Civic Engagement
- Washington County, Arkansas Justice of the Peace, District 12, January 2021-Present.
- Former Fayetteville Housing Authority Commissioner, 2018-2020. Through our work, we expanded affordable housing throughout Washington County, helping more people than ever before.
- Founder of YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) Northwest Arkansas, a pro-housing advocacy group.
- Former member, Fayetteville Police Chief's Community Advisory Committee, 2018-2019.
- Worked on the ballot initiative to expand the Fayetteville Public Library in 2016.
- Worked on the ballot initiative to pass Fayetteville’s Civil Rights Ordinance in 2015.
- Former board member, Northwest Arkansas Equality.
Professional
- Small business owner, running a Northwest Arkansas-based digital marketing agency since 2015.
- Winner of two Emmy Awards as a television journalist with ABC/Disney. I spent 20 years covering local news in Houston and Northern California.
- Graduate of Rice University in Houston; B.A. in English, 1996. Went to college on merit scholarships, including a National Hispanic Scholar award.
Personal
- Grew up and went to school in the Oak Cliff neighborhood in inner-city Dallas.
- Married to Fayetteville native Bob Stafford, a photographer and graphic designer. Bob attended Fayetteville public schools and the UofA. My mother-in-law, Joyce Stafford, founded the Star Shopper and helped save Fayetteville's Old Post Office from demolition in the 1970s.
- Cares for four cats and a vegetable garden.
- Homeowner in south Fayetteville's Happy Hollow neighborhood.