| My mother is a first generation Mexican-American. She marched alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta fighting for the right to unionize, fair wages and better working conditions. I understand the importance of protections for workers in our communities. My father worked three jobs as an enlisted Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. As a survivor of domestic abuse, I know that we must fight to ensure that our most vulnerable do not slip through the cracks. And as a mother of four grown sons educated in Jeffco public schools, I know our teachers and schools need to be supported and adequately funded.
Before becoming the Representative of House District 24, I worked for over three decades in the dental industry, including a dental practice right here in Jeffco. I have long been invested in helping vulnerable members of our community and improving quality of life for all residents. In 2015, I was a leader of the campaign for Wheat Ridge Issue 300, a grassroots uprising of citizens pushing back against out-of-control development. I then served on the Wheat Ridge City Council and as Director of the Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Board. My work in the community also includes serving as a board member for the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Wheat Ridge Planning Commission, the West Metro Veteran Resource Network, and Heading Home, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness. I have also been involved with Wheat Ridge Partnered in Faith, the Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival board, and I'm a proud member of the Jefferson County Democratic Latino Initiative (JDLI).
Since being elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, I have been a champion on issues such as supporting working families, protecting survivors of abuse, firearm safety, and animal welfare. I have led legislation to improve wages for home care workers, maintaining sibling relationships between foster youth, protecting consumer data privacy online, and supporting our small and medium-sized construction businesses. During the 2021 session as our state continued to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, I sponsored legislation to help small businesses gain access to the capital they needed to survive. I also worked on passing several pieces of legislation that weren't able to be finished in 2020 when the pandemic hit (see a full list of legislation I have passed here). I advocated not only for bills I prime sponsored, but also others that I felt passionate about. Hear my floor remarks and personal story on my bill making sure those with protective orders against them relinquish their firearms, HB21-1255, here, as well as my remarks on the bill granting rights to agricultural workers, SB21-087, here.
I currently serve on three committees at the State Capitol- Business Affairs & Labor, State, Veterans, & Military Affairs, and Appropriations. This session I was also very grateful to serve as the Majority Co-Whip. I am proud to be a member of the Colorado Latino Democratic Caucus, and Co-Chair the Colorado Legislative Animal Welfare (CLAW) Caucus, the Children's Caucus, and the Democratic Women's Caucus.
There is still work to be done, and I look forward to continuing to serve at the Capitol with a focus on ending the sale of pets from puppy mills in Colorado, protecting survivors of domestic abuse from gun violence, promoting common sense gun safety laws, advancing consumer data privacy protections, supporting our small businesses, and more. I have met so many members of the community with their own powerful stories during my time as a Representative - survivors of domestic violence, parents of youth who have struggled with mental health, parents and teachers worried about the pandemic, workers, and community members committed to a level playing field and bright future in House District 24. I look forward to continuing to work together with you, to create progressive change in Colorado! |