About Me

Each stage of my life’s journey—from my time in the classroom, to my career as an attorney, and my ongoing role as an involved parent—has shaped my perspective and fueled my commitment to Lovejoy. I bring a passion for education, an appreciation for the legal parameters that guide school governance, and, most importantly, a personal investment in the future of Lovejoy ISD as a parent of five young children in our schools. I am eager to bring these experiences and my unwavering dedication to the role of trustee, and I look forward to serving our community on the Lovejoy ISD school board.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University and I absolutely loved teaching!  Unfortunately, because of the state of public school funding in Arizona at that time, my classmates and I were informed that we would probably not find permanent teaching jobs after graduation–tenured teachers would likely have priority with the state budget cuts.  So, I decided to take the LSAT and was accepted into law school while I was student teaching.

My passion for public education and teaching stayed strong as I pursued law.  I had experienced how laws could affect education and I felt an urgent need to learn how to advocate.  I was selected to be a special mentor and a teacher’s assistant for incoming law students which kept my teaching skills fine-tuned and at the ready.  When I was interviewing for jobs, attorneys would often ask, “How would being a past elementary school teacher be helpful at our firm?”    My answer was always the same:  “You need someone who has the patience and the skills to explain complex legal issues in a way that your clients can understand.  I can do that for you!”   And I did.

After a few years, I decided to take a break from big law and really dive into another big teaching AND advocacy role—being a mom.  At this stage of my life, everything I do revolves around my young kids and so naturally, Lovejoy has become a BIG hobby of mine because I want to support our teachers and our students and I want to do it effectively.  So, just like preparing lesson plans or researching and writing legal briefs, this has taken a lot of work.

In 2021, when the closure process of Lovejoy Elementary began,  I started regularly attending board meetings because I needed to understand what and how decisions were being made.  I couldn’t advocate effectively without the information, knowledge, and actually being in the appropriate forum to advocate.  This is still as true today as it was four years ago when I started attending meetings and so it has remained a priority for me.  I also knew it was important to build relationships with my children’s incredible teachers, campus administrators, and fellow parents—and the best and truly most rewarding way to do that has been actively serving in this district through PTO, campus and district committees, the Lovejoy Gifted Association, and most recently, a grassroots group of moms dedicated to personally lobbying our legislators for public school funding.

As I have continued to learn, serve, and advocate for Lovejoy, the question of board service and whether I could make a difference in that role has naturally come to my mind.  After much prayer and family discussion, I felt it was the right time to pursue this position.  I know it will be hard work and require sacrifice, but whether I am setting up a lunch for our staff, putting on a silly costume to teach an Art Sparks lesson, drafting another legislative update, reviewing our district’s strategic goals, sitting across the table from Rep. Candy Noble and Sen. Angela Paxton to strongly encourage them to fund our schools, or just trying to make sure the kinders get all of their trash into the trash can after lunch—dedicating my time to serving in this district has been absolutely invaluable because it has time and time again proved how special the PEOPLE in this community are.  I would be honored and humbled to continue serving and advocating for you as a board trustee.  Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,