Although she was raised in an anti-union household, Monica joined the union the first chance she could when she started working for Lucent Technologies in March of 1998. She had little training, but helped whenever she was able to volunteer her time.  Her participation lead to the unit Vice President appointing Monica to the role of union steward in 1999.  In late 2002, Monica was asked & accepted to be the District 6 Mobilization Coordinator for the months that lead up to the 2003 contract negotiations at Avaya.  She was honored when the local recognized her for helping bring in the highest strike vote turn out in the history of Local 6016.  After a short retreat from union activities, Monica was again asked to run for a position at the local…this time in the role of Executive Vice President.  She is now serving her 2nd-3 year term thru Dec 2011.  Monica is a former member of the Legislative Committee and is currently the chair for the Organizing and Mobilization Committee.  She has volunteered and supports several charity & non-profit organizations, such as the OKC Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, American Heart Association, National Kidney Foundation, W.H.O. Foundation, Share Our Strength and many others.   She is a proud parent of three sons, Jake, Dane and Brendon, and is making sure to teach her kids and everyone she knows how important unions are to families and to the communities where they live and serve.