She was a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention and campaign manager (for four northeast Iowa counties) in John Kerry's President Campaign in 2004. She was a staffer for State Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, and an intern for State Sen. Pat Deluhery. When she was 13 she went to Davenport's city hall and argued against the youth curfew. In the 2008 United States presidential election, she was Eastern Iowa Political Director for Barack Obama’s Presidential Caucus Campaign.