An At-Large Candidate with County-Wide Experience
I have always leaned in when my community needed me, whether at my children’s school, as a coach, in my neighborhood, and beyond.
My kids attended both public and parochial schools in Gaithersburg (Gaithersburg Elementary School and St. Martin’s School), Kensington (Academy of the Holy Cross), and Olney (Our Lady of Good Counsel), where I had the opportunity to connect with families from across the county. I was appointed to the St. Martin’s School Advisory Board and served on its finance committee, and volunteered with the AHC Father’s Club.
When my son was younger, they needed additional coaches for his youth baseball team, so I stepped up and coached for several years at both UMAC in Boyds, and later on, at Montgomery County Little League in Germantown—not just teaching our kids the great game of baseball, but life skills like teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship.
I was elected president of the Saybrooke Homeowners Association where I served several more years, helping to modernize our association and solidify our financial future. My HOA service led me to connect with our municipal government in Gaithersburg, and resulted in appointments to Gaithersburg’s Transportation and Olde Town Advisory Committees before winning election in 2021 and reelection in 2025.
Photo: George Burns/Harpo Studios
Faith, Fate and Fortitude
Faith has always been a key component of my life. My public policy positions are grounded in Catholic Social Justice, informed by 16 years of Catholic School, including attending an Augustinian high school and Jesuit university. I continue to be active in my Church community of St. Martin of Tours, where I have served as a lector and Eucharistic Minister (EMHC) at Sunday Mass.
In 2012, I founded The Upper Room PTSD Support Group, a faith-based peer-to-peer PTSD support group, two years after surviving the attempted suicide bombing at the former Discovery Channel headquarters. The Montgomery County Police Department SWAT team saved my life that day. But in the aftermath, I realized how few resources were available for survivors of trauma. With the help of Father Michael Paris, I created the group as a social concerns ministry of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville, my former parish. Since then, we’ve helped survivors of all kinds, including veterans and survivors of domestic abuse.
This experience fuels my passion to support the expansion of mental health programs. I was invited to speak as part of the Archdiocese of Washington’s “Theology on Tap” program, and have given talks at St. Patrick’s, St. Rose of Lima in Gaithersburg and St. Francis of Assisi in Derwood. It is my hope that by sharing my own experience we can remove the stigma that surrounds mental health and encourage people to get the help they need.
Photo: WJLA
Shared Experience
My professional life mirrors that of many Montgomery County residents. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked for employers of varying sizes throughout the County. I’ve worked in the television industry for major networks like HGTV and TLC, run a small business, lived through layoffs and government shutdowns, and had to shift my career path several times, so I bring that perspective to the Council. I regularly use public transit on both the MARC and Metro systems, and have suffered through hour-long delays along the I-270 corridor and the American Legion Bridge. Traffic is a real frustration and it’s getting worse, costing us money, aggravation, and time with our families. By working together with our state and federal partners, we can eliminate these bottlenecks and get us moving again.
I’ve seen firsthand when large employers abandon our region with no one in the pipeline to fill that void. When Discovery announced it was leaving Silver Spring in 2018, I was forced to close my freelance business and find another path. Like many in Montgomery County, several members of our family have lived through the uncertainty of federal government shutdowns, as federal employees and contractors. With each furlough we grapple with the challenges of how to pay the bills when the paychecks stop. While we were fortunate to survive the DOGE reductions in force (RIFs), the specter of future layoffs continues to hang over everyone in federal service during this Administration. This is no way to treat committed public servants who have dedicated their careers to helping the people of our country.
The Trump Administration has opened our eyes to the perils of relying so heavily on just one industry. His cuts to the federal workforce are hitting our County hard, and his overly aggressive immigration enforcement actions are not just bad for local business, they’re causing real harm to families who are part of our community, including legal residents.
We need to make Montgomery County a more welcoming destination for business investment and job growth, to diversify our economy and make it easier for people to create their own opportunities. And we also need to do more to strengthen and protect the diverse communities that make this County such a special place, reach out to help our neighbors who are in need, and stand with those who are feeling threatened or alone.
By shifting our mindset and priorities, we can meet the moment—and pave the way toward a brighter future for all of us, together.