About Mali

I was born in Colorado and grew up on a small hobby farm on a mesa in the high desert of New
Mexico. I attended Baptist academies in primary and secondary school and then graduated from
Piedra Vista High School in Farmington, NM in 2004.

I grew up near the Diné people of the Navajo nation, and I witnessed the ongoing injustices being done to them. During this time, I also traveled on mission trips to South Africa and Mexico where I helped deliver humanitarian aid. I watched the damaging impact of climate change in my own area.

After high school I studied at the University of NM Roswell. I completed the EMT-Basic certification,
followed by the EMT-Intermediate certification at Texas A&M ESTI.

Life was looking bright and I was a month away from graduation from the Paramedic program when I was sexually assaulted.  After this assault, I realized my body had never belonged to me.  The assault brought the realities of my upbringing into the light as well. It was too much to process alone and all at once.

 

I couldn't afford health insurance in order to get help and I slid rapidly into homelessness and despair.
I had no housing, no job, and no support system. I had not processed any of the trauma from my
childhood upbringing, let alone the assaults and indignities that had come with my mental health
struggles and homelessness. I would not understand until much later that the horrible events had
compounded into anxiety, depression, and Chronic PTSD.

 

While living on the streets and in shelters, I was sexually assaulted again and was faced with a life
altering decision.  I was 20 years old and alone when I gave birth to my first child. I was unable to find work, daycare, or housing, and was an easy target for repeated exploitation. The abuse I suffered in isolation as a child, which hung like an albatross around my neck, was an unfortunate influence in much of my decision making.

Eventually, I moved to Minnesota. In 2015 I graduated from Ridgewater College with an Associate's
Degree and began taking additional classes at both SCSU and BSU.  Things seemed to be looking up. I was certain I would complete my education, launch a career, pay off my debt, own my own home (with a yard and a dog for the kids), and take them on vacations to see the world! It would then be time to finally give back to all the people and non profit agencies who helped me get there.  This was my American Dream.

 

However, in 2019, before I could finish school, I became very ill; that illness coincided with a severe
bicycle accident. The injuries I sustained in the accident caused temporal lobe epilepsy. My health
deteriorated and it took a few years to stabilize.  Now, we live in a nice neighborhood, in HUD housing. We have a dog and a beautiful backyard we share with our neighbors. We have a community of people who care about us and for whom we care about.  A new American Dream was formed for us.

 

The kids and I did get to have that vacation at the remarkable Headwaters in Itasca State Park. It is a
cherished memory for my family.  I am alive today because the Affordable Healthcare Act saved my life, helped me become a better parent, and continues to sustain me and my children to this day.

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This story is why I am running for Minnesota State Representative for District 17a.  It is the story that drives my passion to connect with others in my community and strive for change.