Hi, I’m Jen. 👋🏼

People often ask me what led me to run for Apple Valley City Council.

The truth is, I’ve spent my entire life doing the same thing—just in different roles.

I’ve always been drawn to people who are overwhelmed, frustrated, or simply trying to find their way through a complicated system. Whether someone is navigating healthcare, technology, government, military life, or a major life transition, my instinct has always been the same:

Let’s figure it out together.

Showing Up in the Hard

When I was young, I had the privilege of spending time with my aunt, who worked as an advocate for women and children escaping domestic violence.

I watched her help people rebuild their lives after unimaginable hardship. She listened without judgment, connected families with resources, and reminded people they weren’t alone.

She showed up during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

Watching her changed me.

I realized early on that my calling wasn’t just to solve problems—it was to walk beside people while they found their way through them.

That lesson has guided every chapter of my life.

Helping People Find Their Way

For more than twenty years, I worked as a Certified Optician.

Most people think that job was about helping people see better.

It was.

But to me, it was always about helping people feel seen.

I had the privilege of caring for multiple generations of families. I celebrated milestones with them, listened to their stories, laughed with them, cried with them, and helped them feel confident in who they were.

Many of those relationships lasted for years because they knew they had someone who genuinely cared.

Later, I worked in health insurance, helping people understand one of the most confusing systems they’ll ever face.

I explained deductibles, claims, provider networks, health savings accounts, preventive care, and benefits in plain language because I believed people shouldn’t need a dictionary to understand their healthcare.

While many people dreaded those conversations…

I loved them.

Because every conversation ended with someone who felt a little less overwhelmed than when they called.

Making Complex Things Simple

Eventually I moved into network management, Information Technology, and technical writing.

At first glance, those careers seem completely unrelated.

To me…

They were exactly the same.

I wasn’t interested in computers because they were computers.

I was interested in helping the person whose computer stopped them from doing their job.

I loved taking complicated systems, confusing processes, and technical language and making them understandable.

Whether I was troubleshooting technology, simplifying documentation, or identifying problems hidden inside complex systems, I found myself asking the same question:

Where are people getting stuck?

Once I understood the problem…

I wanted to make it easier.

Not just for one person.

For everyone who came after them.

I’ve always believed accessibility isn’t just about buildings.

It’s about making information, services, and opportunities easier for everyone to understand and use.

Serving People, Wherever They Are

Throughout my life, I’ve had the privilege of supporting people from many different walks of life.

I’ve volunteered with Army Reserve soldiers and military families.

I’ve helped people navigate immigration systems and major life transitions.

I’ve advocated for loved ones through incredibly complex healthcare journeys.

I’ve supported survivors, people in recovery, neighbors, coworkers, friends, and complete strangers.

Those experiences taught me something I’ll never forget:

People don’t need to have the same background, beliefs, or life experiences to deserve kindness, dignity, and someone willing to listen.

Every person deserves to know they have somebody.

A Different Kind of Caregiving

In recent years, I stepped away from my career to become a caregiver and advocate for my mother-in-law during her lung transplant journey.

It was one of the hardest—and most meaningful—experiences of my life.

Navigating healthcare from the family’s perspective reinforced something I had believed for years:

When people are overwhelmed, they don’t just need information.

They need someone willing to help them understand the system, find the next step, and remind them they aren’t facing it alone.

Why I’m Running

When I look back on my life, I don’t see a series of different careers.

I see one purpose.

Helping people find a way forward.

Whether I was helping someone choose glasses, understand their health insurance, fix a computer, navigate a government process, advocate for a loved one, support military families, or celebrate someone’s story through my small business…

I’ve always been doing the same work.

Helping people move through barriers they couldn’t overcome alone.

I don’t believe government should be confusing.

I don’t believe accessibility should be an afterthought.

I don’t believe people should have to fight to understand systems designed to serve them.

I believe government should be understandable.

Accessible.

Transparent.

Compassionate.

And responsive to the people it serves.

That’s why I’m running for Apple Valley City Council.

Because leadership starts with listening.

And because I want every resident to know they’ve got somebody.

A Few Things About Me

❤️ Proud wife, mom, and stepmom.

☕ Fueled by cafecito y chisme.

🐾 Animal lover (yes… I absolutely stopped to meet the alpaca.)

🌳 Passionate about parks, native plants, pollinators, and leaving our community better than we found it.

🎨 Small business owner creating custom mugs and tumblers that celebrate people’s stories.

🤝 Lifelong advocate for making complicated systems easier to understand.

📚 Curious by nature. Systems thinker. Always asking, “How can we make this easier?”