My wife, Alyse, and I live in Apple Valley with our toddler. We chose to raise our daughter in the community I grew up in because we love our wonderful ISD 196 schools, the parks, and the community we’ve built.

It is an honor to represent our district – Apple Valley, Rosemount, and a portion of Eagan – each day at the legislature. My committee assignments include Vice Chair of the Education Policy and State and Local Government committees, and membership on the Human Services and Education Finance committees. I also serve on the newly formed subcommittee to dig into the impacts of the federal Reconciliation Bill (the “Big Beautiful Bill”) on state programs and services.

We made history in 2022. I am proud to be the first out lesbian, the first Black mom, and one of the first Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate. I’m running for re-election to continue serving our community and protect Minnesotans from the uncertainty and chaos coming out of Washington DC.

I’ve never been afraid to run head-first into a challenge. In my first term as your State Senator, I successfully led initiatives to expand reproductive freedom, protect LGBTQ+ rights, safeguard election integrity, and promote literacy, including:

• The Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act: Bipartisan legislation that aims to have every child reading at or above grade level each year starting in kindergarten. 
• Regulating Deepfake Technology in Elections: I passed one of the strongest laws to regulate Big Tech in the country to keep deepfakes – hyperrealistic AI-generated images and videos – from interfering in our elections. 
• The Reproductive Freedom Codification Act (RFCA): Removes outdated and unconstitutional abortion restrictions from state law.
• Trans Refuge Bill: My Reproductive Freedom Caucus (RFC) Co-Chair, Representative Leigh Finke and I passed the Trans Refuge Bill to ensure our state remains a welcoming and safe space for trans kids and their families. 
• Eliminating TEFRA Fees: I worked to eliminate TEFRA parental fees for parents of children on MA and HCBS waivers and put money that would go toward this “disability tax” back in the pockets of these families.

At the federal level, we are seeing some of the largest transfers of wealth to the top 1% in this country while essential programs and services for children, families, homeowners, seniors, and people with disabilities get gutted. With another term, I will defend our legislative victories and fight to protect our district and state with everything I have.

In addition to my role as a public servant, I am the Special Projects Advisor at Gender Justice, a legal non-profit where I work to advance gender justice through public education, strategic partnerships and coalition-building.