Where I Came From
I was born in Etobicoke, Toronto. I also lived in Terrebonne outside Montreal, Edmonton in Alberta, and Orleans outside Ottawa. One of my favorite childhood memories was hiking in the Jasper mountains with my family. My dad was born in Hanmer near Sudbury. He carries Mi’kmaq and French roots, he is a strong, proud man shaped by survival and resilience. My mom was born in Causapscal, Quebec. She is Francophone, and is a woman filled to the brim with empathy, heart and fight. I also have an incredible big brother, Vince. He was lucky, he got the thick curly hair and blue eyes!
When I was 12, my parents moved us to Casselman. Coming from bigger cities, it was a hard adjustment—long bus rides to school, few chances to connect locally, and the sudden quiet that small towns carry. It was isolating at first. But Casselman slowly grew on me. It taught me that community isn’t something you find—it’s something you build.
Who I Am Today
At my core, I’ve always been a rescuer. Growing up, I didn’t just bring home stray animals—I brought home stray people, too. I couldn’t turn away from anything vulnerable, lost, or hurting. My parents didn’t always know what they were getting into, but they nurtured my compassion anyway.
The earliest rescue I can remember was when I was in kindergarten in Edmonton. I found a Doberman, taller than me, outfitted with a spiked leather collar and missing a leg. Without a second thought, I hauled that dog by his spiked collar all the way home while my parents were at work. They nearly had a heart attack when they walked through the door—but after a few frantic phone calls, we reunited him with his grateful owners. If money weren’t a factor, I’d open an animal sanctuary tomorrow and rescue every senior dog abandoned in high-kill shelters!
Today, my life revolves around the people and creatures I love most, my family. I have two amazing teenage boys and three dogs. We are all incredibly close. We've built our family on strong communication, stubborn honesty, and a lot of laughter (especially at suppertime, considering I burn about 85% of the meals I make). Our life isn’t polished. It’s real. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The Road Before Politics
Before politics, my life was already about advocacy and changing systems to work better for all living things.
I worked at KFC at Restuparc as a teenager, where I met my husband—he had just moved from Montreal to manage the complex. I studied Child and Youth Work at Algonquin College and Early Childhood Education at St. Lawrence, drawn to the work of protecting, empowering, and fighting for those who didn’t always have a voice.
I worked in teen group homes, where resilience was raw and real. I spent over a decade working with the youngest children in kindergartens, teaching even three-year-olds how to demand respect—because respect isn’t earned by age or title; it’s earned by humanity.
Advocacy wasn’t a career move. It was simply who I was.
Why I Lead
Politics was the last thing I ever imagined myself doing.
I’m not someone who chases titles or the spotlight, and I never set out to be in politics at all. But when I looked around at my community, I saw something I couldn’t ignore—a real opportunity to step up and help make a positive change.
I believed then, and I still believe now, that leadership needs to be about transparency, about real community engagement, about giving people a voice and a path to use it. I didn’t want politics to feel like a closed room where only a few people made the decisions. I wanted it to feel human again—something people could be part of, something they could shape with their ideas, their voices, and their hopes for the future.
When I put my name forward, I didn’t know what would happen. I just knew that if nobody else was going to open the door to real change, then I would. I believed that people deserved better than being left out of the conversations that shaped their lives. They deserved leadership that trusted them, listened to them, and believed that real power isn’t about holding on tighter—it’s about giving it back to the people who built this community in the first place.
My Dream For Casselman
I want Casselman to be a place where people feel proud to put down roots, where families grow together across generations, where seniors are valued for the foundations they built, and where young people see a future full of opportunity right here at home. I want leadership that listens, acts with integrity, and stands shoulder to shoulder with the community it serves, protecting the heart of this town while building something even stronger for the future.
I believe growth should lift us up, not move us away from who we are. I believe we can welcome new ideas, create new opportunities, and still hold tight to the values and spirit that make Casselman unique. We can be a town that grows with purpose, with pride, and with a deep respect for the people who call it home.
I see a Casselman where small businesses thrive, where neighbours know each other by name, and where every generation feels connected to the next. A town where belonging isn’t something you search for—it’s something you feel the moment you arrive.
That’s the Casselman I fight for every day—resilient, welcoming, proud—and that’s the Casselman I’m honoured to help build, together with all of you.
