Who We Are

Growing up in Flint, Michigan during the ‘80s and ‘90s, I witnessed firsthand the impacts of auto industry disinvestment on my community. Much of what was available for employment was not desirable due to low wages. A number of my family members went to prison due to poverty crimes, including my father, who is currently serving a life sentence.

As part of a mixed-race family with limited educational resources among adults, we navigated the harsh realities of poverty and the racial and cultural dynamics that shaped every aspect of our lives. These circumstances taught me how to be resourceful in ways that would later inform my professional journey.

For over two decades, I’ve channeled these early experiences into my work—starting in journalism at 16, covering township meetings for a local paper. While writing remains a passion, I found deep resonance in the social sector, where I’ve built expertise in addressing inequity by reimagining how we engage with policy and redefine best practices. 

With 18 years in higher education and 15 years consulting nationally across sectors, I’ve developed a deep understanding of barriers not as abstract concepts, but as lived realities. My own life experiences fuel my commitment to dismantling structures of oppression through evidence-based approaches that foster healing and equity.

As a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Portland, I advocated for awareness of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW). As a Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commissioner in Alameda County, I worked to ensure the most marginalized youth had greater access to health care, education, and support while navigating their confinement.

My theory of change is rooted in these experiences. As an interdisciplinary public health scholar and human rights advocate with a Doctorate in Transformative Studies, I believe that building strong communities requires trust, repair, and addressing root causes of harm. Through my work in trauma-informed practices, prevention science, and participatory capacity-building, I’ve learned that eliminating preventable hardships requires different approaches to decision-making. 

This understanding guides my efforts in collectively designing ecosystems and sustaining communities of care locally and nationwide. The body of work I’ve developed reflects our collective need to strengthen our responses to violence through transformative means. By bridging research, healing justice, and community capacity-building, I help organizations actualize people-centered values and implement liberatory practices that improve life chances. This is why I joined the Policy Equity Group—to facilitate the Hope Starts Here Early Childhood Partnership in Detroit and lead within the organization as the Director of Equity and Strategic Initiatives. I have seen firsthand what it takes to build, break, and repair a village. I feel honored to support our partners and Detroit’s children and families in thriving daily because they can.