In middle school, I won a writing contest about the importance of installing seat belts on school buses to keep kids like me safe. I learned how to be a civically engaged leader and represented Hawaii in Washington, DC meeting our senators, representatives, and shook hands with President Bush Jr. in the Rose Garden at the White House.

In high school, I spent my free time researching the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights to learn how we can change laws and policies to make our country more equitable. I, along with my other nerdy friends, made it to Washington, DC to debate topics of freedom of speech and equal rights for all.

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In college, I worked and studied in South America helping small, rural businesses in Paraguay gain microgrants from around the world to build sustainable businesses for themselves and their families. I also spent the semester getting schooled in Spanish class and using my brand new language skills to debate the right to abortion in university classes in Buenos Aires, Argentina (that was an interesting lesson in cross-cultural understanding).

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I founded diversity trips in my Masters program to help undergraduate students expand their understanding of diversity and equity by visiting places like Gallaudet University for the deaf and hard of hearing and Cherokee Reservation. 

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After working as a Title IX Coordinator for years, helping survivors of sexual and relationship violence find their power and their voice, I founded my own business, Ladybits and Leadership to normalize education and conversations around bodies and sexuality to work towards ending the greatest epidemics of our time- sexual violence and gender-based violence.

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Now, I am embarking on a Fulbright Research fellowship to bring native and indigenous narratives to the sexual education curriculum and canon. I am interested in decolonizing sexual education to make it more accessible.

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This is all sooo nerdy, right!? I LOVE research and I LOVE advocacy because I believe that if we learn to use our voice and positional power for good, we all can make the world better.