Rooted in Family. Shaped by Service. Committed to Community.

Long before I ever imagined my name on a ballot, I learned what leadership looked like around the kitchen table, in church, in our neighborhood, and through the example of the people who raised me.

I grew up surrounded by strong women, especially my mother and my maternal grandmother, who taught me that strength and compassion are not opposites—and that when you have the ability to help someone, you have a responsibility to try.

I was also tremendously blessed to grow up knowing all four of my grandparents, and each of them gave me a different understanding of perseverance, family and possibility.

My maternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from St. Kitts and Nevis in the 1930s. With my grandmother working alongside him, he became a successful entrepreneur in Harlem. Together, they showed me what could be built through courage, partnership, hard work and faith.

On my father’s side, I learned another side of the American story. My paternal grandfather spent long years working in the coal mines of West Virginia, labor that ultimately took a devastating toll on his health and life. My paternal grandmother was a fixture in our home whenever she wasn’t working, and some of my fondest childhood memories are of simply being with her—and with all of my grandparents. Their stories, sacrifices and love remain part of who I am.

I am also proudly a product of the Greenburgh schools. This community helped educate me, shape me and give me a sense of belonging that has stayed with me throughout my life. Representing the people and places that helped make me who I am is deeply personal.

And then there was my mother, the Honorable Alfreda Williams.

I had the extraordinary privilege of watching my mother devote herself to public service and to the people of Westchester County. Years later, I was deeply honored to succeed her on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. I have never viewed that as simply inheriting a seat. I see it as accepting a responsibility: to honor what she built, extend her legacy of service, and leave behind work of my own that makes life better for the next generation.

My path to public office was also shaped by decades of professional and community experience. Before entering government, I spent many years working with nonprofit organizations, experiences that gave me a firsthand understanding of the vital role community-based organizations play in helping families, filling gaps in services, and strengthening neighborhoods.

I later served for years as an administrator with Columbia University Medical Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where I gained invaluable experience in management, health care, institutional operations and working within a large, complex organization. I continue to lean on that knowledge today, particularly in my work on public health, budgeting, human services and government administration.

I was fortunate to be able to retire from Columbia University, and that retirement gave me something invaluable: the freedom to step forward and run for this seat when the opportunity came. It allowed me to bring a lifetime of professional, nonprofit and community experience into public service at a moment when I was ready to devote myself fully to the work.

My own path to elected office was also shaped by years of community involvement, Democratic leadership, advocacy and service. I learned government not simply from the outside looking in, but by working with people—listening to their concerns, helping organizations strengthen their voices, mentoring women and emerging leaders, and understanding that the issues debated in government are not abstract.

They show up in someone’s rent, someone’s health, someone’s child’s education, someone’s small business, someone’s aging parent and someone’s ability to live with dignity.

That understanding is what brought me to elected office—and it is what continues to guide me.

As a County Legislator, I have been entrusted with significant leadership responsibilities, including becoming the first legislator in the Board’s history to chair the Budget & Appropriations Committee during a first term. Today, I chair the Health Committee and continue working across issues that touch people’s everyday lives—from public health and maternal health to housing, human services, environmental protection, accessibility, consumer protections, parks, affordability and support for our nonprofit and community-based organizations.

But titles have never been the point.

For me, public service is about showing up, listening, doing the homework, bringing people together and getting things done. It is about remembering that every budget line represents people and every policy decision has consequences beyond the walls of government.

Outside of public office, I am a wife, a daughter, a woman of faith, a mentor, a neighbor and a proud dog-mom. I’m  someone who genuinely enjoys being out in the community. I value time with family, friendships, church, community events and the conversations that happen when people feel comfortable enough to tell you what is really on their minds.

Those moments keep me grounded.

I know where I come from. I know whose shoulders I stand on. And I know that leadership is not measured simply by how long you serve, but by who is better off because you did.

That is the standard I bring to this work, and it is the kind of leader I will continue striving to be: prepared, accessible, compassionate, independent-minded, collaborative and relentless about delivering for the people I am privileged to represent.