About me
While I have made my home in Sitka, I have family across Alaska. My brother and his wife raised their children in Dillingham. My niece lives with her husband and their daughter in Petersburg. Our family chose different parts of rural Alaska as home, but we share a commitment to the well-being of Alaska’s rural and remote communities.
Over the years I have been an active volunteer in foreign exchange in Sitka. I love to read fiction, bake, and enjoy our state’s remarkable outdoor opportunities. Past adventures have included paddling 1200 miles on the Yukon River, backpacking in Gates of the Arctic National Park, and paddling the Wood-Tikchik State Park in Southwest Alaska.
In 2020, I was elected to the Sitka Assembly, where I served as liaison to the Sitka School Board and the Tree and Landscape Committee. In 2022 I was elected to represent House District 2, the coastal communities from Yakutat to Hydaburg. As a member of the Education Committee, the Community and Regional Affairs Committee, and the Special Committee on Fisheries, I am using my experience as an educator, a local elected official, and an advocate for healthy ecosystems to bring my district’s voice to the decisions that are made in Juneau.
In 2023, the first legislation to pass both houses was House Joint Resolution 5, which advocated for the State of Alaska to put its full force behind the trollers of Southeast in their defense against a misplaced lawsuit out of Washington State. As the sponsor of HJR 5, I am pleased and relieved our trollers were able to fish king salmon in 2023, and I stand ready to defend Southeast fisheries going forward.
Over the summer of 2023, I was able to visit all 21 of the communities of House District 2. It remains my honor to represent the amazing people who call this region home in the Alaska Legislature.
In three decades as an educator, I have been lucky enough to serve students and families in diverse settings: as a National Parks Education Specialist at Katmai National Park in Southwest Alaska; a classroom teacher in Sand Point, Alaska; a science center educator in Kuwait; a private school teacher in Hawaii; and for the past seventeen years, an elementary teacher in Sitka.
I have received state and national recognition as an educator, including the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, Alaska Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year, and Teacher at Sea through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I was appointed to the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development by Governor Walker in 2016, and I have served in several leadership positions in NEA-Alaska.
