Rooted in Savannah, Georgia

I was raised in Savannah, Georgia, where I attended Ramah Junior Academy and A.E. Beach High School before continuing my education at Savannah State University, Georgia Southern University, and Southeastern Technical College. These experiences shaped my commitment to service and strengthened my resolve to advocate for the people of Georgia’s 1st District.

A Lifetime of Service

I have worked across Coastal Georgia for over 30 years. During this time, I have supported state departments and divisions. I helped them manage regional activities and deliver essential services. My career has spanned a wide range of areas, including:

• Mental health, aging, and disability services
• Higher education and K-12 education
• Adult and child abuse and neglect prevention
• Foster care and adoption
• Children’s special services and child care resources
• Public health initiatives
• Home and community-based services (HCBS)
• Georgia Medicaid Waiver Programs for Intellectual Disabilities
• Georgia Managed Care Organization
• Environmental health initiatives and climate change advocacy
• Veterans’ programs and nature-based activities
• Hospital outreach, with a focus on rural health needs
• Affordable housing
• Georgia Cares Medicare education
• Social Action: Get Out to Vote Campaigns
• Head Start Programs/PreSchool Interventions
• National, state, and local leadership positions
• Health literacy champion
• Business owner

Why I’m Running

I’m running for Congress to bring common‑sense, community‑rooted leadership to Georgia’s First District. After years in public health, education, and advocacy, I’ve seen how broken systems fail families, seniors, caregivers, and working people. My own family’s struggles and my work with vulnerable adults showed me what’s at stake when leaders don’t listen.

I’m stepping up to serve because our district deserves transparency, accountability, and a representative who puts people first. I’m not running to be a politician—I’m running to make sure every community in GA‑01 has a fair chance to thrive.

Additionally, I’m a community‑rooted expert stepping up because the system is failing the people they serve. Throughout my career, I have solved the exact problems that Congress keeps failing to fix. I have worked at the community, regional, state, and national levels.

This campaign is about moving Georgia forward with common‑sense solutions. These solutions put people first. They create a future where every community has the chance to thrive.

Ready to Serve the 1st District

A Healthier Georgia Starts With Us

Access to quality, affordable health care is not a privilege — it’s a foundation for strong families, resilient communities, and a thriving Georgia. I am running for Congress to continue the fight to ensure every person in our state can get the care they need, when they need it, without fear of cost, distance, or discrimination.

My platform is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: healthy people build healthy communities, and healthy communities build a stronger Georgia. That means expanding access to primary and preventive care. It also involves protecting essential health programs and strengthening rural and coastal health systems. We must ensure that every Georgian — from our youngest children to our aging parents — can live with dignity, security, and opportunity.

This campaign is about moving Georgia forward with common‑sense solutions that put people first and create a future where every community has the chance to thrive.

My Story

I grew up in Savannah, Georgia, in the Cuyler-Brownsville community—a neighborhood that taught me resilience, community, and the value of hard work. My father, the late Rev. James G. Stokes, spent many years as a salesman. He worked for a furniture store located on Broughton Street. He also served as a Baptist minister for my whole life. My mother, the late Vivian G. Stokes, worked as a saleswoman at a fine ladies’ boutique in the Medical Arts Shopping Center. They were proud, hardworking people who believed deeply in dignity, perseverance, and doing right by others.

But even with their strong work ethic, my parents lived without the security of health insurance. In the 1990s, my father began battling diabetes. Without coverage, he avoided regular doctor visits because he simply could not afford them. The emergency room became his last resort, even though he feared the bills that would follow. At just 56 years old, my father passed away from complications related to diabetes. These complications might have been prevented with consistent, affordable health care.

My mother faced similar challenges. When the boutique where she worked closed after many years, she suddenly found herself without a job and without health insurance. Like my father, she tried her best not to get sick, delaying care because she worried about the cost. For 15 years, she managed to stay healthy until she finally became eligible for Medicare.

Growing up watching my parents work tirelessly while living without access to basic healthcare shaped me in ways I carry to this day. It taught me that hardworking people deserve stability, dignity, and a fair shot—not fear, not uncertainty, and not a system that punishes them for circumstances beyond their control.

That lesson became even more personal in May 2025, when I lost my job. I applied for unemployment and was denied. I held onto my part-time work, but it wasn’t enough to cover my bills or my student loans. Losing my job meant losing my health insurance, and my 401(k) sat stagnant. In that moment, I felt what so many families across this district feel every day—the fear of falling through the cracks, even when you’re doing everything right.

As I think about my parents, my own experience, and the countless Americans who are one job loss away from losing their insurance, I know I cannot sit on the sidelines. Hearing conversations about degrees being declassified and watching students struggle to afford the education they need only deepens my resolve. People deserve stability. They deserve opportunity. They deserve leaders who understand what it means to live a modest life and still fight to stay afloat in an economy where the cost of living keeps rising.

My decision to run for Congress in Georgia’s 1st District is deeply personal. I am running as someone who has lived these challenges—not above them. I am running because I know what it feels like to worry about healthcare, to juggle bills, to work hard and still feel like the system isn’t built for you.

I understand losing your job in your 50s and 60s and no one will hire you due to age discrimination. So many Georgians are using their retirement and emergency savings to support their adult children and grandchildren. They are slowly depleting their savings account. This forces us to go back to work to make ends meet.

Like so many Georgians in the 1st District, I know what it means to persevere. I will carry our shared experiences with me to Washington, D.C., and I will amplify our voices with honesty, courage, and unwavering commitment.

I lead with kindness, grace, and compassion for all people. In 2001, the American Red Cross—Services to Military Families—nominated me for the WTOC Hometown Hero Award, a recognition that affirmed my dedication to serving communities across Coastal Georgia. I am also the wife of 32 years to a proud Teamster and Air Force veteran, an experience that has given me a firsthand understanding of the challenges working families and union members face every day.

And I am ready to fight — for you, for your families, and for the future we all deserve.