VOTE411 Voter Guide

My professional and educational background is rooted in public health, and understanding how to best structure systems to serve all. I earned a Masters degree in Public Health, and a Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish. My research focused on how perceived discrimination and stress impacts the physical body. In my professional life, I have worked in direct service roles, supporting previously incarcerated young males to reconnect with their families and children. I currently work as a Senior Program Manager for a large health system. My experience has prepared me to understand complex systems, and identify how to create impactful and lasting change for communities.

David Douglas School District has a clear strategic plan as well as an Equity and Diversity plan. While the regulations and requirements of the current federal administration regarding education is rapidly changing, I have confidence that the DDSD will continue to promote educational equity and inclusion as guiding values. I also am proud to know that our DDSD will protect all students and families, regardless of immigration status.

The strong strategic plan that was co-created with district leaders and community members will be the guiding framework to address our largest issue at hand- a significant budget deficit. With careful planning, I feel confident that we can maintain the excellent progress made with our staffing structures, enrichment programs, and employee trainings.

I have spent years fighting for investments that give every student—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—a real chance to succeed. I have served on the Oregon Governor's Child Foster Care Advisory Commission, Oregon Commission on Autism as Social Services Co-Chair and more.

I’ve directed $60 million into after-school programs, youth of color, and foster youth on the Portland Children's Levy Advisory Council.

Lastly, I have served as Policy Writer to multiple popular community leaders, such as Immigration Attorney Ronault Catalani.

We are required to comply with the legal processes and restrictions, but should explore all legal options to protect critical programs necessary for the success of our diverse students.

I have the relationships, values, and policy experience to fight for stronger student services, better early learning, and smarter budgeting—ensuring every dollar goes where it matters most.

We need to work together with leaders across the city and state. Invest in student success through sharing resources across districts, and provide more oversight. I think that we need to have accountability and be asking questions, and trying different ideas to help our youth succeed.

i’ve worked David Douglas for the last four years and I’ve gotten the opportunity to work directly with hundreds of students while both coaching and serving as a graduation mentor. District leadership has identified me as someone who can help work through both student and staff challenges. This combination with my 10 years of prior business and financial experience will pair well for the school board.

I probably have a better understanding of what our obligations are as a district since I’ve been fortunate enough to sit in on some leadership meetings with our superintendent, discussing these exact issues. With our current administration, taking steps to dismantle things like DEI and affinity based spaces Our district has contingency plans for multiple scenarios. I understand that we have an obligation to comply with our policies in order to receive funding, but we also have an obligation to serve our students in the best way possible.

Bring the actual high school in middle school perspective into our board meetings. Often times our board does not get to hear from the masses concerns issues. They only hear from the small portions that do attend board meetings. I built relationships throughout the district that I can pull from to actually get a pulse on the real issues