Meet Ali
Ali was born in Boise and raised in Middleton. She is a human rights attorney and has dedicated her entire career to service. She currently directs a nonprofit, Jesse Tree, which prevents eviction and homelessness.
Ali has built strong relationships and connections in the community. When Senator Maryanne Jordan decided to step down from her seat, she asked Ali to run and endorsed her candidacy. Ali has served one term as Idaho State Senator in District 17 and currently serves as Idaho State Senator for District 16. She has tirelessly advocated for housing access and renter protections at the Statehouse.
She successfully fought for $50 million in funding for Idaho’s Housing Trust Fund, which had sat empty for 30 years. Ali passed a bill to remove dismissed evictions from tenants’ records. And when shelters needed a fix to allow them to provide shelter to unaccompanied minors— she passed a bill that keeps kids safe and gives them access to needed services.
Ali grew up in Idaho surrounded by farm fields and Idaho’s great outdoors. Her mother is a public school teacher and father a state employee. Some of Ali’s earliest memories involve picking potatoes out of her backyard for dinner, riding the lawnmower to friends’ houses, fishing with dad, and playing in mom’s garden.
Ali wanted to be a human rights lawyer from a young age after seeing various challenges close friends and family members faced in Middleton. She graduated from The College of Idaho, then ventured to William & Mary Law School to fulfill her dream. Through representing veterans, the accused, people experiencing homelessness, and Indigenous populations abroad she uncovered her passion: ensuring everyone has a safe and stable place to live.
In 2012 Ali received the Boren Fellowship, through which she supported Indigenous communities in rural Cambodia fighting to keep their forested and agricultural land. She continued the same work in Sierra Leone. Her work garnered national attention in both countries. Ali then spent some years working for the U.S. federal government as an adjudicator, processing refugees from all over the world.
The 2016 election shifted Ali’s perspective and sparked a desire to make more impact through local grassroots work. She transitioned back into the nonprofit sector to support communities and service providers in their efforts to end homelessness. In 2019 Ali became the Executive Director of Jesse Tree, a nonprofit preventing eviction and homelessness for low-income families in the Treasure Valley.
Ali is a proud Idahoan, Boisean, and College of Idaho alum and Trustee, and is an avid outdoorswoman, trail runner, and part-time yoga teacher. She lives near the Greenbelt with her husband, their young child and their dog Boddhi.
I’m proud to have earned the endorsement of these trusted organizations and elected officials:
Idaho Education Association
Conservation Voters for Idaho
Moms Demand Action
My Values
Collaboration.
If the nonprofit sector has taught me one thing, it’s how to work well with others. Growing up in rural Idaho and working abroad has also shown me the importance in diversity of background and perspective. I look forward to working with people from all walks of life in the Capitol to make positive change.
Service.
I’m committed to public service, as demonstrated by my background. I've always lived out my values by dedicating my career to solving community problems, especially those that affect more underserved populations.
Inclusion.
I have a demonstrated commitment to speaking loud for people who don’t have a voice and ensuring we have a diverse array of perspectives at the table. I’m committed to listening to everyone in District 16 and voicing their thoughts and opinions in the Capitol.
Curiosity.
Living and working in many different spaces has taught me the value of asking questions and big-picture thinking. The world is changing fast, and we have to be creative and come up with innovative solutions to keep our state at pace. We can come up with common-sense ideas for Idaho by being curious together.