Meet genevieve
I’m a lifelong Alaskan, community advocate, and political activist with a background in Alaska government and health policy. Both of my parents grew up in poverty in the Philippines and during the 1980s Alaska recession, my father decided to move to Alaska permanently because he fell in love with the state. While my mom worked night shifts as a nurse at Providence while raising my older brother, my dad found various jobs as a custodian, taxi driver, and factory worker - saving enough to buy their first home in Airport Heights and soon after, starting their own small business.
My passion in challenging institutions for the interests of working Alaskans began at an early age. I grew up in my family’s assisted living homes, where my family cared for elders with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. My mom dreamed of passing on the business to her children, but when my father suddenly passed away, our family had to adapt to a new normal. I helped draft my mom’s attempts to appeal to the state government at the age of 14. I discovered the injustice of my family working tirelessly caring for others while we ourselves lived without health insurance.
Since 2015, I’ve worked as a political aide and a committed volunteer with a mission to bridge policy and people. I worked as a communications specialist at the Alaska Primary Care Association in 2018, building an Alaskan-led storybank to uplift the value of Alaska Medicaid, and supporting regular coronavirus updates to community health center leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have had the honor of working for Representative Ivy Spohnholz to develop health policy legislation on health care price transparency and other health and social services issues. In the 32nd Legislature, I researched and carried the successful passage HB 265 (2022), permanently expanding telehealth services in Alaska. This was common-sense legislation with a strong bipartisan effort fueled by the collaboration of Alaska’s health care leaders, the administration, and countless advocates.
Outside of my work, I am a committed community volunteer. I’ve served on the Public Transit Advisory Board for the Municipality of Anchorage, as well as the boards of Alaska Women Ascend, the Airport Heights Community Council, The Alaska Center, and Alaska Public Interest Research Group. I am a recipient of the Nick Begich Scholarship, an inaugural graduate of the Alaska Women Ascend program, and an alum of the New American Leaders program. I am also a leader in the Alaska Democratic Party, previously serving as Chair of House District 19, and currently serving as President of the Alaska Young Democrats since 2019 - growing Alaska’s young progressive base through bottom-up statewide organizing.