California 79.15%
District of Columbia 14.16%
Connecticut 2.08%
Oklahoma 2.08%
Other 2.52%
I believe that a good campaign is about the community in which it takes place. A product of La Cañada, I'm now running for Assembly to represent the 43rd District and the community I have always called home.
Inspired by the schools in his hometown, I have always been interested making education better for all students. The summer before I left for college, I worked on a local school board campaign, which ignited a passion that would lead me to serve on the La Cañada school board only a few years later.
In college at Princeton, I helped found an education group that sought to organize college students to advocate for strong public schools. The group, Students for Education Reform, believed college students should be natural allies of the movement redefining the conversation around education. While the group began at Princeton, it has since become a major national organization, operating on campuses across the country.
My work in the education field continued in college when I worked with Senator Gloria Romero at Democrats for Education Reform in Los Angeles. It was this same summer that I decided to run for school board. While continuing my studies at Princeton, I ran for school board, and- after a thorough campaign with a ton of cross country travel- was elected.
As a member and President of the school board, I focused on attracting the best teachers for the classroom and providing them with the most support possible, integrating technology into classrooms, allocating more funding for education in the district, transitioning to new state standards and increasing the rate of success for English language learners and special education students.
After college, I came home to La Cañada to become a 5th grade teacher at a local elementary school. Here, I teach science and math to children who have been inadequately served by their school system in the past.
As a member of the Assembly, I will seek to do away with one-size-fits-all policymaking, particularly in education. I believe communities should work with the state to find solutions to major problems ranging from transportation and housing to water and healthcare. It is his belief that in order for communities to thrive, we must move away from statewide special interests and towards the hard work and talent of local citizens, in the district and across California.
