I grew up in Selah and graduated from Selah High School in 2010. After that, I attended the University of Washington, where I majored in Social Work and African American Studies. My time at UW was formative—I studied abroad in Ghana and Costa Rica, and those experiences opened my eyes to the beauty of learning about people, places, and cultures beyond my own. They helped shape my passion for education and equity.

After graduating in 2014, I began teaching preschool and quickly realized that education was where I was meant to be. In 2017, I returned to Selah to pursue my Master’s in Teaching at Heritage University. I’ve been teaching ever since and now work as a 9th grade English teacher—a job I truly love.

When I’m not teaching, I enjoy spending time outdoors, reading, swimming, hanging out with friends and family, and playing with my dog. One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “The time is always right to do what is right.” That quote guides me every single day.

I co-founded SAFE in 2020, during a time of deep national pain and reckoning. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd rocked me to my core. As a Black woman, I was grieving while the world around me seemed untouched—and I couldn’t stay silent. My friend Jose Rocha and I organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Yakima, which brought our community together in powerful ways. We decided to take that momentum to Selah—our hometown—where it was needed most.

Planning the Selah protest came with challenges. We faced resistance, threats, and fear—even some of our original speakers declined to attend. But we knew the protest had to happen. The day came, and it was powerful. Despite the backlash that followed—particularly from the Selah City Manager—our resolve only deepened. That experience led to the creation of SAFE.

Being part of SAFE gives me the chance to continue the work of uplifting and amplifying the voices of underrepresented people in our community. As someone who grew up in Selah as a person of color, this work is deeply personal—and something I’m incredibly proud to be part of.