I’m passionate about this city.
My husband and I have lived here for over 20 years. We raised our children here. I got my Bachelor’s degree here. I ran for and won a seat on the Champaign Unit 4 School Board in 2015, and I’ve served there ever since. I’m committed to making our city a better place to live, work, and raise families.
I’m originally from Madison, Wisconsin, and my husband and I lived in the Boston area for 8 years before we moved here. I loved living in both those cities, but Champaign is the place we’ve chosen to call home since 2002. We were thrilled at the affordability of housing here compared to the other places we’ve lived.
Our daughters both went to Bottenfield, Edison, and Central. Our oldest daughter just started graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, and our younger daughter is attending Parkland College. Unit 4 schools gave them an outstanding educational foundation for college, and I’m proud to have played a role in supporting the school district as school board member, secretary, and vice president.
I have an Associate degree in Accounting and another in Computer Programming from Madison Area Technical College. When we moved here, I went back to school (starting at Parkland and finishing at the U of I) and received a Bachelor’s degree in Math and Computer Science in 2009. We have outstanding higher education institutions in this community.
I worked as an applications programmer in Madison and Boston for 12 years. I’ve done accounting work for several small businesses in town, and for the last 2 years I’ve been the Finance Director at the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation. My husband works as a software architect at Nvidia. We need to continue to create a good environment for our small businesses, technology companies, and startups.
One of my favorite things about living here is being able to walk and bike so many places. When my children were in elementary school, they walked or biked to school most days. I biked or took the bus to the university when I was studying there. I bike or take the bus to my job most days, and I often bike to the grocery store, the library, and the farmer’s market. I even bike to school board meetings, and if I’m elected, I plan to bike to council meetings whenever possible. Everyone deserves safe, convenient active transportation options.