I have worked in the marketing and advertising industry since 2010 and am currently the Director of Strategic Planning of a downtown Toronto agency. I’m also a college professor and teach digital strategy to advertising students in a post-grad program at Centennial College. What does that mean for you? I am a crystal-clear communicator who cuts straight to the point. I make sure I don’t just look at behaviour, I look at the why behind it, because the why is what helps enact change. I’m a comfortable public speaker and will be able to bring your concerns to Board meetings and enter into debates with confidence. I also have a high success rate at working with people and building bridges with people whose views are different from mine.

I’m an active volunteer in the community. I’m the Executive Director of Caremongers Pickering-Ajax, a grassroots organization that helps people who are isolated due to Covid, less mobile, or unable to afford gas get groceries. We also partner with food banks to provide pick-ups and deliveries.

I’ve been very involved with politics from a provincial and federal lens in the past, but am moving away from partisan politics to where each person is able to speak with their true voice—and that’s municipal.

I have a passion for public education. That’s why I’ve chosen to run for trustee.

I actually started in the private school system. I went to a small school which had such a limited social circle that it was impossible to get away from bullies as there simply weren’t enough kids to find friends elsewhere. I spent much of my young childhood in the sick room. I’m sorry to say that the school’s response to bullying was to ignore it and protect the staff who failed to intervene. I left after grade six.

My second private school experience lasted only for the seventh grade. A girls-only school, I was regularly fielding four or more hours of homework a night. It was stressful and unhappy. But I discovered a love of technology, computers, and community engagement that stays with me to this day.

I entered public school in eight grade and it was like a breath of fresh air. The academics were still rigorous, but achievable, and I was able to find not one but several groups of friends and have the space to make a variety of social connections. Many of my close friends today I met in high school, where I went to an alternate-attendance performance arts school. Sadly, my dream of working in musical theatre died because I am a truly terrible dancer – but the other classes I took prepared me for the advertising career I’d never even thought to pursue, and my theatre classes gave me strong skills in understanding how to understand different personalities and to always build on others’ ideas instead of breaking them down.

Now, with two children of my own, putting them in the public system was a no-brainer.

My eldest child has been in both in-person and virtual schools and my youngest has had his entire kindergarten experience online (thank you, Mrs. Hunt, for making a virtual kindergarten class so much fun and rich with activities.) I’ve seen the DDSB shine above other districts when it comes to how they approached virtual education during the pandemic. I’ve seen my daughter’s French blossom over the five years she’s been in French Immersion and I’m looking forward to seeing my son start the program as he enters Gr 1 this fall.

I’m a proud supporter of teachers and have spent a fair amount of time at the picket lines over the past ten years as an ally. Our children’s education is only as good as the teachers who teach it, and we are so fortunate to have so many passionate and dedicated professionals here in Pickering. They deserve our unwavering support.

There have, however, been times where, as a parent, it’s been necessary to advocate for my children at school. There have been times where I’ve needed to work with trustees and superintendents to keep my children safe and thriving. And I promise I will take care of your kids with the same fierce dedication as I take care of mine.