HIGHLIGHTS AND VALUES

• Experienced Public Policy Advisor
• Master of Public Administration with additional certifications in cybersecurity analysis, data analytics, organizational leadership, and ADA compliance
• Has worked on numerous papers, research contracts, and other professional projects involving governance, municipal service delivery, fiscal management, climate and weather disruption, organizational leadership, and more
• Leadership built upon ethics and empathy
• Authenticity and transparency
• Strong work ethic
• Decision making that relies upon data, evidence, and lived experience 
• Governance and policy making that stems from listening to the needs of constituents, not telling them they simply do not understand their own circumstances 
• Belief in the power of community

BASIC BIOGRAPHICAL

Heather was born in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, and moved to California after graduating from high school in June 2000. She has since been a resident of Ventura County, where her mother and father’s families had lived for decades. Her family has a rich history in the City of Oxnard, spanning decades. She has three children, aged 22, 18, and 9, and enjoys reading, cooking, and studio arts.

EDUCATION + PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Heather holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from California Lutheran University, and holds a Masters of Public Administrationfrom Grand Canyon University. She has published and worked on numerous papers in public policy, ethical governance, and strategies to address homelessness, climate, public cybersecurity, community safety and policing, fiscal management, and regional economic growth, and currently works as a freelance Public Policy Advisor. She also has additional professional certifications in Cybersecurity Analyst, Data Analytics, organizational leadership, and ADA compliance. Finally, she has over a decade of working as a freelance technical writer, with clients focused primarily in Human Resources and Organizational Leadership and Management.

In 2023, Heather cofounded an organization called VC Voter Edge, whose mission is centered on voters rights, voter education and registration, and Know Your Rights education for immigrant families in the region. Today, she is President of this organization. In 2024, Heather expanded her consulting business to offer pro bono services to Ventura County residents and small businesses through an initiative called Let’s Get Local. Through this initiative she has helped over 100 Ventura County residents – primarily focused in Oxnard and Port Hueneme – get connected with resources, solve neighborhood and community problems, understand ways to get more involved, answer questions on issues important to them, and more.

In addition to her education and current experience, she has worked in the past as a Community Organizer for the AFL-CIO, an Organizer for Ventura County Working People’s Alliance, and on numerous campaigns for public office in the roles of Chief Fundraiser, Field Director, Campaign Coordinator, and Policy Advisor.