Meet Brianna

As a child growing up in poverty, her food source was dumpster diving every day. She witnessed substance abuse and experienced domestic violence. Brianna’s great-grandparents took her in, and she spent two years learning the meaning of hard work in their apple orchard. As a teenager, she graduated from high school with no parental support. As a young parent, Brianna returned to Arizona to be the primary provider for her siblings. For years, she worked blue-collar jobs to keep her family afloat. At 27 years old, Brianna documented her transition story to normalize the experiences of trans women. 

In 2013, Brianna testified in front of the Phoenix city council to support LGBTQ+ protections in housing. She questioned what politicians were doing for working people in Phoenix and took matters into her own hands. Brianna ran for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in 2018 and won 40% of the vote with just 10% of her opponent’s funds. Since then, she’s worked nonstop with local and national progressive organizations to fight for her community’s needs. 

In 2019, Brianna served as Vice-Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, devoting her attention to diversity, equity, and transparency. In 2020, Brianna was a national surrogate for Senator Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign. She later worked tirelessly to turn out Arizona’s eleven electoral votes for President Joe Biden. When the pandemic hit and evictions loomed, she co-founded the Housing Initiative Project, a non-profit advocating for safe, affordable, and accessible housing.