Home municipality
Madison
Home ZIP code
53593
Know Your Candidates Interview
Our county should review budgets to identify every expense and prioritize spending based on our community’s top needs. We should examine past program funding and measure outcomes to see what’s working and what isn’t. For example, I’ll track results such as how many people who received shelter services secured permanent housing. Where programs don’t deliver clear results, I’ll improve them, reallocate funds to higher-impact services, and ensure resources go to those with greatest need. Our goal is transparent, evidence-based budgeting that maximizes every dollar.
I endorse the Iceberg Theory: the housing crisis runs deeper than the surface. As homelessness climbs yearly, we must ask hard questions about causes, how funds are allocated and how effective current programs are, and the real impact of existing efforts. I will review all funding streams and program outcomes, and pursue creative, person-centered approaches to provide sustainable housing for every individual. My agenda prioritizes community needs over cosmetic renovations, ensuring housing stability supports a thriving, healthy, and inclusive community.
I believe the top priorities are essential services and affordable housing for everyone. We must prevent overdose and suicide by ensuring strong mental health, substance-use, and crisis supports are in place across our community. We should focus on sustainability and maintaining what we’ve built, while addressing property taxes to ease burdens on working families and seniors. I would also review homeless shelter investments to confirm programs succeed and people receive support and move into stable housing.
I bring 15 years of experience as a mental health counselor and a record of leadership. I earned a Master’s in Rehabilitative Psychology from UW–Madison and use a person-centered, trauma-informed approach to help families and individuals through crisis and recovery. I’ve overseen budgets and contracts and written grant proposals to fund essential services, using data-driven, evidence-based, solution-focused methods to improve outcomes and accountability. As an immigrant and a mom, I understand how inflation and rising property taxes affect households and small businesses. I’m running to advocate for practical, fiscally responsible solutions that expand mental health access, protect taxpayers, and strengthen community resilience.
Home municipality
Madison
Home ZIP code
53593
Know Your Candidates Interview
I will work to build a balanced budget that funds critical services including: access to physical and mental health resources, protects our natural resources, and promotes affordable housing. Each contractor should be able to show the public that they are effectively using their budgeted funds. To balance the budget the County must reduce service duplications and inefficiencies as it implements cost-savings strategies. Dane County is one of the fastest growing counties in Wisconsin; meaning we must support growth without relying on increasing property taxes for revenue.
As the County seeks to increase the amount of affordable housing it also must invest in ensuring that existing affordable housing is maintained and operated efficiently. We should consider high density development in areas with easy access to jobs and public transit. The County should partner with towns and villages; pursuing funding for projects and providing technical support so smaller communities can develop affordable housing. Addressing the needs of unhoused people requires a coordinated approach. We should consider expanding existing housing-first programs that have had success.
Residents of District 9 have told me their priorities include (a) creating a balanced budget while preserving essential services in the short term (b) protecting the natural beauty and wildlife in Dane County and (c) ensuring that the County Board delivers on making our County more affordable for today’s residents and for future generations. My neighbors want to see a long-term vision for our County, one where funds are allocated in ways which will lower the cost of living over the long term.
I grew up in an immigrant family. My parents were the first in their families to go to college; they taught me the importance of education. My training as an engineer and work experience in industrial shipping, construction and medical manufacturing facilities has honed my skills as a wholistic long-range planner
As a resident of District 9 I have served on my city’s Parks Commission. In this role I gained experience in deliberate and mindful budget development; balancing the need to invest in future green space and recreational projects with the need to maintain and improve existing parks and green spaces. I have volunteered in the legislature helping people navigate public systems to find solutions to their challenges
