I was born and raised in Peachtree City, Georgia, and received an undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of North Carolina- Asheville. During and after college, I served as an Americorps volunteer. First in the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho and then in New York’s Hudson River Valley. My college experience in western North Carolina and my volunteer service in the wilderness cultivated a deep, abiding love for our country’s wild places. My upbringing in Peachtree City also informs my perspective on the power of a city’s infrastructure to grow appreciation for the environment. Note that Peachtree City has nearly 90 miles of multi-use paths that allow for car-free walking, biking, and golf-carting to all areas of the city.

After my second Americorps term, I landed in Washington D.C. where I taught 8th Grade Spanish in D.C. Public Schools. I had a wonderful experience there, buoyed by my highly-esteemed colleagues and collaboration with the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Faced with the prospect of weathering Michelle Rhee’s attacks against public education, I decided to return to Georgia to spend time with my sick father and then attend the University of Georgia School of Law.

At UGA Law I distinguished myself as a leader in the Equal Justice Foundation and the Working in the Public Interest Conference, organizations that look out for the rights of those society often forgets. I also was selected as a Next Generation Leader by the American Constitution Society- a leading legal advocacy organization. In my final year of law school, 2010, I ran for U.S. Congress, challenging Paul Broun Jr. in GA’s 10th Congressional District.