Born and raised in Lexington, KY, Claire moved to middle Tennessee to attend Belmont University, where she earned a BBA in Music Business, and subsequently met her husband Brett, a country music songwriter.

 

After becoming a mother, Claire felt a calling to become a nurse. Full-time nursing school with 2 small children at home taught Claire focus and dedication. After graduating from Belmont with a BSN, Claire went to work in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Saint Thomas West. Working as a Registered Nurse, Claire soon realized how much Tennesseans were struggling with basic needs, such as access to health care, affordable housing, and education, and that state policies were directly affecting patient outcomes.

 

When Claire had her third child, she shifted to Hospice care to have more time with her growing family. To see patients presenting with the same policy related issues at the end of their life was heartbreaking. 

 

In December 2020, Claire’s former coworker, Caitlyn Kaufman, was shot and killed on I-440 on her way to work at Saint Thomas in the middle of a pandemic. After watching gun violence sweep across the country, this brought it front and center. Then the mass shooting at The Covenant School catapulted the community, and Claire, into action. 

 

Living in Williamson County has been a dream for Claire and she wants to continue to keep Williamson County a place for families to thrive. Claire's children attend Williamson County public schools and Claire herself graduated from her local public high school. Her grandmother was a public educator in Tupelo, Mississippi, and her mother taught English at the University of Kentucky. Claire believes education is the foundation of democracy and is very concerned it is under attack, not only by the threat of gun violence, but also by the current legislature’s proposals to reject federal funding and introduce vouchers.

 

Without the expansion of Medicaid, the State of Tennessee is seeing rapid closures of rural hospitals. Those patients will have to come to Williamson Medical or other local centers. With the current physician and nursing shortage, these already overwhelmed facilities will continue to struggle with higher patient ratios and insufficient funding. However, the state legislature continues to ignore the experts in the medical field when it comes to many issues.

 

With the restrictive abortion laws passed since Roe v. Wade was overturned, women are finding themselves with even less access to healthcare. To be clear, many situations that are simply healthcare for women, fall under the umbrella of abortion.

 

Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes gender dysphoria and has a clear plan to treat patients who present with this, but the current legislature believes they know better than the experts and are attempting to deny healthcare to this community. This is another harassment tactic directed at the LGBTQIA community and Claire will not stand idly by and watch discrimination of any kind take place in her District.