Jenn in her Junior Year of High School State Speech & Debate Competition

Jenn with her classmates from
JSA at Stanford University

Jenn at her high school graduation

Jenn’s College Years

Once accepted into UC San Diego, Jenn continued to build on her early accomplishments—majoring in Political Science with minors in Law & Society and Gender Studies. Even in college, her passion for equity and justice wasn’t just academic—it was personal.

From a young age, Jenn questioned traditional gender roles and vowed never to change her last name if she ever chose to marry—a small but intentional stand for self-identity and autonomy. That early conviction evolved into deeper research. After graduating UCSD, she was accepted into the McNair Scholars Program—a prestigious pre-PhD initiative designed to prepare underrepresented students for doctoral work.

As a McNair Scholar, Jenn authored a research thesis on marital naming conventions, conducting a large-scale survey of UCSD students on their views about keeping or changing surnames after marriage. The project wasn’t just academic—it was cultural, personal, and reflective of the very systems Jenn would spend her career challenging.

Jenn’s Post-College Years

After graduating from UC San Diego and completing the McNair Scholars Program, Jenn secured a full-time role as a Paralegal in the UCSD Labor Relations Department. Over the next three years, she gained hands-on experience reviewing Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), observing union contract negotiations, and participating in fact-finding missions and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sessions between agency representatives and unionized employees.

These years were formative. Jenn witnessed the power of collective bargaining and the critical role unions play in protecting workers. It was during this time that she developed a deep respect for employee representation—an understanding that would later echo profoundly during her career in the FBI, where she often faced challenges without the safety net of union support.

Jenn has always been years ahead of her time.

In 2008, at just 22 years old, Jenn learned about the Obama First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit—and saw an opportunity. While most of her peers were still figuring out their next step, she spent the next year reducing her debt, building her credit, and working relentlessly to qualify for an FHA loan.

That determination paid off. In 2009, at just 23 years old, Jenn purchased her first condo in San Diego on her own.

That early act of financial independence wasn’t just a milestone—it was a strategy. Years later, she leveraged that asset to purchase her first family home in Sacramento in 2017, laying the foundation for long-term stability and growth.

Hard Work. Smart Pivots. Purposeful Leadership.

Throughout her years in San Diego—from 2003 to 2011—Jenn remained fully financially independent, often working two jobs at a time while attending school to stay afloat. She is no stranger to hard work or long days. After three years as a paralegal in UCSD’s Labor Relations Department, Jenn enrolled in law school, ready to take the next step. But after a full year of rigorous coursework, she realized that the legal profession wasn’t her calling—and she made the bold decision to pivot.

In 2011, Jenn left San Diego and returned to Sacramento, taking a position at UC Davis while leaving space for what would come next.

Then, a chance encounter changed everything.

Shortly after moving back, Jenn crossed paths with a relative who worked as a Special Agent for the FBI. She overheard him mention that the Bureau was recruiting and asking employees for referrals. On a whim, she asked him to submit her resume.

One year later—after an extensive vetting process that included background checks, interviews with friends and neighbors, drug screening, and a polygraph—Jenn was officially hired by the FBI.

That decision would define the next 13 years of her life and career.

Federal Service: The Years Jenn Shrunk to Fit in

Jenn spent 13 years working for the FBI—first as an Operational Support Technician, then an Investigative Specialist, then as a Supervisory Investigative Specialist managing multiple programs. But what should have been the pinnacle of a public service career slowly became something else entirely.

In the Bureau, Jenn went from being a standout—someone who led, spoke up, and delivered with excellence—to someone expected to stay small. Her accomplishments were rarely acknowledged. Her ideas were often sidelined. She was praised when she conformed, and penalized when she dared to rise.

Over time, she learned how to shrink herself to survive in a system that wasn’t built to recognize her kind of leadership: outspoken, principled, and deeply human. The very traits that had once made her exceptional—her voice, her courage, her clarity—were treated as liabilities, not assets.

And yet, she stayed. Not out of fear, but out of duty—to her team, to the mission, and to the hope that things could get better.

That chapter taught Jenn what happens when institutions fear change more than they value truth. And it’s exactly why she’s running now—not to relive that chapter, but to rewrite what leadership looks like in public service.

To Jenn, it was a wake-up call: the institution she had devoted her career to was now punishing people for humanity—and asking her to look the other way.

Inside the Bureau, truth was being filtered. Dissent was discouraged. Policy became politics. She was lied to, dismissed, and told to “follow orders” as the agency pivoted further away from justice and toward compliance.

Jenn had given 13 years of her life to the FBI. But when the values she once defended became the very things under attack, she knew she could no longer be part of it.

She didn’t walk away from service—she walked away from complicity.

Because real leadership means knowing when to stay. And when to stand up and walk out.

Why Jenn Left the FBI

Jenn didn’t leave the FBI because she stopped believing in public service—she left because the mission changed, and the truth became negotiable.

From the top down, the agency’s priorities began to shift. What once felt like a noble commitment to national security and constitutional law turned into something else under the Trump administration. Cases that had once focused on real threats were deprioritized, while resources were redirected toward targeting undocumented immigrants—many of whom posed no danger to public safety.

The final straw came when Jenn learned that the FBI itself had arrested a sitting Wisconsin judge—a woman who had quietly allowed undocumented immigrants to take refuge in her chambers while ICE agents were searching for them. The arrest wasn’t about national security. It was about making an example out of compassion.

From Experience to Action

Jenn’s path hasn’t been easy—but it’s been intentional, principled, and unshakably real. Her qualifications aren’t just listed on paper—they’re lived in full color. She has built systems, challenged power, protected communities, and walked away from comfort in pursuit of truth. Now, she’s stepping forward not just as a candidate, but as a leader who knows what broken systems look like from the inside—and who’s ready to fix them from the outside. With courage forged in service and clarity shaped by experience, Jenn is running to bring transparency, accountability, and integrity back to public leadership—because she’s lived the cost of what happens when those values are missing.

“They say beating an incumbent is harder than winning an open seat. I disagree. At least with an incumbent, you know exactly what you’re getting—and with the District 1 incumbent, we’ve gotten broken promises, backroom deals, and silence when we needed a voice. District 1 deserves better. Sacramento deserves better.” - Jenn

Vote for Jenn.
Real Change, not more excuses.