Mandy was raised in Pleasant Grove, Alabama by a single-working mother. Her early exposure to domestic violence fostered her dedication to child protection and gender equality. Living through the April 27th tornado that struck Pleasant Grove and her mother’s battle with stage 3 colon cancer further inspired her focus on community resilience, environmental justice, and accessible healthcare.

Mandy has a diverse background in community engagement, education, and advocacy. She has served as a policy intern and now the Community Science & Research Coordinator for the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP), a policy & data fellow and Community Builder with People’s Budget Birmingham, an afterschool program coordinator for youth in underserved communities, and a substitute teacher and exceptional education paraprofessional across Jefferson County and neighboring school districts. Mandy is a proud 2021 graduate of JCIB high school, where she was the founder and president of the Sustainability Club. Mandy has a degree in Geography (Earth System Science) with a minor in Philosophy (Jurisprudence Specialization). She graduated sumna cum laude from the University of Alabama in December 2022. During her time at UA, Mandy received the Iredell Jenkins award for the best student of philosophy.

After gaining more work and life experience, Mandy plans to attend law school. She hopes to become an advocate for Alabama’s waterways, environmental justice, domestic violence prevention and child protection, and accessible education. During her spare time, Mandy enjoys hiking, learning muay thai, finding cool rocks, and playing with her dog, Thor, and cats, Scrump and Maui. Mandy loves heavy metal, hard rock, and Taylor Swift.