I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and raised on a corn and soybean farm. I moved to Bozeman in January of 1998 to attend Montana State University whereby I received a bachelor's of science degree in english literature, and have lived here for 28 years. I will be 47 on election day, 2026, and I am the executive director of a national conservation nonprofit, the Mountain Mamas. Growing up on an active farm instilled in me the ethos of hard work, and the simple fact that the corn doesn't grow if you don't plant it, and take care of it. Over my 20 years working in conservation, I have championed numerous, impactful conservation legislation in both Congress and the state legislature, including the hugely impactful Land and Water Conservation Fund
The current federal administration has waged war on simple freedoms of Americans. Ability to care for our bodies as we see fit, protections on our shared public lands and waters, a fair and just taxation system, foundational public education systems, and even the right to access voting has all been challenged. I have and will continue to find commonality with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fully fund and support our public schools and the rural communities they support, to protect and expand access to voting, to steward our state and federal public lands to ensure access and ecological systems remain intact, fight back against a tax system that provides cuts for the wealthy, and protect access to needed healthcare.
One of my current constituents is weathering a 400% increase to her families' ACA premiums on the marketplace. This increase and others is untenable for working Montanans. Additionally, our rural healthcare systems are at risk of closure with loss of federal funding and support, creating dire healthcare deserts. Affordability is the root of many issues, including healthcare. I will champion efforts to provide quality, local, care at an affordable price, and also ensure that the wealthy pay their fare share in taxes to ease the burden on working Montanans. Our property taxes continue to increase, while corporations and the wealthy continue to see cuts. I will not support a regressive sales tax, & will push for additional income tax brackets.
Citizens United has created an opportunity for wealthy individuals and corporations to unjustly impact elections. I am a firm supporter of the Transparent Election Initiative, which will be on Montana ballots this fall. This effort stops the ability for corporations to spend money on elections in Montana. Without the TEI or other efforts to curtail spending, the chasm between the "haves" and "have nots" in our state and nation will continue to grow. Our elected officials are intended to represent our population as a whole, elected on issues and experience rather than the size of their pocketbooks. Currently, politics is the playground of the wealthy, and regular Montanans and Americans are left in the cold.
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I was born and raised in Ekalaka, MT, about 41 years ago. I moved to Bozeman in 2003 to earn a degree in Computer Science at Montana State University. To pay for college, I fought fire, farmed, worked construction, fixed computers, and installed sprinklers. In 2010, I began working for the Community Food Co-op as an IT Specialist and have been there ever since. I have served in the Montana House of Representatives for 3 terms.
I hold pride about where I grew up and where I live now. With my mix of small town and small city life, diverse work experience, and Montanan approach to problems, I would be honored to continue serving you, the people of Montana, in your state legislature.
Affordability - Many Montanans are having to choose between rent, food, and medicine. Ways to make life better for our citizens include strengthening healthcare systems, defending ratepayers from electricity price increases, and investing in infrastructure.
Taxes - Montanans don’t want a sales tax. Income taxes and property taxes must be applied fairly. Right now teachers and billionaires pay the same state income tax rate, despite a huge difference in services/state resources they demand. We need more tax brackets.
Democracy - Having a free country relies upon the freedom of the people. There are bad actors working to secure wealth and power by limiting our right to vote, speak, and protest. Your elected officials must stand in their way
Universal healthcare is the real answer.
At the state level, in the meantime, I will support medicaid and medicare, rural hospitals, and fund emergency care programs for those who need it most. And raise the minimum wage.
I will oppose all ballot suppression legislation, vocally, as I have done for three sessions. I will support policies like online voter registration, satellite election offices for rural areas, and mail/absentee voting.
The state government should absolutely move to limit individual campaign contributions to reasonable amounts, ban corporate spending in our elections, and ensure that our voice as voters is not drowned out by PACs and special interests from outside Montana.
Corporations aren’t people.
