Fiscal Policy & Government Funding

The Challenge

Federal fiscal policy is the single largest determinant of whether vulnerable Americans can access healthcare, housing, food assistance, and legal protection. Every year, Congress makes budget decisions that ripple through every state, county, and community—and the people who depend most on public investment feel those choices first.

Right now, the threats are acute. Proposed Medicaid cuts would strip coverage from millions of low-income Americans, including a disproportionate share of transgender and LGBTQ+ people who already face enormous barriers to care. Defunding of HHS programs that serve LGBTQ+ communities, attacks on nonprofit funding streams, and the weaponization of the appropriations process against civil-rights work are all accelerating. These are not hypothetical risks—they are active policy fights.

The data tells a clear story. The U.S. Transgender Survey (2015) found that 29% of transgender respondents lived in poverty—more than double the national rate. Fourteen percent were uninsured, compared to 11% of U.S. adults overall. A third had postponed necessary medical care because they could not afford it. The earlier National Transgender Discrimination Survey (2011) found that 19% of respondents had been refused care outright because of their gender identity. These are not gaps that charity can fill—they are structural failures that require federal investment to fix.

Why This Matters

I have spent my career at the intersection of fiscal policy and human need. As Executive Director of Gender Justice League, I managed budgets that depended on federal grants, state appropriations, and foundation funding to keep services running for some of the most vulnerable people in the country. I know what happens when a federal line item gets cut: programs close, staff are laid off, and the people who needed those services are left with nothing.

That experience taught me something spreadsheets alone cannot convey: every budget is a moral document. The decision to fund or defund a community health center, a domestic violence hotline, or a legal aid program for transgender people is a statement of national values—whether lawmakers acknowledge it or not.

My MBA from the University of Washington gave me the analytical tools to understand fiscal policy at a systemic level: how federal spending flows to states, how appropriations volatility undermines program sustainability, and how smart budget design can promote both equity and economic growth. That training, combined with years of frontline nonprofit management, means I understand federal fiscal policy from both the numbers side and the human side.

What I’ve Done

My work on fiscal policy has operated at the highest levels of federal government, combining direct legislative engagement with research that makes the case for investment:

• Served as a senior health policy consultant to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, where I contributed to the development of the CARES Act and the HERO Act—two of the largest emergency spending packages in American history, directing trillions of federal dollars to healthcare systems, state governments, and community programs during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Shaped healthcare funding provisions that determined how federal dollars flowed to hospitals, community health centers, and safety-net programs during a national crisis
• Served on the research committees for both the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS, 2011) and the U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS, 2016)—the two largest surveys of transgender people ever conducted—producing data that federal agencies, state legislatures, and advocacy organizations use to identify funding gaps and justify investment in LGBTQ+ communities
• Managed organizational budgets as Executive Director of Gender Justice League, balancing government grants, foundation funding, and donor revenue to sustain direct services for transgender people, survivors of violence, and people navigating hostile public systems
• Applied MBA-level financial analysis to nonprofit operations, improving sustainability and accountability in the use of public funds

Where We Go From Here

The federal budget is where values become policy. Protecting and expanding public investment in the communities that need it most requires both political will and the technical expertise to win those fights on the merits.

First, we must defend the federal programs millions of Americans depend on. Medicaid, SNAP, housing vouchers, and Title X family planning are not luxuries—they are infrastructure. Cuts to these programs do not save money; they shift costs to emergency rooms, shelters, and jails at many times the price. The USTS and NTDS data make this case powerfully: when 33% of transgender people postpone care because of cost and 25% face insurance problems related to being trans, the result is not savings but suffering—and ultimately higher costs borne by the system as a whole.

Second, we must protect federal funding streams for LGBTQ+ organizations and civil-rights nonprofits. The current strategy of defunding organizations that serve marginalized communities—through executive orders, grant restrictions, and appropriations riders—is designed to dismantle the safety net one organization at a time. Fighting this requires both legal strategy and budget literacy.

Third, we need data-driven investment. The research I helped produce through the NTDS and USTS provides a detailed map of where federal dollars are most needed: healthcare access, employment protections, housing stability, and anti-violence programs. Fiscal policy should follow the evidence, not political convenience.

Finally, budget transparency and accountability must be non-negotiable. The public deserves to see how federal dollars are spent, what outcomes those investments produce, and where resources are misdirected or wasted. I support rigorous program evaluation, public reporting, and meaningful congressional oversight as standard practice—not as weapons against programs that serve vulnerable people, but as tools that prove those programs work.