Much of my "why" comes directly from my upbringing as a former foster child, that spent her first nearly 5 years unhoused with mentally ill parents. I was eventually adopted to a family along with siblings that didn't speak English when we met, whose parents had been deported to El Salvador. My adopted mother was wheelchair bound, and as I grew up navigating the System and using grants and scholarships to get myself through college despite missing my first few years of education, I found so many of the issues across my path, around healthcare, immigration, housing, funding for low income earners in college, were interconnected. I am here now because I grew up with the community as my family, and I still consider it so. I strive to create opportunities for others who may find themselves in similar situations, through connection of services that often already exist, and simultaneously strive to give back in thanks for the many opportunities I have been fortunate enough to have had.

​

Having often juggled three jobs at a time throughout to afford food, rent, and basic utilities, I understand many of the struggles of our working class. I understand what utilizing our RTD system and bike lanes for daily use looks like, as I relied solely on these before being able to purchase a car at 27. My life has provided me the lived experience to understand that effective solutions come from listening to the community, and that local policy decisions have direct impact on individuals and families.

​

By day, I am a Project Manager for IT (Information Technology) Professional Services. I manage cross sectional engineering teams to complete infrastructure projects for private and public clients. In college, I studied environmental sciences and policy in the Great Lakes region.