I'm a mom to three teenage daughters, partner to my wonderful husband, and a lifelong Chilliwack resident. This place, this traditional and unceded Sto:lo land, has shaped who I am as a mother, an advocate, and a person. I didn't always appreciate it growing up here, but I'm grateful every day to raise my family in this community and to teach my girls to love the river as much as I do.

Where It Began

Before I became a mother, I watched mine navigate systems that weren't built for people like us. As a single mom of four, she walked into meetings outnumbered and underestimated. But she owned every room, not because she was loud, but because she was prepared and refused to back down when it mattered.

I lost her to cancer when I was still a young mom myself. The grief hasn't lessened, but I know who I am because of her. She taught me that every child deserves someone willing to show up, even when it's hard.

Learning What Love Requires

When I was a teenager, my sister Maggy came to live with us through the CLBC Home Share program. She had Down Syndrome and had lost her biological parents. She quickly became part of us, and we all adored her. Even when us teens wouldn't talk to each other, we'd each still kiss her goodnight. She grounded and united us. She was loved. She truly belonged with us.

Maggy taught me what it means to protect someone, to speak up for someone others don't know how to listen to, and to insist that dignity and belonging aren't negotiable.

My Daughters, My Why

Becoming a mother was something I always knew I was meant to be. Even in the hard times, through the tears and alongside the immense joy, I've been thankful to be shaped and stretched by being Mom to my three girls. They drive me nuts sometimes, but they are the best thing to ever happen to me.

In 2011, my husband and I brought our second daughter Sofie home from Bulgaria. She has Down Syndrome just like her Aunt Maggy, but unlike Maggy she had spent the first three and a half years of her life alone in an orphanage where children survived but didn't live. She came home shockingly tiny. She had never eaten solid food, never touched grass and had learned not to cry because no one would come.

I was already a voice for my sister, but my advocacy ramped up when I became Mom to Sofie. It started at my kitchen table, surrounded by medical reports and school documents, overwhelmed and scared I wasn't doing enough. Helping Sofie heal, watching her learn to trust, to laugh, and to thrive changed everything. Watching all three of my girls navigate the world, each with their own strengths and struggles, sharpened my purpose.

I've sat in meetings where my children's potential was quietly diminished, where compliance mattered more than the child in front of them. I've also seen what happens when parents refuse to accept less. Doors open, systems shift, kids thrive.

Why I Do This

I do this work because I'm a mother who has stood in broken systems and been told to settle. Because I've loved people whose dignity required someone to fight. And because every time a parent finds their voice, every time a child is truly seen, my mom's courage, Maggy's love, and my daughters' resilience live on.

This isn't just advocacy. It's grief, anger, and gratitude. It's personal, messy, and born from love that stretches across generations.