Caroline County Commissioner Candidate Profile

Candidate Bio
I am proud to serve as a Commissioner for the Town of Preston, where I made history as the first person of color elected to the role and the first woman and person of color to serve as President Commissioner. My leadership is rooted in service and a deep commitment to strengthening our community for every resident.
Professionally, I am an accountant, project management professional, entrepreneur, and the owner of VanTech Business Solutions (VTBS), where I help individuals and small businesses stay organized, efficient, and positioned for growth. Through my work, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges families and business owners face—and I bring that real-world understanding into every decision I make.
I am currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Education and Executive Leadership at Bowie State University as a 4th Year Doctoral Executive Fellow. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Bowie State University. I am also a graduate of Shore Leadership and Shore Leadership 2.0, where I strengthened my commitment to collaborative, community-driven leadership.
I am running because I believe in a community where every voice matters, every family is supported, and everyone should have access to resources. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected future.

Some of the issues that are important to Caroline County voters are issues that require long-term strategy, such as Economic Development, Community Development, Housing, and Transportation. What can the county do to help positively influence these larger issues that affect Caroline County families?

“So these issues, I believe, are the kind of issues that, as you stated in your question, are strategic. And so that requires some thoughtful long term strategies and those are not quick fixes. I believe the county could influence these areas by being intentional on the approach – how do these long term issues connect? When we think about economic development, we know that economic development brings job opportunities, and then with job opportunities you need to have access to transportation, and then access to transportation means that there needs to be housing… particularly [for] the working families.There needs to be understanding and strategy around how all of these long term issues align, so that as residents and as a county, we can work together. Now, in regards to community development, that ensures that we are growing as a community, that we're strengthening. So we're just looking at our quality of life. So in regards to the strategy around these long term issues, I would say that how the county can approach these issues is just understanding that these are long term issues and they're not quick fixes, so just understanding an approach for making sure that there's accessibility in regards to these issues and that we can work together as a county.”


The county has a very strong work relationship with the Board of Education and the school administration. What would you do to strengthen that relationship?

“Yes, I'm very familiar with the strong relationship between the county and the Board of Education, so certainly, strategically, we would, or we should continue to build upon that strong relationship with the Board. You want to strengthen that partnership. You want to have continued collaboration, regular communication, and just, you know, work together as partners.

I'm an advocate for access to resources [and] an advocate for working together in a collaborative way so that, strategically, things can be accomplished for the betterment of all of the residents in the county. So continuing just to strengthen that relationship, build that relationship, and work together collaboratively to bring forth more ideas around our schools, around our communities, and just continue to stay together, stay away from the approach of separate. So just continuing to work and strengthen our partnership and collaboration with the Board of Education is very important.”

Caroline County is not divided into election districts, however, there is a sense of North County-South County-Denton. What will you do as a Commissioner to make sure that voters know that you’re representing them at large regardless of where they live?

“Well, I would lean certainly on my experience as being the current President Commissioner for the town of Preston, which is located in the south part of the county, building already upon those bridges and all those relationships that I've already built with the other municipal leaders in the other towns throughout the county. I want everyone to understand that regardless of where we serve, as a commissioner, it’s representation of everyone within all the municipalities. So again, leaning on those relationships that I have already built, holding everyone in the county accountable, regardless of what areas that we live in, north, south or Denton, just continuing to have those community conversations, making sure there's resources available in all the different areas, and just continuing to listen intentionally about the needs of our residents in the entire county regardless if you are in the north, south, or Denton. So my commitment would be that no matter who you are [or] where we live in our county, you will have the same voice, and I will be accountable to you as I would want you to be accountable in the areas that you live in in the county.”

The County continues to work through the solar development issue. What is the next impactful issue on the horizon that you view as similar to solar?

“So solar, and this one is a somewhat difficult issue, and it's a long term issue, where, as a county, we have to figure out how to manage the solar growth. It is absolutely happening, so we're going to have to work together to determine how to manage that growth, the land use overall, how to preserve and work with our farmers, while accommodating this particular issue around solar. So I would say the next major issue is managing the growth, how to balance the renewable energy and housing and commercial development - all of that ties into those long term issues - so just trying to better understand how all of that connects, and then working together as a community to strategically tackle that next major issue. The solar aspect is fairly new, you know, we're in it, but being able to identify what that next [step] looks like. So just working together as a community so that we can address that next major issue around the solar farms that are being put into place in Caroline County. So just being proactive, I think, will be a benefit to us, and just continue to approach the situation with a long term vision.”

Something that we hear from a variety of people is that "there is nothing to do in Caroline County." How do you and your family entertain yourselves and spend your free time in the county?

“Well, my family and I, we like to go out and participate at our local parks. I mean, it's no secret, Caroline County has a lot that happens here in the county, so to hear that there's nothing to do, I don't think that's quite so accurate. For me and my family, we enjoy going out to the parks. Again, having access is important. There's always lots of events that happen around our county, so my family and I will go out and enjoy many of the local events. I think it's very important that we go out and support our small businesses that are in our county. Again, enjoy the parks, just being present in the community – I'm all about community service. Then also recognize that we can certainly do more to create spaces for families to get together and to connect.

I just think this is a great opportunity for us as a county and organizations and resources in the county to get out and support these community events, do more local programming, encourage more recreational, and wellness too. I'm a big person around health and wellness, so just being out and about, even if it's just walking just a few times around in your community, that makes all the difference, and it gives you something to do. So also partnering with other organizations that may not be within our county, but we can certainly partner with others to bring in more activities and things to do for everyone. So I mean, that just goes back to, we are a county, and as long as we stay connected, we can build better relationships, and we can strengthen our community overall. So I think there's a lot to do in Caroline County, but we just also have to take the time to get out in our community and be a part.”