About Me
My background
Monica is a skilled director of policy and advocacy with 18 years of professional experience providing public affairs coordination, advocacy, and consulting focused on social justice issues and criminal legal reform. Her experience extends to all aspects of legislative initiatives, policy development, nonprofit programs, and grassroots advocacy with a proven track record of managing legislative and grassroots campaigns, as well as voter empowerment and civic engagement programs.
Monica has worked to promote civic awareness, political engagement and legislative advocacy throughout the Washington Metropolitan Region, having served for a number of years as Convener for the Northern Virginia (NOVA) Coalition for Black Civic Participation, which is a coalition of over 30 nonprofit organizations created to register and educate African American voters in Northern Virginia through the “NOVA Votes: Educating and Encouraging the Black Vote” campaign. As Convener, she facilitated partnerships with statewide and local organizations and managed the Coalition’s voter empowerment efforts. During her tenure, the NOVA Coalition was awarded the Corporate Leadership Award by the Fairfax Chapter of the NAACP, as well as the Social Justice and Human Concerns Award presented by Russell Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church of Alexandria, VA.
In 2019, Monica was appointed by then Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to serve on Virginia’s inaugural African American Advisory Board. Monica has received a number of awards and recognition for her work including the Top 40 Under 40 Award presented by the Black Alumni Chapter of George Mason University (2023); the Ebone Image Award for Government/Politics presented by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. – Northern Virginia Chapter (2020); and was a 2013 recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Award presented by the EnVest Foundation.
Monica is a graduate of George Mason University with a Masters in Public Administration and a B.A. in Government & International Politics and Economics. She is also a 2014 graduate of the Minority Political Leadership Institute, a collaborative initiative of the Grace E. Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Legislative Black Caucus.
Summary of Key Achievements and Skills:
- Grassroots & Legislative advocacy: manage and oversee legislative initiatives and grassroots advocacy campaigns; mobilize community in support of reform efforts; coordinate public education events; create legislative advocacy resources and tools.
- State and Local Government Relations: cultivate and develop key relationships with decision makers and stakeholders.
- Skilled Coalition Builder: cultivate policy reform through coalition building and grassroots mobilization.
- Creative Problem Solving: Predicting and creating solutions to issues before they arise through detailed study and assessment. Dealing with issues in a way that minimizes disruptions and allows an action plan to be put in place with the least possible confusion.