Accidental Activist

I never set out to be an activist. Growing up my family’s golden rule was “We don’t talk about religion or politics” so I shied away from topics that felt “too political”. I was taught that it was rude and unkind to discuss politics, especially if you disagreed with another person’s perspective on an issue. For many years I loathed the sound of my own voice. I didn’t believe I had anything worthwhile to contribute to conversations surrounding politics, healthcare, or education so I kept my thoughts and opinions to myself, especially in public. Even though I was involved in my community and saw people hurting,  I never ever crossed the line into speaking up against injustice publicly. I held the belief that my opinions were not valuable or worthwhile enough to share. However, when I gave birth to my second daughter Kinsley in 2019, something shifted.

I found my voice as both a mother and as an advocate as we faced health challenge after health challenge for her. I found myself chasing down any lead I could to help us figure out the puzzle that is Kinsley Rae which began to give me the confidence to speak my mind even when my voice shook. 

The final push in my journey to finding my voice came when Kinsley was diagnosed with cancer, on top of her other chronic health issues, in 2022. For months I had been telling her doctors that I felt something was “off” and that my intuition was telling me we needed a brain MRI. Kinsley has a condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 1 that makes her predisposed to both benign and malignant tumors. I was actually laughed out of a neurosurgeon’s office in early 2022 because she said there was “no way anything had grown that fast because Kinsley’s MRI about 2.5 years prior was completely clear.” I eventually found a doctor who agreed to an MRI before starting another medical treatment for a different concern “just to be safe.”

On May 19, 2022 as we were pulling out of the Levine Children’s Hospital parking lot about an hour after Kinsley came out of the MRI machine, I heard the words no parent ever wants to hear.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Stadler, Kinsley has a brain tumor.”

In that moment, everything changed. Kinsley had a large brain tumor expanding through multiple parts of her brain that we would soon learn was inoperable and that she would need extensive chemotherapy treatment for. From that moment on I made a promise to myself and my family that I would never second guess myself or let someone stifle my voice.

As Kinsley endured treatment I waged war against outdated ways of thinking in the medical space as I saw cracks and gaps in services for patients, families, and providers. I used my voice to advocate for not only my child but other children whose families were not being heard the way I had not been for years prior to Kinsley’s cancer diagnosis. I began speaking out publicly on my social media platforms against issues that should never be political. Issues such as healthcare reform, educator pay, special education compliance, discrimination against marginalized populations, and other issues that are harming those in our community. I also stood my ground against our school district who attempted to deny Kinsley access to a nurse at school when she started Kindergarten, even though she is required to have a nurse at home per her medical team due to how complex her health has become.

Becoming public in my activism led me to finding community with other families facing similar issues and eventually my friend Stacy Staggs. Stacy, a badass mom to her twins Emma and Sara, and powerhouse advocate for medically complex and disabled children has been using her voice to speak up for years. She has been a huge inspiration for me as I dove head first into the world of advocacy and activism in the political space at both the state and federal level. Stacy messaged me on a Tuesday night and asked if I could jump on a flight to D.C. In less than 48 hours with Kinsley in tow I was in D.C. advocating against cuts to Medicaid prior to the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passing the senate. From that moment on, I haven’t looked back. Kinsley and myself went to D.C. twice for multiple days within about a week’s time before the OBBA ultimately passed, leading to devastating cuts to medicaid, SNAP benefits, and education - all services that keep our communities healthy and thriving.

As a family, the four of us traveled to D.C. in July and spent a week with other Little Lobbyists families taking up space in the halls of congress and speaking at the 60 hour vigil for Medicaid about the harm our government has done to the most vulnerable amongst us.

In October 2021 I quit my job as a counselor in UCPS due to poor pay and retaliation. I had been asking for accommodations to help balance being a mom to a chronically ill child. That's when I first considered running for school board because of how much hurt I saw amongst my fellow UCPS employees. We were not being listened to when we presented concerns to the Board of Education regarding safe working conditions during the pandemic and I felt educators needed a voice. However, I did not end up running as I felt I wasn’t ready or experienced enough.

Now, it’s a whole different ball game. I have found my voice and I am not afraid to speak up when I see injustice occurring. I have gained experience speaking to elected officials about what matters most and I am not afraid to put it all on the line to fight for what is right. I am ready to advocate locally as well as the state and federal level for our educators and our children. The future of our community is in our classrooms each day! The people who are teaching them, feeding them, driving them on the bus, and making sure they are safe all deserve fair pay and support from the district. Educators should not be spending their evenings begging for a raise at board of education and county commissioner meetings because our elected officials refuse to advocate on their behalf due to political aspirations.

I never planned to be involved in politics and have no desire to run for higher office. I am not in this to play nice with politicians and don’t care to spare the feelings of those who actively vote to dismantle public education.

I’m here to make a difference and make sure that our educators feel supported so that our children can continue to learn from the best educators around.