I was born in Reno, attended McQueen High School, and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. I served as the ASUN student body president 20 years ago and now love teaching there. After living abroad in Costa Rica and China, attending graduate school in the Washington D.C. area, and working in other states, I chose to return and make Reno my permanent home. My husband and I now raise our two children here and wouldn't live anywhere else! For fun, we enjoy walking along and fishing in the Truckee River; camping in the nearby mountains; hiking at Lake Tahoe; cheering on the Aces at baseball games and the Wolf Pack at basketball games; and attending concerts and musicals.
Professionally, I have more than 15 years of experience working with the Nevada Legislature during eight Legislative Sessions in multiple roles. I began working with the Nevada Legislature in 1997 as a Legislative Intern to Assembly member Vivian Freeman, who at the time represented Assembly District 24 and was Chair of the Assembly Committee on Health & Human Services. I was honored to then serve in the same District and on the same committee.
In 2004, I returned to the Legislature, working for more than six years as a nonpartisan Senior Research Analyst and Committee Policy Analyst for the Legislative Counsel Bureau. I also served as Deputy Director for Nevada’s largest executive branch agency, the Department of Health & Human Services, where I tracked and testified on legislation and budget issues. Previously, I also served as a lobbyist at the Legislature as the Director of Government Relations for the Nevada State Medical Association.