Born and raised in Huntington Beach, I grew up attending local schools spending beach days with friends and learning about the community that makes our beachside city so special. I stepped away to earn my undergraduate degree at the University of California Santa Barbara, completed my teaching credential at Cal State Long Beach, and received my Master’s in Library and Information Science from Drexel University’s graduate program.

While I originally planned to teach high school English, I quickly discovered that librarianship was my true calling. Before the pandemic, I followed that calling and spent nearly a decade as a Library Media Specialist in the Fountain Valley School District. Following the pandemic, I returned to Huntington Beach where I joined the Huntington Beach Public Library, my second home.

I was soon promoted to manage the downtown Main Street Branch, where I expanded collections, launched new programs, and restored public engagement at a time when residents were eager to reconnect. In less than a year, monthly visitors surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

When the City Council began advancing policies that would restrict access to library materials, and city librarians were attacked for doing their jobs, I made the difficult decision to step away rather than remain in a system that no longer reflected the values of a librarian.

As I continued speaking out against these policies, I also began organizing the community. Over more than a year of outreach, I recruited plaintiffs, conducted research, coordinated media engagement, and built broad community support. In June 2025, a special election resulted in voters rejecting the City Council’s attempt to dismantle the library system and impose a parent review board. I continued pursuing the censorship lawsuit, which went to trial later that year. The court ruled in favor of  myself and my community, ordering the city to end its censorship practices.