Civil Rights/Worker Rights

Protect workers and the civil rights of all persons to create a welcoming and inclusive Virginia.

The Democratic-led General Assembly worked with Governor Northam to enact measures to expand non-discrimination laws. First and foremost, we must protect those laws by electing a Democrat-led House of Delegates and Senate.

Even with these important laws, we still face barriers in the workplace, educational institutions, healthcare, and society. Additional measures are necessary to enact civil rights for all and strengthen nondiscrimination laws to protect against discrimination based on age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, marital status, disability, and neurodiversity.

As a school board member in the district under constant attack by the extreme right-wing and the Youngkin administration, I regularly speak out against racism, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ attacks, and all forms of hate speech. As guardian ad litem, I have advocated for LGBTQ students (minors) facing horrible treatment due to their gender identity. It is my honor to work with and for young people who need to find healthy, caring support as they grow into young adults. I know Virginia can do better.

It is time to humanize our policies to create opportunities for our communities of color and low-income families to thrive and to ensure family caregivers in the workforce are not required to choose between a sick family member, career advancement, and economic well-being. To achieve such fair economic treatment and economic justice, it is necessary to develop policies that guarantee equal pay, paid sick leave, paid family leave, affordable childcare, and universal preschool. The absence of such policies is a remnant of an era where women and members of marginalized communities were treated more as property than human beings.

Here are my initial priorities:

I strongly support the Equal Rights Amendment, a legal document necessary to codify equal protection for women under the law. I look forward to collaborating with General Assembly colleagues, advocacy groups, voters, and our congressional representatives to ensure the 28th Amendment is published.

Access to health care for all is a fundamental human right. I will lead the effort to codify Roe v. Wade.

I firmly believe every person has the right to choose how they proceed in life, whom they love, and whom they choose to become. I will lead the effort to remove laws from the Virginia code and provisions in the Constitution that discriminate against LGBTQ individuals and fight against any attempt to ban same-sex marriage.

I strongly support raising the minimum wage to a living wage. No one should have to work three jobs to support their family or themselves. Raising the minimum wage is also good for businesses to recruit and retain workers; a worker shortage will not be abated soon.

I support collective bargaining and ending right-to-work laws.
As a former employment lawyer, I will lead the effort to enact more #MeToo-related legislation, including sexual harassment training and whistleblower protections. I pledge to patron unique bills each session to address these problems and to collaborate with long-standing leaders such as Senator Jennifer Boysko and Delegate Vivian Watts to address paycheck fairness and discrimination in the Virginia code. I will patron the next round of the “Silenced No More Act,” currently patroned by retiring Leader Eileen Filler-Corn.

I would patron, co-patron, and strongly support requirements that Virginia companies receiving government contracts or tax credits provide childcare, like the Biden Administration’s requirements for receiving funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

I have worked on the school board to ensure that the letter and spirit of Title IX is honored within our school system. Its protections are critical to providing equitable access to opportunities for women. I will strongly support it and resist any efforts to diminish it.

I will continue to support menstrual equity programs. I collaborated with Senator Jennifer Boysko and then community advocate, now Delegate Holly Siebold, to implement the menstrual equity initiative in FCPS. Through these efforts, FCPS instituted a pilot program that provides menstrual supplies in girls’ bathrooms. Research shows that girls were frequently absent from school during their cycles. This interrupted their access to education and presented an equity concern.

As Delegate for HD-7, I will seek input from constituents on ways to improve the laws and lives of Virginians. Please contact me to share your ideas or concerns.