I was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I attended the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse where I graduated with highest honors and received a B.A. in Economics and Spanish in 2007. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I became a small enterprise development Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa. While in Benin I worked to establish microfinance associations with women’s groups in local villages.

Following my service in the Peace Corps, I served as an AmeriCorps member at Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, a workforce development non-profit organization in Brooklyn, New York. I then moved to California and attended the University of California – Davis School of Law. 

While in law school I continued pursuing my passion for social justice and developed a strong interest in immigration law. I participated in the school’s immigration law clinic, served as a board member of a non-profit organization, the King Hall Legal Foundation, and was co-chair of the Immigration Law Association. I also spent a summer interning at Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church, Virginia, working with immigrant women fleeing gender based violence. 

Upon graduation from law school in 2014, I received a UC Davis Public Interest Fellowship which I used to begin practicing immigration law. 

In my free time, I enjoy hiking, biking, snowboarding, bowling and spending time with my family.