(she, her, hers) Hi, I'm Christie Kendzior. I'm married with four kids, and I live in Northeast Phoenix. I was born and raised in New York State. I actually grew up, and went to school, on a Native American Reservation (the Seneca Nation), in Salamanca, NY. It is one of the only cities in the country that is located on a reservation. It was a very enriching experience, overall. I moved to Long Island for college, and attended Stony Brook University, where I majored in psychology and minored in biology. I did well enough where I was inducted into this neat honor society called, "Golden Key International Honor Society,” where notable members include Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, and Elie Wiesel. (I always thought that was really cool. :) I was then accepted into Stony Brook's School of Social Welfare, for my Master of Social Work. I did internships at domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol facilities, and at group homes for adults with disabilities. Stony Brook offered a joint MSW and J.D. program, where if accepted, after completion of your MSW, you would be enrolled at Hofstra University for their Juris Doctorate program. So, I took the LSAT's and applied for that program, and I was accepted! I was planning on going straight to law school, but at that very time, tragedy struck my family, and my father passed away. I decided to put my future law school career on hold, and once I received my MSW, I moved from Long Island, back to my hometown, so that I could be close to my mom. I applied for a job in Salamanca, NY to become a child therapist. I had to take a civil service exam, and score within the top three people in order to even be considered for the position. I worked as a child therapist for one year. Most of my clients were from underprivileged families, and I loved my job. I met my future husband during this time, and I ended up resigning from my job, and moving to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to be with him. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for eight months, back in 2005. We lived right on the ocean, and it ended up being the worst hurricane season on record (Katrina, Rita, Wilma), so we decided to leave Florida, and in Jan. of 2006, we moved to Phoenix. I immediately got a job as a social worker for United Healthcare, in downtown Phoenix, and I managed a team of nurses who worked with clients who had been exposed to lead poisoning. I ended up leaving the workforce for good in October of 2006, right after I gave birth to my first son, Ethan. I subsequently had three other children: Ayla, in 2011, and twins, Erin and Anna, in 2013. Ayla was born with Down syndrome, and it was a surprise at birth. We had no idea, prior. She has also been diagnosed with autism. I've spent the past few years making sure that Ayla has had access to a free and appropriate public education, just like the federal law states, but it hasn't been easy. I've had to hire a lawyer, a powerhouse - Susan Marks - to help me navigate the system. I've received much pushback, fighting for my daughter's rights, and basically the rights of others like her, because the system is set up to put children like Ayla away from others, in self-contained classrooms, and in specific schools. It has been eye-opening and stressful, going up against an antiquated system. But I haven't given up... I've also spent any free time that I may have had, fighting for other social justice causes, such as BLM, pro-choice initiatives, and equality for the LGBTQ community.