I believe in the promise of the American dream and know the difference access to education and the American economy can make in one person’s life. Every child should have the opportunity to live up to their full potential, whether they are born rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle. As Paul Wellstone said, “We all do better when we all do better.”

I worked forty hours a week for minimum wage in high school after my family’s bankruptcy and the repossession of our home and car. I put myself through college as a member of AFSCME and later as a UAW worker at the Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant. I enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard after 9/11 and served overseas. I went on to earn my MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and began a successful career in finance.

I know what it means to work hard when there is no safety net and to lie awake wondering how to make ends meet before the next paycheck. I also know what it means to move up through a system that rewards hard work and sacrifice. With the current administration, upward mobility and economic freedom are under attack, and our priorities are not being represented in Congress. I’m here to change that.