Leadership for a Healthy Oregon

Everywhere I’ve lived and worked around the world it was clear nurses were the ultimate advocates for people’s health and wellbeing. Last year, I chose to pursue nursing as a profession, and will complete my training later this year. A good nurse, and a good state representative, share the same approach to leading their community.

My campaign is founded on working for a healthy Oregon. A significant part of that is expanding access to healthcare services in underserved communities and making medical supplies more affordable. But there’s so much more involved in improving Oregonians’ health and wellbeing. We all deserve financial security to build a stable future for our families and have the resources we need during retirement. We deserve access to education and training that helps us secure the jobs we want. We need to protect and conserve the beautiful state we live in. As your representative, I will support you, consult with you, and work with you in realizing these goals, and more.

Local Roots

I love Oregon and am grateful to call this beautiful place my home. My great-great-grandfather traveled west on the Oregon Trail, and my family has been here ever since. I grew up in Canby where my wonderful parents taught my brother and me to truly value our local and global communities. Driven by that dedication toward service, I pursued degrees in international studies and public policy, and first discovered my passion for healthcare and community engagement through volunteering in the Peace Corps. I’m ready to continue that tradition and advocate for the betterment of my hometown, my district, and my state. 

Global Experience

I’ve always felt a strong sense of duty to contribute to the wellbeing of my community. For many years, that involved communities I was adopted into overseas—as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, interning with the U.S. State Department at the Embassy in Athens, Greece, and with humanitarian medical organizations in Europe and Africa. But Oregon has always been home to me. Returning here last year was a chance to reconnect with a place I know and love, but also an opportunity to put my health policy and program management skills to broader use for the people of Oregon. 

Humanitarian Service

I returned overseas after graduate school to fulfill a lifelong dream of working for Doctors Without Borders, as an advocate for affordable medicines and an operational manager in several projects across Africa.  I strive to live my life by the principles that organization embodies, including providing help where it’s most needed, and the importance of speaking out about injustices I witness to advocate for change. 

To realize successful outcomes when sitting down with policymakers, I’ve always engaged with communities prior to reaching the negotiating table. This was true when I was collaborating with teams in Nigeria to bring disease outbreaks under control, mobilizing activists to secure lower costs for life-saving medications in South Africa, or calling for more robust health systems at World Health Organization meetings to prevent stock outs of medical supplies. Community consultation is a habit I will continue to rely on throughout my service as your State Representative.