I grew up in the North County area of St. Louis, Missouri. My early experiences in life were all evident of the struggles my family went through, throughout the 2000s. At 6, I joined my mother on IBEW picket, helping her fight for a better contract. At 8, I joined my family as we went to get groceries at our local food shelf, as we struggled to keep the lights on. At 10, I learned that I could have debt for my school lunches, and that it isn’t easy to learn on an empty stomach.

I was 14, a Freshman in High School when I heard that Michael Brown had been killed just a bit down the street from my house. I learned quick how society feels about Race, and about those who Have and those who Have Not. I learned quick how mismanagement and apathy from Government can hurt people. I saw smoke rise in the night sky, with a helicopter above us. I wondered how we looked to those watching at home.

It was in my work during the Ferguson Uprising that I dedicated myself to fighting these injustices wherever I can, to always put myself on the front line whenever there is a struggle that threatens those who make this society of ours function. I knew that the same mismanagement and apathy was going to cause the same pain on repeat, not just in St. Louis, but across the country. Not more than 6 years later, I watched the same nightmare in Minneapolis.

During the 2008 Recession, I saw that the American Dream no longer delivered for our county in the same way it had in the past. The recession taught me that I come from a resilient family that, like many other families after the 2008 Recession, had to reinvent themselves. My mother donated plasma to feed us, my sister picked up two jobs, and I learned to hold off on comforts, so that my family could recover. In 2020 I saw a similar story as I worked through the global pandemic in Healthcare, and continued to serve the community amidst the crisis we were put in. From all these experiences and family roots my values are clear: hard work, integrity, and commitment to your family and your community are foundational to our success.

Over the years that I’ve served our community from many different roles; From Retail to Healthcare, Food Service to Organizing. During this time, I have spoken to the countless working people that struggle every day in our community: a mother who has to put a box of cereal back because it doesn’t fit into their budget, a senior who's worried their social security checks won’t keep up with rent, a small business owner who worried every day on how they keep their business afloat, and our neighbors who worry how to kept their heads above water, as every bill is bigger than the last. This is not the future I want to see for our state. I see our state government’s role very clearly: If you work hard in our Minnesota, you should be able to have the assurance that the state will protect your family and your right to make a decent living. That is what is at the heart of this campaign.