My father’s quite a few military postings took me and my family throughout Europe and North America, and moving so continuously taught me to adapt quickly, as each latest posting was culturally distinct from the previous ones.
As a young adult I won awards and leadership skills from my service within the Navy Reserves, while at the identical time I attended school and owned and operated a catering business, and in a while, I operated a bakery.
In my current marriage, my husband and I shared the privilege of raising our son into his thriving maturity.
I’m a RNCP, and my emphasis on continuous learning has helped me earn certificates and credits from various institutions, including the University of Guelph, Cornell and MIT.
Now, as I train to be a Vegan Chef, I’m also working on becoming a WFPB, educational, content creator.
I’m an Al Gore Climate Reality Leader, and after my son went off to school, I volunteered with multiple community organizations.
I’ve been a Green candidate 4 times since 2014, and in addition ran once as a municipal candidate.
As a GPO member, I used to be twice elected Deputy Leader, I’m the Central Representative and I’ve served on quite a few GPO governance and volunteer committees.
Why do I need to run as a GPO candidate?
Looking back, I realize I’ve almost at all times been a politically engaged advocate for fairness and justice. Barely a teen within the ‘70s, I lived in Washington DC and joined my classmates as we opposed the Vietnam War, and at lunchtimes we watched the Watergate Hearings on the cafeteria TV.
As an adult:
- I advocated on behalf of Canadian victims of GlaxoSmithKline’s lies of omission regarding Paxil’s antagonistic effects,
- I stood as much as an unscrupulous landlord who tried to illegally raise our rent,
- I educated and arranged my neighbours to push for repairs when a developer cut corners which damaged dozens of homes, and
- I empowered people in our subdivision to stop the varsity board from needlessly clearcutting a mature forest.
For the past several years, I’ve been working on behalf of municipal, peri-urban food policies, and currently, I’m a founding board member of Barrie’s Urban Pantry, and I also serve on multiple working groups for the Simcoe County Food Council. Each organizations act in support of accelerating food security, food literacy, and enabling local food systems.
I understand how it feels to be powerless, but I also understand how it feels to perform positive change. As a possible, future Green MPP, it will be my job to make use of my experiences to get up and represent the integrity, equity, and the Clean and Caring Recovery characterised by the Green Party of Ontario.
It will be my honour to run as a GPO candidate again, and I’d be proud to work alongside my fellow Greens as we take motion towards constructing back smarter.
Finally, I need to make sure my son, Gary, inherits a livable planet, and I’m desirous to help create that future, one made with real compassion for the people and places we love.
