State Board of Education, Ward 3 · District of Columbia

What top two issues motivate you to serve on the State Board of Education?

The top two issues motivating me to serve are ensuring DC meets its obligations to students with special needs and improving transparency and accountability in school administration. Recent investigations and parent testimony show how the city has let students with disabilities down. Reversing those failures must be centered in every education policy decision. Second, families and teachers struggle to get answers or action from school leadership. Stronger oversight is essential to support special education, as well as tackling other critical issues like chronic absenteeism, restoring a dedicated nurse to every school, and balancing needed limits on screen time while making sure EdTech is evidence-backed and equitably distributed.

How do you intend to hear from, respond to, and balance the needs of students, parents, and teachers?

I will host regular community "office hours," attend school and neighborhood events, and partner closely with local school advisory teams (LSATs) and parent-teacher-student organizations (PTSOs). I will publish regular newsletters on Board actions and citywide policy, while remaining accessible to respond to questions from individuals. To balance competing needs, I will ground every decision in a few core principles: maintaining high academic standards, demanding transparent and responsive school leadership, prioritizing support for students with special needs and their families, and pushing for educators to have the resources and staffing they need to succeed in the classroom.

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What top two issues motivate you to serve on the State Board of Education?

(#1 - Citywide concern) Every student graduating with a diploma from public school in DC should have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in either college or a living wage career. Yet, currently, many graduates are still not proficient when they graduate high school. Providing additional academic, social service, and/or mental health supports for students during the school year and over the summer is essential for ensuring that students do not fall behind grade-level proficiency. (#2 - Ward 3 concern) Ward 3 has a unique issue with school overcrowding, which prevents Ward 3 from having any in-boundary Pre-K for three-year-olds and creates a lack of inclusive special education capacity throughout our ward.

How do you intend to hear from, respond to, and balance the needs of students, parents, and teachers?

The two major initiatives that have been under the statutory purview of the DC State Board of Education during the last four years were the revisions of the social studies standards and the DC high school graduation requirements. For these in-depth initiatives, I invited input from residents in my newsletter that I post on Ward 3 listservs, via social media posts, by attending community meetings and farmers' markets, and I also heard from residents through the e-mails and testimony we received at the Board. In addition to drafting resolutions and legislation to solve issues raised by constituents, I have also testified at dozens of DC Council hearings to advocate for the priorities raised by Ward 3 parents, students, and educators.

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Accountability

Regardless of the specific issue area, the public policy principle I am most passionate about is government accountability and institutional transparency. My highest priority is ensuring that our public services answer directly to the voters, families, and community members they exist to serve.

What specific experience or skills prepare you to serve as a Board member?

I firmly believe our Board member should know our schools firsthand and be directly invested in DC public education. As an active parent-volunteer, I served as Janney Plus board treasurer, co-chair the Alice Deal Middle School LSAT, and serve on the Jackson-Reed PTSO board. I have also been a vocal advocate, testifying before the Board on special education, revised graduation standards, school nurse staffing, and classroom screen time and EdTech. In addition, last year I authored an op-ed in The 51st spotlighting the shift away from full-length novels in middle school English. On the Board, I will bring that same hands-on and persistent commitment to speaking up for our students, families, and educators.

What specific experience or skills prepare you to serve as a Board member?

I have dedicated my entire 21-year career to public service in DC. I am a licensed attorney. I served as Budget Director for DC Council, Budget Director for Mayor Vince Gray, Committee Director of both the Committees on Health and Finance & Revenue at DC Council, and I was General Counsel for United Medical Center. At SBOE, I have personally written a record number of State Resolutions and legislation on the following issues: adding school nurses, full- length novels, curriculum transparency, developmentally appropriate kindergarten enrollment policies, timely approval of the WTU contract, a Green New Deal for Schools, ending legacy admissions, improving special education transportation, and creating universal out-of-school time programs.