As a founder, CEO, and professor, I move with purpose—through home visits, board meetings, counseling sessions, lectures, and the streets of Madison, where my work stretches beyond textbooks and academia. I work as a full-time professor at Mount Mary College, and my partner and I are new to Madison, but my mission is rooted in a lifetime of navigating spaces that were not built for me. 

Growing up in small-town Illinois and Wisconsin, I knew what it meant to be unseen. Limited resources, little support, few safe spaces—I learned quickly that silence often felt like survival. In the religious, predominantly white rural communities I lived in, I kept parts of myself hidden for protection. I forged my own path in a world that refused to acknowledge me, using the absence of care and generational trauma as fuel to push forward. No child should have to navigate their identity alone. My work ensures they won’t have to.

As a professor, my lessons carry urgency. Social work is not just theory—it’s survival, justice, and resistance. My students don’t simply memorize concepts; they engage, challenge, and breathe life into them. When I speak of race, identity, and systemic inequity, I am not reciting statistics—I am recounting reality. I ensure my students—especially those who have felt erased—know their voices matter.

Beyond the classroom, my work continues. As CEO of Long Overdue Counseling and Mentorship Services, I lead initiatives that center BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities—not as an afterthought, but as the foundation. In today’s climate, gender-affirming care, mental health resources, and safe spaces are not just necessary, they are survival. My dissertation reinforced this commitment, ensuring rural communities receive the same access to care. 

Madison is not just where I live—it is where I fight, where I build, and where I make sure no one moves unseen.

Pride in Color 2025

The Community Builder: Micah Ogé leads the efforts to build sustainability and inclusion across industries and through charity work.

The Facilitator: Demi Jo Carr works to center health equity as a platform to spread justice, care, and compassion to those in need.

The Activist: SkyGia Garcia lives her advocacy and is helping address youth housing insecurity through the Everstrong Program.

The Educator: Dr. Mark Long transforms the lived experiences of his social work into uplifting and empowering lessons for his students and mentees.

The Strategist: Solana Patterson-Ramos gives voice to the voiceless and creates change through nonprofit, charity, education, and advocacy work.