For 20 years I've been an advocate and attorney for abused or neglected kids and parents in juvenile court. Earlier in my career, I represented low-income people in our criminal courts. I've also served as a mediator, mediation trainer, and collaborative lawyer. 

For the last 4 years, I've helped families on their road to recovery, as an attorney in the Polk County Recovery Court program. In that role, I work collaboratively on a team with a judge, an assistant Polk County attorney, social workers from the Department of Human Services, a therapist, a substance abuse treatment provider, attorneys for parents, and the recovery court coordinator to provide representation and support for families as they learn to live in recovery and safely parent their kids. As Polk County Attorney, I will leverage these skills and experiences to effectively manage a large office and work with community partners to create thriving communities and coordinate investments in our kids.

My dad was one of 15 kids, born and raised in Des Moines. He was a Marine when I was born at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. My mom was a teen mom who dropped out of high school and later earned her GED. My parents both worked union jobs and eventually retired from those jobs. I've been working since my parents divorced when I was 14.  I worked in a dry cleaner, as a waitress, in retail stores, and as a union flight attendant for 12 years, where I helped organize our union to fight B scale wages.

I'm a first-generation college student, and worked continuously during college and law school.  I know what it's like to have to decide which bills get paid now and which ones have to wait for another paycheck.

I’ve served our community as a board member for ArtForce Iowa, a non-profit that creates opportunities for youth to transform through art. In 2019 I traveled to South Texas to help provide legal assistance to people seeking asylum. I’ve provided legal services at no cost to folks for 22 years, as a volunteer with the Polk County Bar Association volunteer lawyer’s project.  

In my work as the guardian ad litem and attorney for kids of participants in Family Treatment Court, I've seen the failures of our criminal and juvenile justice systems first-hand. Many of the folks I've represented were victims of crime. I'm running for Polk County Attorney so I can help create an equitable and effective justice system, where we seek to end racial and income disparities, we invest in our kids because no kid is disposable, and we use evidence-based policies to create a safe, healthy community. We can do better.   

A whole lot of people have little to no faith in our justice system. Having worked in it for over 20 years, I can understand why. Too often your bank account or skin color determine your experience. Sometimes it seems our justice system in Polk County is more interested in sending people to jail for having some marijuana or taking them to trial for protesting or reporting the news, than in taking domestic abuse and sexual assault seriously. During this campaign, several people have reached out to talk with me about their experiences as victims of crime. They've shared that they felt they weren't listened to. They felt marginalized and ignored. We need to listen more and talk less. 

Please join us in creating a healthy, thriving Polk County with a truly just justice system.