I’m a little envious of people who have always known exactly what they want to do. That wasn’t the case for me, but I love learning and have built my educational and professional career around pursuing questions or ideas that interest me. After several major changes in undergrad, I took a Comparative Politics class and became fascinated by how systems are designed – and how those decisions impact real people. That was my gateway into the exciting world of policy. I gravitated toward health policy, and child and maternal health specifically, because it seemed so foundational – early and consistent access to quality healthcare has such an outsized influence on an individual’s opportunities and outcomes. I was, and am, motivated by the belief that everyone deserves such access, regardless of the circumstances in which someone happens to be born.
A fellow LBJ School alumni and current Sellers Dorsey employee posted an Associate role on a job board for recent graduates. I reached out to learn more about the firm, and here I am, nearly five years later.
I loved the work I was doing in my previous role as a consultant for National Consulting, but knew I wanted to focus more squarely on child and maternal health. I was drawn to the emphasis of this work on the family unit (in all its forms) and supporting structures, not just the individual. I got the chance to support the Child and Family Well-Being (CFW) team on an engagement with a state agency looking to transform how it provided services to families with children in, or at risk of entering, foster care. After seeing the impact of our work so quickly, I was hooked. Luckily for me, a position on the CFW team opened right around that time. I’ve been on the team for almost a year now and have learned so much about the child welfare system, while continuing to do the meaningful strategy work, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement that initially brought me to Sellers Dorsey.
Medicaid has long been pivotal in ensuring vulnerable populations, especially children and families, can access care. It can play a protective role for families, addressing the mental health and substance use challenges or unmet health-related social needs that so often lead to involvement in the child welfare system. And Medicaid is essential for children who do enter care, covering nearly all youth in foster care across the country. In short, the Medicaid and child welfare systems are fundamentally connected, but don’t always work in tandem. Our work aims to bridge the two systems for a better, more seamless experience for the children and families they are built to serve – preventing system involvement where possible and supporting reunification and permanency where it does occur.
The landscape is getting more complex: children and families’ needs are growing and evolving, while Medicaid and child welfare policy and funding are in flux. States, MCOs, and providers are being asked to manage immediate, high-acuity demands while also investing in long-term system transformation—a difficult tightrope to walk. But this tension also creates opportunities for partnership. We’re seeing silos break down out of necessity, with stronger collaboration to make the best possible use of limited resources. We’re grateful for the opportunity to serve clients as they navigate this tension—supporting families today while driving toward a system that can respond to emerging needs before they turn into crises. I’m particularly excited about the growing emphasis on community-based strategies, like Medicaid school-based services.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I learn something new every day in this role, whether from one of our amazing, dedicated clients or any number of my smart, passionate colleagues. Looking ahead, I’m excited to expand our team so we can deepen our partnership with existing clients and find ways to support new ones.
Growing up in South Florida, my dream job was to be a marine biologist. I got certified to scuba dive when I was ten and went cage diving with great whites when I was thirteen. It turns out marine biology involves more math and hard sciences than I would have liked, so I pivoted.
Umpiring youth softball. I learned the hard way that parents take the strike zone very seriously. Tough crowd, but it gave me thick skin.
While I gave up my umpiring career long ago, I still play co-ed slow-pitch softball. Other than that, I love hiking in and around Austin with my fiancé and our dog.
After living in Texas for seven years, I recently decided it was time to read Lonesome Dove. I was so charmed by the cast of characters and taken aback at how movingly and beautifully McMurtry manages to describe mundane events and not-so-exciting places. Somehow, even after 800+ pages, I was sad for it to end.