covid-19, I’m committed to finding creative solutions to increase the availability, accessibility, and affordability of mental healthcare in schools so our kids aren’t falling through the cracks. 

We've got to do better in prioritizing the same level of support and care for mental health and wellness as we do for physical wellness. In Lakewood, I voted to increase the number of mental health and social work co-responders working with our law enforcement for more appropriate response when people are in crisis and I continue to support the expansion of these essential programs. The City of Edgewater is currently in the process of developing a Community Mental Health Plan and I am excited to partner with them and implement innovative ideas like this across our district. 

In a time when prices are rising and more and more people are struggling to make ends meet, I’m so proud of the work I’ve done on the Lakewood City Council to increase access to both stable and emergency shelter and services for our unhoused neighbors so they have a fair shot at permanent housing. I spearheaded successful citywide efforts to cut red tape and topple barriers to more affordable and attainable housing for working families but we need statewide changes to increase our housing supply and ensure our homeownership is for people, not corporations. I have and continue to work with our local housing authority to look for opportunities to create more pathways to home ownership and generational wealth-building with a particular focus on historical inequities in communities of color that still persist today. 

As your State Representative, I will continue to work with our local stakeholders to champion solutions and funding for programs like down payment assistance, community land trusts, and tax credits for affordable housing development that could benefit homeowners and renters alike. Everyone deserves the opportunity to have a safe affordable place to live and thrive in House District 30.

One of my first patients at the beginning of my career was a 10 year old child who had suffered a spinal cord injury from a gunshot because his younger brother had access to an unsecured firearm in the home. We can’t ignore that gun violence of the magnitude we are experiencing every day is a uniquely American problem that we simply aren’t doing enough about. 

In a world where students and teachers alike can’t help but wonder when they head to school if they’ll be lucky enough to come home at the end of the day, we must have lawmakers who will commit to doing everything we possibly can to curb the crisis of gun violence in our community. As your next State Representative, I commit to championing existing policies targeted at reducing gun violence including extreme risk protection laws and mandatory waiting periods, and supporting further evidence-based solutions including doing everything in my power to prohibit the use of assault-style weapons that are used in so many tragic mass shootings.

As a board certified therapist and former early childhood educator, I’ve spent much of my career working with children and families in the disability community. I know firsthand how working families with young children continue to struggle to both find and afford early childcare in our state. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Head Start Committee on City Council as we’ve worked to attract and retain high quality early childhood educators. As your next State Representative, I will work to champion programs that expand affordability and access to high quality early childcare and address training and retention of high-quality providers. 

We need to put our dollars where our values are and adequately fund our education system. Colorado continues to be near last in per student educational funding and our kids deserve better.I come from a generational line of educators that continues to this day with my sister and brother. Previous generations of educators in my family were able to afford to live in the communities they taught, but that is no longer the case. We must commit to investing in teachers who invest so much in our kids as well as in our schools generally, especially in our House District that serves some of the most marginalized families in Jefferson County.

Our Colorado way of life means the freedom to live, exist and thrive freely and authentically without fear of discrimination or bigotry. 

Currently, LGBTQ+  rights and visibility have been under attack all over our country. I’m proud that Colorado continues to affirm the rights of the LGBTQ+ community including access to healthcare like gender affirming care. In Colorado, I will fight to make sure transgender youth have access to the medical care they need, mental health support and guarantee that their parents aren’t criminalized for supporting who they are. 

When I think about our kids’ future, nothing is more important than addressing climate change. 

Climate. 

As our community faces rising costs due to climate change and associated with water and utility bills, I’ve worked with our city and community members to act on climate and implement policies to keep our air and water clean for future generations. It’s also essential to recognize that many of the communities most impacted by climate change have been historically marginalized and under-invested in, and we have a responsibility to ensure that conversations around utilization of funds for climate-related programs also account for the need for equity in these spaces. As City Councilor, I continue to push for bold action that works to reverse environmental injustices in our community and will continue to do so as your next State Representative.  

Energy. 

I will work to put the historic amount of federal dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts coming into the state to work for our community: investing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, clean technology research and innovation, modernizing our grid for energy transition, and ensuring that we actively create opportunities for a just transition for workers in industries affected by energy shifts. These partnerships are essential in this work and we have a responsibility to continue to be bold and innovate to protect our environment for the next generation. 

Public Lands. 

Our open spaces and public lands are what make Colorado such a special place to live. As a city councilor, I voted to expand our parks and open space, with particular focus on increasing green space in parts of the community with less access to these types of amenities that we know contribute to health outcomes and quality of life. I am committed to continuing to support our neighbors living in wildland-urban interfaces in Jefferson County with fire mitigation programs and ensuring that we are fully equipping our fire departments with the resources they need to protect our community. 

Many working families and small businesses are still struggling to make ends meet as we continue to recover from the pandemic. I understand what that’s like. Growing up, there were many times my family had to decide between paying rent or paying for food. 

As a City Councilor, I’ve worked hard to help rebuild our economy by supporting small businesses, investing in our transportation infrastructure, helping create an innovative daywork program, and fighting for housing that’s more affordable.  As your State Representative I’ll work hard to ensure that in Colorado, we rebuild our economy in a way that rewards hard work and puts working families and small businesses first. To me, that means partnering with businesses to create well paying jobs, standing for equal pay, and protecting the health and safety of workers.