Meet my family

I married my highschool sweetheart and the rest is a love story... with lots of kids, a busy house, working hard for a non-profit job and then there's my sweet cat.

My parents are an example of the American Dream – tough circumstances, hard work, and love to make their dreams comes true. I was born in Michigan to teen parents and grew up watching them work hard to make a better life through love and education.

“The funny thing about life is how you can quickly let it slip by you if you're not present in the lives around you and commited to the improvement of those.”

I loved politics and current events from a young age, running for my first public office, precinct delegate, at age 18. I went on to college to study international relations and psychology, firmly believing it necessary to understand the big and the small. From there I set off to explore the world, living, working, and studying in Asia, winding up with a doctorate. Home and love called from there and I moved to Southwest Florida, married my high school sweetheart, and started our family. We now have three kids, a house, a cat, and whole lot of wonderful friends here where we live and work.

My Family

Andrew, my husband, is my high school sweetheart and a great dad. He has been committed to justice for as long as I’ve known him. We’ve been through a lot together and he now sees the world through new eyes.

Our eldest is Ani. She is independent, kind, and brilliant. Her Odyssey of the Mind team took 3rdplace in the Florida State Tournament last year, in part because of her creativity, teamwork, and dedication. She loves baking and would love to open a crepe shop one day.

JT, our son and second born, we call our “hug-a-saurus.” He loves hard and has a heck of a grip. He’s a first grader who excels at reading. He enjoys martial arts, video games, and his little monkey named Cart. He wants nothing more in this world than to spend time with his family.

Evie, our youngest, is a little warrior. Although she is only 2, Evie has looked death straight in the eye and said “not today” more than once while batteling an autoimmune disease landing her in the hospital on mutliple occasions in critical condition. She cares deeply about others and is the first to offer a hug or an ice pack. She loves our cat, Daniel Tiger, and her blanket.