Why I'm Running

Wendy was born in Omaha and raised in the Maple Village neighborhood in Northwest Omaha. Wendy learned the value of hard work from her parents. Her dad was an owner of an agricultural laboratory and her mom was a public school teacher and then full-time mom. Wendy followed her parents’ examples of hard work and dedication and made education her life’s work. 

Wendy graduated from Hastings College, the Nebraska College of Law and practiced law in Kansas City. She later returned to school to focus on education and received masters degrees from UNO, The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Syracuse University. She has taught at Wells College, DePaul University, UNO, Syracuse University and some smaller schools in Omaha. 

She was finishing her PhD in Religion, specializing in 20th Century Christian Theology, when she was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2018. Wendy was re-elected to the Legislature in 2022. 

While serving in the Legislature, Wendy fought for working families, advocated for victims of domestic violence, brought bills to help renters, and worked to expand childcare availability in the state. She also supported historic tax relief of nearly $3 billion, including property tax relief, ending taxes on military retirement benefits, and phasing out taxes on social security.