The people of Wisconsin deserve access to high-quality comprehensive reproductive healthcare.  We will not be limited by an 1849 law, passed at a time before women’s suffrage. I will be your champion for reproductive justice in the State Assembly, just as I have been a reproductive justice champion throughout my career.

Our infant mortality rates and our maternal morbidity and mortality rates in our communities of color are alarming and demand urgent action.  I have worked on improving Wisconsin’s birth outcomes as the Program Advisor for Maternal & Child Health for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health (UW SMPH). I support nonprofits and public health departments around the state who are doing the most important work for our mothers and infants. Programs that provide doula and lactation support, home visiting, group prenatal and postpartum care, mobile unit outreach, lactation support, substance use management and support, and mental and behavioral health programs and connection. There is so much we can share across communities on what is working for women and children. The legislature must support these efforts rather than working against women’s health. At the end of the last legislative session, our State Assembly had the opportunity to extend postpartum care to 12 months which would have provided support for mothers during this critical time.  Despite bi-partisan support and passage of the bill in the Wisconsin State Senate, the Assembly still chose inaction over progress.  Today, we are one of only two states in the entire country to not enact this support for our women.  

Without access to reproductive healthcare, Wisconsinites are put into impossible situations that lead to poor health outcomes not only for pregnant people and mothers, but also for their children and families. It is imperative that we challenge and fight against the agenda of the Republicans to roll back women’s fundamental rights. Additionally, our maternal and child health outcomes across the state must be improved. 

Public education in Wisconsin has continued to be underfunded and underserved by our state government, while needed funds are drained off to unaccountable private schools.  

As a board member for the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, I know first-hand how critical it is for our young people to receive a quality education early in their lives. Wisconsin must support a public school system that is fully funded and that begins with a strong early childhood system that is fully funded.

When we provide quality educational opportunities for our young people, we are investing in our community.  The future of our democracy, our environment and our community rests upon our public education.  As your State Representative, I will support our teachers, staff, and students, because we know that our future depends on it.  

The refusal to expand BadgerCare coverage in our state is a policy failure. This decision has kept many Wisconsin families from receiving BadgerCare assistance, and has perpetuated racial disparities in our healthcare system. As a Program Advisor for Maternal & Child Health, I know first hand how this policy decision impacts working families. Too many Wisconsinites are underinsured, and could be covered under Badgercare with the acceptance of federal funds.

As your State Representative, I will also fight to expand our current Family & Medical Leave Program so that workers can receive 14 weeks of paid leave in case of a medical/family emergency. 

Protecting the environment is critical to ensuring the health of our future generations. Our children deserve to grow up in an environment that is clean and sustainable, not polluted and exploited. 

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Public Health & Medicine I have worked on issues of racial health disparities, and extensive research has shown that the impacts of pollution and climate change disproportionately affect communities of color.

As your State Representative, I will fight to hold polluters accountable and empower the DNR to address the PFAS chemicals that are contaminating our water supply. I will also proudly lead on initiatives that will transition our power supply away from fossil fuels, and toward sustainable, renewable, energy resources. 

As the Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio, I led an agenda to end gun violence. I worked with groups including SandyHook Promise, which I collaborated with and testified together for the passage of a Child Access Prevention (CAP) law.  It is a commonsense policy that other states, even Republican dominated states, were able to implement. While Wisconsin has a similar law, it should be improved, and I will work to do that in the legislature.

Firearm violence has caused an untold amount of harm on American families. Every day without action is another day where we lose children to senseless violence and the ripple effects permeate all of our lives. As your State Representative, I will vote to introduce safe storage laws and other common sense legislation to end gun violence, like background checks for firearm purchases, Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and regulations on “ghost guns.”

People deserve to choose their representatives; representatives should not be able to choose their constituents. We need an independent commission to draw fair and competitive districts, with unbiased legal guidelines that will protect all voters and fully comply with the Voting Rights Act. 

As your State Representative, I will prioritize the protection and improvement of our democratic process. I will fight for non-partisan redistricting, making drop boxes available to more communities in our state, and enacting automatic voter registration for every eligible voter. Together, we can ensure that our democracy is representative of the will of the people.