VOTE411 Voter Guide

I graduated from UNCG with honors - Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. I graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2006. I began my legal career in public service with the Public Defender’s Office. I learned to manage heavy caseloads and make informed decisions under pressure. In 2010, I went into private practice where I expanded my legal experience into all the types of cases we handle in District Court. After 19 years of practice, my peers nominated me to NC Governor Josh Stein for appointment to the District Court bench. The Governor appointed me in 2025. As a judge I use my 20 years of experience, to preside with wisdom, fairness, and real-world understanding of the law. I preside with firmness, respect, and compassion.

Political party plays no role in the administration of justice. The law is not subject to interpretation based upon political ideation. A judge’s responsibility is to apply the law fairly, accurately, with humility and understanding. It is my duty to apply the law accurately and fairly in each situation without any agenda, bias, or platform.

I practiced law for 19 years representing all types of people with varying life experiences and perspectives in family law, criminal, and juvenile justice cases. I’ve worked on hundreds of these types of cases and gained the understanding of how to apply the law to differing facts, perspectives and personalities. While protecting the rights of my clients. I’ve worked in these fields for 20 years and learned to listen to the parties as human beings and communicate the law so that each client was informed, trusted in my counsel and was able to make informed decisions about their cases. I know what the parties must do to prepare for court and I use that experience to hear these cases.

The reason I became a lawyer; is the same reason I became a judge. It is because fundamentally and at its core, I believe in our justice and legal system. I believe that if every person in each and every position fulfills their role ethically and fully performs their duties, the system should reach the correct and just result. While the correct and just result does not mean that all parties to the case are pleased with the outcome, it should mean that all parties know that they had the tools and opportunity to have their case heard and that the law was applied impartially and correctly. This is how the system is meant to work, and I believe this is how it can work when each participant in the system fulfills their ethical obligation and legal duty. I have witnessed and participated in many proceedings where justice has been served through conscientious and deliberate effort.