working together for results!

In my first four years as State Representative, I’ve successfully championed laws to help our families, schools and businesses thrive, including initiatives such as:

 ·       Protecting our streets and crime victims, while holding criminals accountable.

·       Prioritizing mental health and addiction prevention, and bringing recovery funding and supports for individuals and families who are struggling.

·       Leading the fight for access to affordable child care and quality early learning for our current and future workforce.

·       Increasing our share of state funding so our children can learn, succeed and access career training and pathways, while helping adults build more skills with credential and education attainment.

·       Equipping our police and first responders with training and supports to help our communities stay safe and tackle violent crime.

·       Bringing millions of investment to our community to help our families, our workforce and our businesses stay on track.

·       Lowering costs for farmers to grow their crops to help reduce food prices for everyone.

·       Supporting our veterans and assisting our military families with family-friendly policies and education reforms to help their children stay on track as they move into and out of Ohio.

·       Expanding telehealth and access to speech and hearing services for our children, seniors and Ohioans in underserved areas.

·       Helping hundreds of local citizens and businesses solve problems, cut taxes and bureaucratic red tape to find vital services.

In addition to these and more legislative initiatives, I’ve also led as vice chair of the Behavioral Health Committee, and served on the Finance Committee and Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education, and the Public Health Policy, Economic and Workforce Development, Families and Agingin Committees. Additionally, I am a member of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board and past chair and member of the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Board which focuses on preventing child abuse and neglect through strategies, training and resources for parents, physicians and other professionals.  Key initiatives: the free online Triple P Positive Parenting Program, resources to combat infant mortality, human trafficking, promote childhood safety and more. As Joint Chair of the state’s child care study committee, I worked with a statewide collaborative group to spearhead recommendations to help ensure access to high quality child care and sustain publicly funded support so more individuals can enter the workforce.  This General Assembly, I have championed a number of bills to implement solutions generated through this process. I am also a member of the Ohio Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission.

My Background

As I’ve served in the General Assembly these past four years, I have drawn extensively on our region’s input and my diverse experiences working as a small business owner, family advocate, elected clerk of court and community volunteer. 

My background includes serving as Clerk of Court for Kettering Municipal Court, representing Kettering, Centerville, Washington Township and Moraine. With my team, I focused on leveraging technology, reinventing processes and cutting costs to improve services and return millions in revenues and savings to taxpayers.  

Along with public sector work, I have extensive private sector experience. Before coming to the court, I ran a small business for more than 15 years providing communications and process improvement solutions for small and large companies and non-profits including health care, education and human service organizations. I’ve also been fortunate to work in health care and for a statewide organization to increase inclusion and eliminate barriers for Ohioans with developmental disabilities and served as a hospital communications professional.  

My drive to bring change for the good extends into our community where I’ve led and worked alongside many dedicated individuals to launch initiatives to address teen alcohol and drug prevention and addiction, hunger, criminal justice issues and building positive life skills so key to mental health. 

Volunteer roles have included co-founding the South Suburban Coalition and supporting youth-led prevention in five area high schools including Fairmont, Oakwood, Alter, Centerville and Miamisburg.  As a long-time board member and chair for Kettering’s Partners for Healthy Youth, a city-school-community collaboration, I worked to find solutions to issues facing our children and families. As part of the region’s effort to combat the opioid epidemic and substance misuse, I served on the Montgomery County Overdose Action Team, the Montgomery County Drug-Free coalition and the Montgomery County Prevention Coalition. And for more than a decade, I led community and faith organizations in coming together to create a summer-long experience that connects youth in an under-resourced neighborhood with food and caring mentors. 

On the state level, I worked to improve criminal justice issues by serving as legislative co-chair and past president of the Ohio Association of Municipal/County Court Clerks before joining the Legislature.

My educational background includes graduating from Centerville High School and Wright State University, and my husband John and I have lived and raised our family in Kettering. for most of our adult lives.

I’ve learned a lot working alongside many dedicated, smart, creative individuals in our communities and I remain focused on bringing people together to solve problems and drive change for the good. 

You can count on my commitment to listening and working with everyone to make a difference for our community in Columbus. I respectfully ask for your vote to continue to serve as your State Representative!