Early Years
I’ve been active in politics from a young age. My Eagle Scout Project at age 14 was a get out the vote campaign in Taylorsville. I registered new voters, coordinated with candidates for the legislature, moderated a debate, and our area saw its highest voter turnout in many years.
Except for my teenage years, when my family moved to California, I’m a lifelong resident of Salt Lake County. Those most formative years near San Francisco, I learned to stand strongly for conservative principles, even when you’re greatly outnumbered. I ran for city council at 18 and was told by voters that they’d never vote for me because I was pro-life. My town’s newspaper published a regular conservative column of mine when I was 19 until I moved back to Utah just before I turned 21.
Professional and Political Life
My Career:
I’ve spent almost my entire adult life in education, with experience as a teacher, principal, and school business manager. I founded Charter Solutions in 2007 in an effort to use that expertise to help public charter schools operate more efficiently in their business management and meeting their legal obligations so that more dollars can go into classroom instruction.
A big change!
In recent years I made a big change and opened a bakery. I still have a passion for education and stay committed to working to empower parents and teachers to meet the needs of each individual student in Utah. My “regular” job has changed dramatically though. I’m kind of a foodie, so having a bakery is fun, a lot of hard work, but fun. It also gives me a lot of insight into the challenges small businesses face as I work for you in the Senate.
Political Service:
I’ve worked on multiple ballot initiative campaigns and volunteered on countless candidate campaigns. In the Republican Party, I’ve served as a County and State Delegate, Precinct, Legislative, Region Chair, and most recently as State Senator.
I love serving the citizens of Senate District 17 and the opportunity that I have to make a difference as your state senator.
Fun Stuff
I love baseball! I had a blast spending nine years as the announcer for the Orem Owlz baseball team. I’d commute down to Orem during the summer months just to announce the ballgames. The Owlz were perennial contenders and won several league championships.
It took me years to do, but I have attended games in all 30 (all of them at the time) of the U.S. ballparks. There are three new ones (Atlanta, St. Louis and Miami) I haven't been to yet, but eventually I'll make it to those too.
A few years ago I started running. Before 2012, I'd never run more than a mile in my life, but I started training and practicing, building endurance and strength. I'm no speedster, but I run at least one half marathon a year, which is an exhilarating and empowering experience.