In 2008, I was given the opportunity to return to North Carolina as the executive director of the Western North Carolina Alliance – now MountainTrue – to fight for the very mountains that generations of my family have cherished. At MountainTrue, I led the organization through an incredible period of growth, from a scrappy organization of 5 people to a staff of over 20 dedicated environmental professionals. With my senate duties, I no longer serve as a director of MountainTrue, but I remain involved as a senior policy advisor.

 

In the years that I’ve been at MountainTrue, the organization has helped protect our public lands from irresponsible logging projects, developed an E. coli monitoring program in the French Broad and three other watersheds, and pushed the NC Department of Transportation to come up with better alternatives for the I-26 Connector Project. I led our work to make Duke Energy clean up their coal ash pits and retire the coal-fired power plant at Lake Julian. I also led our state legislative advocacy efforts, through which we have secured important protections and millions of dollars for environmental projects in Western North Carolina.

 

In 2015, after serving for several years on the City’s Transit Commission and Multi-Modal Transportation Commission, I decided to make the leap to public office where I could do even more. In the five years I served on Asheville’s City Council, I led the council’s advocacy for a better transit system, improvements to the I-26 Connector Project, a transition to clean energy, and other environmental issues.

 

I chaired the two council committees that address affordable housing and planning, and I became a leading voice for expanding the city’s tools to build more affordable housing and for land use planning that will better manage our growth.

 

I have also served on and chaired the board of the North Carolina Conservation Network, served on the board of the WNC Chapter of the ACLU, served on the executive committee of the HUB Alliance, and served on the Advisory Committee for WNC Nonprofit Pathways. I am a 2014 graduate of Leadership Asheville and helped organize Diversity Day for the 2015 class.

 

Asheville and Buncombe County aren’t just the places where I live and work. This is my home. My experiences over the past 25 years make me both responsible for helping guide our communities into the future and uniquely positioned to succeed in that role. In the Senate, I have built relationships with Republicans and Democrats to help get things done.