PLATFORM
I want Montevallo to be the best it can be, while retaining its unique culture and historic appeal. I was an active participant in the building code debates, I pick up trash on my daily dog walks, and I try my best to practice environmental sustainability and to promote a lifestyle that will leave the world better than I found it. I created and administer social media platforms for ValloCycle, as well as a community-based page and group called Sharing Montevallo. I actively desire to serve my community and promote democracy at the local level. I knock on your doors because I want to know my neighbors. I ask for your votes because I want to bring ALL District 3 voices to the table.
LIST OF ISSUES
Education
Both of my children attend Montevallo schools. I am a strong advocate of an inclusive approach to education that emphasizes both liberal arts and STEM. I believe we must provide our children with critical thinking skills by exposing them to people, places, and things beyond the scope of their everyday existence.
School should be a safe space to learn according to the best of each individual's abilities. Before going to public schools, I attended a Montesorri school, and my children attended a Steiner kindergarten. I would like to see our public school system take a hands-on approach to learning with an integrated curriculum that builds connections between people and subjects. Knitting and string art are wonderful ways to introduce a student to mathematical concepts. Art and music are naturally built into history. Cooking is chemistry! The Library of Congress has some great resources for educators, including Poetry 180: A Poem a Day for American High Schools -- a course of study that a creative educator might tie to music lyrics, rap, and spoken word to spark interest across a range of students. I believe that every school should incorporate a garden into its curriculum. And I believe that practical skills needed to meet the demands of daily life and the job market are critical: from home economics to shop to agriculture to computer programming and robotics, we must provide our children a path to success.
Poverty and Hunger
No one in this community, or any other, should be living in poverty or hunger. Resources such as schools, libraries, churches, and others need local support to bring awareness of services to District 3. Montevallo is full of people who care -- people like me that want, above all, to help others. I believe that in a position of servant leadership, I will be able to spread the word about outreach programs and events, and issue calls to action to our community that will improve the lives of District 3 residents who struggle to make ends meet.
Environment
As the Chair of ValloCycle, I am a strong proponent of sustainable living. You will often see my family walking or riding about town. My morning dog walks double as trash pickup duties, and through a Green Fund grant from the University of Montevallo, ValloCycle was able to purchase a bike trailer that will be used on trash pickup rides to keep our fair city looking its best.
Before moving to Montevallo, my family and I lived for some years in an old farmhouse in Blount Springs, where we grew vegetables and raised chickens. We then moved to the woods along the Gilman Bend of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, living off grid, hauling water from a neighbor's well, swimming and fishing and gathering blackberries in the heat of summer, bundling up around a wood burning stove in the cold of winter.
It is hard to understand both our reliance and our impact on nature unless we experience it firsthand. This is true of so many things, and I believe it is important to teach our children about the natural world. Can you recognize cars better than you can recognize trees by their leaves, or birds by their calls? This is because you see and travel in cars every day. Let's strive to take our children into natural spaces as much as we possibly can. We are the stewards of this good earth.
Diversity
Montevallo is one of the most diverse places in all of Alabama -- that is why we love it here! From farmers to professors, from one end of the color spectrum to another, across a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, we live together in peace and nourish a community of acceptance. We walk to and fro on the sidewalks and say hello to our neighbors. We play in the front yard and the park, visit the library, and cheer the ballgames. There is no room for discrimination here. This is an understanding that must be clearly and formally articulated in our schools and other public spaces. Our celebration of diversity is a big part of what makes us special!