Experience
Uniquely qualified to serve New Hanover County
Decades of leadership in education and public service have prepared me to fight for what's right—even when it's not easy.
Background & Qualifications
The Cape Fear area has been my home for a lifetime. I grew up here, earned my education here, built my career here, and raised my family here. This deep connection to our community has prepared me to serve.
Private Sector Experience
Before becoming an educator I also worked in the private sector both as a manager and co-owner of a small business.
Teaching Career
During the 1990's I taught social studies at E.A. Laney with a focus on history, government and economics. I taught my students the complexities of how our democracy functions, a major part of which involved teaching about how our state and local governments work alongside the process of financing those governments.
Educational Leadership
After I earned my Masters in School Administration, I worked in leadership positions as an administrator in public schools and in educational non-profits.
School Board Service
I am now serving my second term on the NHC School Board. During that time I have experienced problems but also many successes. The office itself has prepared me to serve as a County Commissioner. New Hanover County School's budget is $350 million, which is the largest expenditure by the county, and we are the second largest employer in NHC. While on the board I have served on multiple committees, such as policy and finance, and been part of hundreds of meetings along with constantly being in touch with staff and community members.
I constantly make decisions and bring proposals to the board. I learned a lot about working with elected officials who often are not in agreement politically. But if we focus on what is best for our children, and collaborate to reach that goal, we work well together.
Standing Up for What's Right
Protecting Our Students
Almost immediately after being elected in 2018 I discovered that our district had been ignoring, or in some cases “covering up” decades of sexual assaults perpetrated by some staff members. When I demanded that the board investigate, I was met with resistance from the other six members who refused to acknowledge, let alone investigate, what was happening to our students.
Over the next two years, thanks to good local journalism and brave victims, the public discovered the truth. Dozens of students had been sexually assaulted by multiple staff members over the last two decades. Several people were arrested and are serving time in prison for their assaults, one died in jail, and one even committed suicide after confessing the truth. During that time the other six board members constantly attacked me both in public and in private, trying to shut me up about the need for the investigations.
I always put the safety of our students first over the need to protect the system that allowed them to suffer, and I always will.
Fighting for Teacher Safety During COVID
In 2020, our school board decided to follow the scientists' advice when operating our schools. Limitations were put on how our schools operated to keep the virus from spreading. Ongoing research proved that this was the safest plan. Then right after the 2020 election, a couple of school board members and some county commissioners met behind closed doors and worked out “a deal.” I and other board members were kept in the dark about this meeting.
The commissioners' goal was to open the schools up within weeks, with no restrictions or safety measures in place, at the height of the pandemic. In return, our teachers would receive higher supplements at the end of the year from the County Commissioners. This was at least a month before the teachers had a chance to receive the newly developed vaccines. Those school board members literally sprung this plan on the three newly sworn in members at 11 o'clock at night during their first meeting, hoping they would vote in favor of this plan due to the timing of the vote.
They did approve of the opening, but over the next two months I and some other board members managed to prevent them from doing so until after the teachers received the vaccines. This “deal” was done, in my opinion, for political and personal reasons, not for what was best for our schools.
I will never sacrifice our community members' lives or needs to gain personally, politically or professionally while serving.
