Centering Real People in Education
Lorita is a proud public-school graduate who knows strong classrooms build strong futures. Despite years of federal underfunding, she fought to increase local investment—securing over $435 million for Spotsylvania County Public Schools, raising teacher pay, modernizing pay scales, and improving school facilities.
As chair, she helped launch the 4E program, helping students explore career paths early and hosting an annual 4E Fair for families. She also advocated to make sure every school earned a military-friendly designation to support students of service members who are often transferred to other communities due to a change of duty station.
Lorita will stand strong for public education—championing transformative, holistic practices that support all four pillars: students, teachers, parents, and the broader community. She believes that real progress comes through strong partnerships—working hand in hand with families, educators, and local organizations to build a shared vision for success.
When every pillar and partner is engaged, we create a connected system that ensures every student can achieve and thrive. A collaborative, holistic approach is needed to truly transform our public education system and prepare our children for a brighter future.
In Congress, Lorita will fight to ensure that federal funds serve real students with real needs—not political agendas. Because when any one of these pillars is left out, achievement declines—and our students lose the chance to reach their full potential.
Centering Real Families with Small Children
Lorita knows firsthand how hard it is for families to balance work and childcare—especially when childcare costs more than a paycheck. Too many parents are forced out of the workforce because quality care is out of reach.
As a Head Start Policy Council member for Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Lorita has seen how early education changes lives. She believes we have a moral responsibility to “train up our children in the way they should go” by investing early and giving every child a fair start.
In Congress, Lorita will fight to make childcare affordable, expand early childhood education, and ensure no family is trapped in poverty simply because they chose to care for their children. She will fight to lift families up—because our children’s future is worth the investment.
Creating a Healthy Environment for Real People
Lorita understands that protecting our environment isn’t just about nature—it’s about people. Clean air, safe water, and healthy communities are the foundation of a thriving future. She believes every person, from our neighborhoods to those living in correctional facilities, deserves access to a safe and healthy environment. That means building collaboration and solidarity across communities to share resources, tools, and knowledge for sustainable living.
We are called to be stewards of the Earth—to care for the land we live on and to leave it better for the next generation.
In Congress, Lorita will champion a culture of environmental resiliency through collective action and innovation. She will support transformative solutions that protect public health, strengthen local economies, and ensure every Virginian—no matter where they live—can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy, sustainable world.
Creating Healthcare Access for Real People
Lorita knows that affordable, accessible healthcare is not a privilege—it’s a necessity. Too many families, seniors, and children with complex medical needs are being forced to choose between paying for care or paying their bills. When healthcare becomes a luxury, our communities suffer, and lives are put at risk. She believes we have a moral responsibility to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable among us.
In Congress, Lorita will fight to make healthcare a guaranteed right for every American—because no one should go without care due to cost. She will champion early intervention programs that catch health concerns before they become emergencies, reduce medical debt, and expand access to preventive and mental health services.
Healthy people build healthy communities—and that starts with policies that put people before profit.
Creating Access to Affordable Housing for Real People
Lorita knows that across Virginia, too many families are spending more than 30% of their income on housing—just to keep a roof over their heads. Rising construction costs and inflated market rates have made it harder to build homes that working families can afford. When profits are put over affordability, this leaves real people priced out of the communities they helped to build.
Project 2025 doubles down on this problem by prioritizing corporate profit over people’s needs. Lorita believes that’s the wrong direction. Housing is not a luxury—it’s a basic human right and a moral obligation. When we ensure that every Virginian has access to a safe, stable, and affordable home, we’re doing more than building houses—we’re building community.
In Congress, Lorita will champion policies that lower housing costs, invest in community-based development, and provide incentives for affordable construction. She’ll work to make homeownership within reach for working families. Because loving our neighbor means making sure no one is left behind or priced out of his or her future.
Centering Real Veterans
Lorita understands firsthand the sacrifice our service members make—and the responsibility we share to care for them when they come home. As a mother of a combat veteran, she fought tirelessly to secure her son’s healthcare and disability benefits after his service and disability retirement from the Army. That experience strengthened her resolve to ensure no veteran or family ever has to fight for the care and respect they’ve already earned.
In Congress, Lorita will bring that same determination to strengthen oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs, expand access to community mental health services, and invest in programs that help veterans successfully reconnect to civilian life. She believes honoring our veterans means more than words—it means action, accountability, and a commitment to ensuring that every veteran and their families who take care of them are truly seen, heard, and supported.
Youth Employment and Economic Prosperity for Real People
Lorita believes a strong local economy starts with real people working together to build better communities. When we invest in local jobs and small businesses, we strengthen our tax base, fund better schools and infrastructure, and create opportunities for everyone to thrive.
She knows this personally—she got her first job at 14, buying her own school outfits when her mother couldn’t afford the extra expense. That early experience taught her the value of hard work and the confidence that comes from earning your own way.
In Congress, Lorita will champion programs that create good-paying jobs, expand youth employment opportunities, and keep local dollars circulating in our communities—so every family has a fair shot at prosperity. Her focus will be on empowering workers, small businesses, and families who are the true foundation of our economy.
Centering Real People in the Creative Community
Lorita is a steadfast advocate for those within the creative community. She understands firsthand how vital it is to center artists in both our economy and our education system. As a tap dancer, clarinet player, and artist herself, Lorita knows the value of having a safe space to explore, create, and take risks without fear of judgment—a space that nurtures confidence, self-expression, and connection.
As a former Commissioner for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Lorita worked tirelessly to ensure that artists and teaching artists across Virginia received the recognition and resources needed to share their talents in schools and communities. She believes the creative community not only enriches our culture but also drives innovation and economic growth.
In Congress, Lorita will build on that experience by advocating for continued investment, collaboration, and support for creative communities throughout the Commonwealth—ensuring that art, education, and opportunity remain accessible to all. While Project 2025 seeks to silence creativity and cut cultural funding, Lorita will fight to uplift the voices and visions that strengthen our shared humanity.
Centering Humanity in all Conversations
Lorita believes that real leadership begins with seeing the humanity in every person. Compassion and empathy must be at the heart of how we solve today’s toughest challenges. She stands firmly with all who fight for their freedom and dignity, guided by the promise of our Constitution and Bill of Rights—which protect the fundamental freedoms of religion, speech, press, and peaceful assembly from government interference.
In this moment, we are called to lift our voices for those who are struggling in silence. As Board Chair, she championed policies that created safe, inclusive, and respectful environments for every student—because justice and belonging start in our schools and communities.
In Congress, Lorita will continue that fight—defending democracy, rejecting division, and ensuring that threats to freedom and equality have no place in our society. Unlike Project 2025, which seeks to divide and silence voices, Lorita’s vision centers on unity, dignity, and the belief that every person deserves to be seen and heard.
Her mission is simple but powerful: to bring humanity back to policy, and people back to the center of government.
Centering Real People for Mental Health Support
Lorita believes that it is important that we place the mental health of all people at the forefront of their mental treatment. With 51 million adults, according to one survey, in the United States with mental illness, it is important that we have trained social workers and mental health counselors available to support them, ensuring that preexisting barriers do not further exacerbate the situation.
With the recent termination of mental health grants to expand services in the school, she will fight to ensure that students are in the center of the conversation so that real stories are being told about the harm that this could cause if students don’t have access to mental health support, preventing them from thriving in the classrooms.
In Congress, Lorita will advocate for continued funding in this area so that we have a pipeline of social workers and mental health counselors ready and trained to provide the needed support in our communities.
