I am a mother, a full time worker, a life-long, active Democrat. I have worked hard my whole life. I know what it is like to be poor; to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. I know what it is like to work your way through college. I believe in the value of a hard day of work, in education, and the importance of faith. I am a 9th District citizen.
I was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1952. I spent my childhood years in Nigeria, where my parents served as missionaries for the Lutheran Church. When I was twelve we moved back to the United States to West Lafayette, Indiana. I earned my B.A. degree in history from Indiana University in 1974, and have lived in the 9th District ever since. After graduation I returned to college and became certified to teach. I am currently an advisor for graduate students in the Department of Biology at Indiana University. I have been happily employed in this job for the past 15 years. My children are grown; their names are Caitlin, Emmy and Hannah.
I have been involved in politics nearly all of my life. I became aware of poverty and world affairs at an early age while living in Nigeria. While in high school, I became interested in civil rights and opposing the Viet Nam War. Martin Luther King inspired me then to speak up for what I thought was right. I have been doing so ever since.
While raising my family and working full time as an adult, I worked with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) to help unionize the Indiana University Bloomington campus. In 2003, I was a co-founder of the Indiana Delegation to Israel and Palestine. This was a fact-finding mission to the area; we traveled there to meet with leaders dedicated to the cause of peace.
I became alarmed after the theft of the 2000 election, so alarmed that in 2003, I co-founded the Bloomington Chapter of Common Bonds, an organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy through voter registration. That same year I also co-founded the Committee for Preservation of Democracy, an organization that promoted voting rights and election reform.
In 2006, I ran for Congress for Indiana’s 9th district for the U.S. House of Representatives. We ran an outstanding grassroots campaign and we are doing it again!
Bloomington is the place I call home. I will do all in my power to make it and the rest of the 9th District an even better place to live!