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Civic Positions/Experience
Orange County School Board Member, District 1 (2018–present, two terms); President, Florida School Boards Association; former PTA President at the elementary, middle, and high school levels; former member, Florida PTA Board of Directors; served on OCPS Superintendent Search Committee, Calendar Commi
Education
University of Central Florida, B.A. in Business Administration
Campaign Phone
407-718-9925
I have spent eight years on this board doing the work, not just talking about it. I understand the budget because I have voted on it year after year. I understand the legislative landscape because I serve as President of the Florida School Boards Association and have personally fought in Tallahassee for student mental health protections and against funding threats to our public schools. I have built relationships across this community, from educators to families to civic leaders, and I know how to bring people together around what matters most: our students. Leadership on Day 1 is not something you can fake. It comes from experience, and I have it.
Yes, i've made difficult budget calls, including this year's painful $8.2 million cut to mental health services, driven by state underfunding and rising healthcare costs. I've been deeply involved in finding ways to reduce those healthcare costs and explore alternate funding sources. It's clear we can't count on the Legislature to fully fund public education, so we need sustainable local solutions: renewing OCPS's 1 mil referendum on the 2026 ballot, and asking voters for an additional .25 mil dedicated to teacher pay in 2028. Through it all, my priority stays the same: protect classroom instruction, educator pay, and student mental health and safety first, while spending every dollar we control transparently and strategically.
AI is already part of our students' world, and pretending otherwise does not serve them. I believe we need clear, thoughtful policies that guide how students and teachers use AI responsibly, with strong protections for student data privacy and a continued emphasis on critical thinking, not shortcuts. Teachers need real training and support to integrate these tools effectively, not just a mandate handed down with no resources behind it. For our students, I want to see AI literacy built into our curriculum so they understand the technology, its limitations, and how to use it ethically, because the jobs they are walking into will require exactly that kind of fluency.
I believe parents absolutely deserve a voice in their children's education, and I have spent my entire career as an advocate making sure that voice is heard. At the same time, I do not support efforts to ban books or strip away inclusive materials based on a narrow political agenda that does not reflect our whole community. The way through this tension is a transparent, consistent process, one that involves educators, parents, and the community, and that is grounded in what serves student learning and reflects the diversity of the families we represent. I will always choose a process built on dialogue over one built on division.
Declining enrollment in some areas alongside rapid growth in others created real challenges this year, and closing schools is never a decision I take lightly. Moving forward, I want to see a long-range facilities plan that anticipates these shifts before they force difficult closures, not after. On staffing, the answer starts with pay. We cannot recruit or retain great teachers if we are not paying them what they are worth, and I have been vocal, including advocating for changing the language in the tax referendum to guarantee funds for teacher raises, because our educators deserve more than promises. Retention also means supporting teachers with manageable workloads, mental health resources, and real respect for the profession.
I have real concerns about how Florida's voucher expansion has diverted public dollars to private, parochial, and homeschool options with little accountability for outcomes. Every dollar leaving our public schools is a dollar not going toward teacher pay, mental health services, or students who have no option but their neighborhood school. I support parental choice, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the public system serving most of Orange County's children, nor without real accountability. There must be three non-negotiables for any entity or family receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers: students must be safe, students must be learning, and taxpayer dollars must be spent transparently.
I firmly believe there should be a school resource officer on every one of our campuses, and I have fought to secure the contracts that make that possible. We have also worked to strengthen our mental health support systems and reporting tools so students and families can flag concerns about bullying and cyberbullying before they escalate. These efforts have made a real difference, but I will never say the job is finished. Every incident, in our district or anywhere in this country, is a reminder that we have to keep evaluating and strengthening our safety protocols, our threat assessment processes, and our investment in the adults and counselors who build trust with students every day.
This is one of the issues I care about most, which is exactly why this year's $8.2 million cut to mental health services was so difficult for me. Mental health funding has to be a priority, not an afterthought cut when money is tight. That means preserving counselor and mental health staff positions, building on our Baker Act reform work to protect students' rights and dignity during crises, and ensuring teachers and staff, who carry an enormous emotional load daily, have support too. Since funding is always a challenge, we must create more public-private partnerships to meet our students' and staff's mental health needs. Agencies can no longer work in silos. We must all work together to ensure every student receives the care they need.
