Biography

I grew up in Northern Virginia, attending public schools from kindergarten all the way through T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. That’s where I earned my letter playing football; a lesson in teamwork, discipline, and grit that’s stayed with me my whole life. From there, I went on to Boston University, where I double-majored in Economics and Political Science. I didn’t stop there. I worked as an Economist at the United States Department of Labor while going to law school at night at George Mason University. When I passed the Virginia State Bar on my first try in 1994, it wasn’t just a personal victory it was a testament to the value of hard work and perseverance.

For 34 years, I served the federal government, and along the way, I even found time to coach the freshman boys’ crew team at Yorktown High School in Arlington. Coaching wasn’t just about rowing; it was about teaching young people the power of discipline and teamwork.

But my real fight has always been for working people. As a union leader and attorney, I represented workers in arbitration, fought for fair negotiations, trained the next generation of legal minds, lobbied for workers’ rights, handled press relations, recruited members, and managed a non-profit with a half-million-dollar annual budget. I’ve seen the deck stacked against workers, and I’ve spent my career fighting to level the playing field.

When the Bush administration tried to privatize 300 federal jobs at the Department of Labor, I didn’t sit on the sidelines; I fought back, and we won. I’ve led campaigns like that time and again because I know what’s at stake for working families.

During my eleven and a half years as president of my local union, I doubled the cash reserves from $130,000 to $285,000. I tackled an arbitration backlog that stretched to 220 cases and brought it down to just 12. And when it came to growing the union, we didn’t just meet the national growth rate; we smashed it. Between February and September of 2017, we increased membership by 14.5%, far outpacing the national average of 2.5%.

That’s the kind of fight I bring to the table. I’ve spent my life standing up for working people, and I’m not stopping now. Whether it’s on the factory floor, in the courtroom, or at the statehouse, I believe in rolling up my sleeves and getting the job done. That’s who I am, and that’s what I’ll keep doing for the people of Virginia.