Seven years ago today, Heidi sat at Dave Sanders' funeral and vowed to help reduce gun violence. Dave was a teacher at Columbine High School, who five days earlier had been killed in that awful tragedy as he tried to save students. Dave was also Heidi's basketball coach when she attended Columbine a decade earlier. Her vow turned into action when she led a contingent from Oregon to the 2000 Million Mom March in D.C. - and then returned home to become President of the Clark County Chapter in Vancouver, Washington.

This issue's sensible gun law activist: Heidi, our Vancouver (Wash.) Chapter President.

Her first focus as Chapter President was to spread the message of the ASK Campaign, which encourages parents to ask if guns are safely stored at places where their children play or visit. Unfortunately, Heidi's passion for the ASK Campaign came from a personal incident when she discovered her two small children playing in a room at a friend's house where two loaded handguns were stored in a night stand.

Heidi was able to raise money and orchestrate an ASK billboard campaign in Vancouver and Portland. She also did seven broadcast news stories about ASK and presented the ASK message to over 40 groups (1,050 people) which include PTA's, preschool parents, city chambers, other Chapters, and parenting conferences. She also developed a speakers bureau for ASK in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, and Vancouver, partnering with Washington Ceasefire and Oregon Ceasefire.

In addition to ASK, Heidi has held numerous press conferences, vigils, and media events; participated in safety fairs and conferences; placed more than 20 news articles and six opinion articles in The Oregonian, The Columbian, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and in Portland Parents Magazine; was featured in six broadcast news stories about various gun issues; and has lobbied federal and state legislators on various gun bills.

One of Heidi's highlights as a Chapter leader was working on the national organizing team for the 2004 "Halt the Assault" tour, which many will remember as the summer of the Big Pink Rig. Heidi even took her turn driving the decorative RV when it was in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Salem, and Eugene, bringing it to various press and outreach events to draw attention to the expiring federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Heidi, along with her husband, is busy raising a daughter and son. She continues to lead the Vancouver Chapter and is currently working on a book about gun violence victims. Heidi is proud of what the Chapter has accomplished, but knows there is still so much to do.