I am a special education teacher and I have worked in public schools for my entire career. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to the Pennsylvania State University where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Education. I earned a Masters degree in adolescent development from the University of Maryland in 2005. I moved to Frederick County in 2009. I live in Mt. Airy and my four sons attend Frederick County Public Schools. I teach Algebra and Geometry to students at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents, where we serve only students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.

        For many years, I lived a quiet life in southeastern Frederick County, working as a teacher and raising my young family. On Valentine's day of 2018, I saw the news of 17 students shot and killed in their High School in Parkland, Florida. Like many of us, I had been deeply disturbed by the uptick in school shootings in America that started with Columbine during my senior year of high school in 1999. In 2018, I had two sons in elementary school, a preschooler, and a newborn. When my elected officials reacted to this tragedy with apathy, I could stay on the sidelines no longer.

        Since then, I have been involved in the gun violence prevention movement, which, in turn, has led to involvement with many community groups in and around Frederick. I am deeply concerned about school safety, but equally committed to universal access to quality public education and the social equality that it promotes. I have been an advocate for students and parents alike on the local and the state level.

        In our current chaotic political climate I feel compelled to step into the arena. When the Federal Government is eradicating the Department of Education and the State of Maryland has to fund what used to be federal programs, our County Government will face tough decisions about the budget and which commitments we will uphold. I am here to ensure that our schools and our students remain a priority and that we move forward clear-eyed and stalwart in our purpose to protect them.