Accomplishments

• Legislative assignments
  • Chair, K-12 Education Finance Committee
  • Education Policy Committee
  • Early Childhood Committee
  • House Finance Committee
• National involvement
  • Commissioner, Education Commission of the States
  • Education Committee, National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Midwestern Education Committee, Council of State Governments
• Chief author of the omnibus education bill.
• Chair of the E-12 conference committee.
• Chief author of comprehensive mental health legislation that resulted in Minnesota's best-ever funding year.
• Chief author of nationally acclaimed legislation to reform our mental health system, promoting more family involvement and earlier intervention.
• Received three Environmental Leadership Awards from the Minnesota League of Conservation Voters.
• Received two state and regional awards for spearheading bipartisan effort to recognize knowledge of world languages as a vital part of children's education.
• Chief author of nation's first legislation to ensure that breast-feeding working women have time and private space at work to express milk.
• Chief author of bill to improve new parents' awareness of the risks of post-partum depression.
• Led the House fight for ethics reform resulting in one of the most progressive ethics bills in the nation.
• Regularly receives top ratings from the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
• Founded and co-chaired the nation's first legislative mental health caucus (bi-partisan).