Meet Stephanie
Stephanie is a mom, an attorney, and an avid hiker of Utah’s mountains and trails. For the last four years, Stephanie has served in the House of Representatives, representing communities in Salt Lake City, Millcreek, and Holladay. She is running for State Senate to continue the fight for cleaner air, meaningful investments in public education, transparency in government, and criminal justice reform.
During her freshman term in the House, Stephanie led the charge to reform Utah’s cash bail system, going up against big money and powerful bail lobbyists. The result transformed Utah’s pretrial system, moving Utah away from a two-tier, wealth-based system towards a pretrial process is that focused on risk. Stephanie has also passed legislation that improves air quality by cracking down on unlawful vehicle polluters, implements innovative childcare solutions for state employees, bans the shackling of pregnant inmates during labor and delivery, allows candidates for public office to use campaign funds for childcare expenses, and creates a statewide Victim Address Confidentiality Program. Stephanie is committed to continuing the fight for good policies that reflect the values of our district.
Stephanie works as a Deputy District Attorney and prosecutes a variety of criminal offenses, including financial crimes, burglary, domestic violence, and cases involving child abuse. She has also led the county’s Mental Health Court, assisting individuals with mental health needs in obtaining the treatment and resources they need to be successful. Throughout her career, Stephanie has been an advocate for innovation and reform in the criminal justice system.
Stephanie is a tireless advocate for social justice and inclusive policies that lift the most vulnerable in our community. In 2015, after observing a critical need for collective action on women’s issues at the state legislature, Stephanie started the Utah Women’s Coalition – a statewide, nonpartisan group working to advance the status of Utah women through public policy. Through Stephanie’s leadership, UWC introduced and passed legislation that:
- Ensures reasonable accommodations for pregnant and breastfeeding women in the workplace;
- Expands Utah’s anti-discrimination labor protections;
- Requires equally accessible baby changing stations in public buildings, and
- Provides greater financial and legal protections for divorced mothers and custodial parents.
Prior to becoming a prosecutor and founding the Utah Women’s Coalition, Stephanie worked as a Fair Housing Advocate with the Disability Law Center, and, before that, was the Immigrants’ Rights Policy Advocate at Comunidades Unidas. She also worked at the Legal Aide Society of Utah, assisting survivors of domestic violence through the court process and interpreting for Spanish-speaking clients. She earned her MPA and Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah.
Stephanie is an International Candidate Master in chess and an eight-time Utah Women’s State Chess Champion. She and her daughters live in Sugarhouse and enjoy hiking, pickleball, and exploring the outdoors.