Jennifer David for Hoosiers 2026

27/10/2025

The Art of Being Seen

In 2024, I learned that I’m autistic. That realization reshaped the way I see myself, my work, and the systems I’ve spent my career trying to improve.

For me, being autistic isn’t about limitation, it’s about how my mind works. I notice patterns, I see needs, and I can’t stop until I understand why something isn’t working and how it could be better. That’s how I approach every problem—whether it’s a policy gap, a family struggling to navigate supports, or a community system that’s left people behind.

That same mindset inspired me to launch The Art of Being Seen, a new series focused on how women recognize autism in themselves. I want to help others understand how experiences like masking and late diagnosis affect women’s lives, and how we can create more supportive and informed systems.

This is the start of something that combines both sides of who I am—the professional and the personal. It’s a step toward a more inclusive Indiana, where leadership means listening, learning, and building solutions that last.

27/10/2025

Reflection: The Map and the Mess

Indiana deserves elected officials who serve the state first, not their party, not their power, and not their paychecks.
Here in Southern Indiana, we’ve lived through what happens when partisanship goes unchecked.

When former Sheriff Jamey Noel used his position for personal gain, stealing millions in taxpayer money, it was more than a scandal, it was a betrayal. Trust was broken, and our community paid the price. We lost ambulance service, emergency response times increased, and families in crisis were left waiting longer for help. Money that was supposed to protect people ended up protecting egos.

That betrayal wasn’t about party, it was about power. It happened because people in office stopped being accountable to the public. And that’s exactly why this fight over redistricting matters now.

Governor Mike Braun has called a special legislative session to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps, only four years after they were last drawn. This isn’t about population changes or fairness, it’s about control. It’s about keeping certain people safe in their seats and keeping others out.

Even some Republican legislators admit they don’t have the votes, and that’s because this isn’t being driven by the people. It’s being driven by pressure from above. Redistricting shouldn’t be about locking down power for one side, it should be about fair representation for everyone.

When district lines are drawn to protect politicians instead of people, we all lose. It creates blind spots where corruption hides, weakens oversight, and cuts the public out of their own democracy. And when oversight disappears, so does trust, which is exactly how we ended up in the mess we saw with Jamey Noel.

Every line on a map carries consequences. It decides who gets heard, who gets help, and who gets forgotten. Here in Southern Indiana, those consequences are real. We’ve seen what happens when accountability is replaced by ambition.

This is the time for Indiana’s leaders to prove that public service still means something. If you’re afraid to lose your job for doing the right thing, then maybe that job was never really yours. Public office is not a paycheck, it is a public trust.

Redistricting is not a technical issue, it is a moral one. It asks every official a single question, do you work for the people or for the mapmakers?

We already know what happens when integrity disappears. We’ve lived through it once, and we won’t do it again. Not in our counties, not in our state, and not on our watch.

27/10/2025

The Ones Who Show Up

When I first started thinking about running again, I almost didn’t.
I had made peace with stepping back, with letting the noise fade and focusing on the quiet work that still matters. I told myself I’d done enough. But then, the messages started coming. Parents, advocates, people with disabilities. People who knew what it felt like to fight systems that are supposed to help you but end up breaking you instead.

They reminded me why I ever ran in the first place, not for power or politics, but because someone has to speak the truth about what’s happening to us. The dismantling of supports, the constant undermining of families, the way people with disabilities are used for optics but left behind when it counts.

So I stepped forward, not because I thought it would be easy, but because I couldn’t stand by and watch it continue.

I’ve seen how people use us. During my last campaign, there was a group that pulled me in early because I had a voice for people with disabilities. But once I discovered that I wasn’t just speaking for that group, that I was actually part of it — that I was autistic myself — things started to change. I’ve seen that same shift with others too, and that’s okay. Because the less time I spend worrying about fitting into their spaces, the more time I have to focus on building my own. And that’s where I do my best work.

What’s been different this time is that I’m no longer surprised by who supports me and who doesn’t. When I learned I was autistic, something shifted. The mask came off, and so did everyone else’s. You start seeing clearly who’s genuine and who’s only comfortable when you stay quiet.

Most of the people around me now are the ones who have lived this life, autistic adults, parents, caregivers, people who have had to rebuild themselves from systems that forgot them. And they’ve shown up. They’ve cheered me on, offered help, shared stories. Many others, people I never expected, have done the same.

And for the ones who haven’t, I don’t feel anger. Just data. I finally know where my base is.

Because when you stop trying to fit into circles that were never meant for you, you start building ones that are.
And those circles, messy, imperfect, and real, are where change actually begins.

If you’re a neurodivergent person who thinks politics isn’t for you, you’re wrong. It is. You just have to find the right people to support you.

24/10/2025

🎃 Celebrating Families, Teens, and Adults of All Abilities!

Community isn’t built in offices—it’s built in spaces where people connect, laugh, and feel welcome. I’m proud that through Outward Bound Community Services, we continue creating events that bring families together, celebrate inclusion, and make sure everyone has a place to belong.

Join us tonight for our Fall Open House at the Outward Bound Building, 359 Market Street, Charlestown—right in front of Greenway Park, where all the fun happens during the Charlestown Trail-or-Treat!

🍬 Open House: 4:00 – 6:30 PM
Games, snacks, and prizes for all ages

🕺 Teen & Adult Dance: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Music, snacks, and fun for our older crowd

Every event like this reminds me why community work matters—when we create welcoming spaces for every ability and every age, we build a stronger, more connected Charlestown.



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23/10/2025

Reflection from the Trail: On Rejection, and the Audacity of Assumption

Not everything people say deserves space in your head.

Rejection is a funny word to throw at someone who isn’t asking for approval in the first place. Recently, someone I know in the political world made a suggestion about my campaign—unsolicited, uninformed, and completely out of line. I said as much. And in response, she decided to diagnose me with not liking rejection.

Let’s be real: who actually likes rejection? Nobody wakes up craving it. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that her opinion wasn’t invited, needed, or rooted in understanding. There’s a difference between offering perspective and inserting yourself into someone else’s purpose because you think your input is indispensable.

Women in politics know this pattern by heart—the assumption that we need to be advised, managed, or softened. It’s arrogance disguised as concern. You can call it projection or politeness gone wrong. I call it noise.

And as a person with a disability, I’ve heard this kind of thing my entire life. Different people, different tones, same message: you’re too much, you’re too direct, you don’t fit the mold. I have a master’s degree with post-graduate education, I’m a board-certified behavior analyst, and I built a sustainable business—actually, multiple businesses—from the ground up. Yet somehow, the same people who underestimate me feel entitled to correct me. That’s exactly why I run. Because people with disabilities, women, and anyone who dares to speak directly still have to prove what should already be obvious.

Rejection isn’t what I fear. I fear wasted energy and diluted focus. Every minute spent defending boundaries is a minute stolen from building something that matters.

So if you think I’m polarizing, good. That means I stand for something clear enough to make someone uncomfortable. That’s the kind of leader Indiana needs—someone who won’t fold at the first sign of friction, and who knows the difference between criticism and interference.

I don’t hate rejection. I hate presumption. And if that makes me polarizing, it means my boundaries, and my convictions, are still doing their job.



Indiana Rural Summit
Clark County Democrats
Scott County IN Democrats
Democratic Party of Jefferson County, Indiana

23/10/2025

Scott County resources, community support goes a long way. Give if you can, take if you need.

23/10/2025

I am “Make No Apologies” old now!

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 53 years old and I’m still hitting it like age forgot about me. The number doesn’t define me, it’s just a marker of time, not energy. I’ve lived enough life to know that the years don’t slow you down unless you let them.

I've never been one of the crowd, and truthfully, I've never wanted to be. Maybe at the start of something new - a job, a friendship, an opportunity - I've tried to blend in just enough to find my footing. But it never lasts. I'm not wired to blend; I'm wired to build.

What I want isn't popularity or approval. What I want is to put my mind to work the way it was meant to - fully, freely, and without apology. The kind of thinking that sees patterns others miss, that questions what everyone else accepts, and that refuses to stop at "good enough."

When I get to the Statehouse, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm not going there to fit in. I'm going there to think, to challenge, to create better systems, and to make sure voices like mine are finally part of the conversation.

21/10/2025

Support and understanding is so important to families when receiving a diagnosis for their loved ones.

Register Now for Rooted in Relationships: Strengthening Family Resilience

The Early Childhood Center, on behalf of Indiana First Steps, invites you to Rooted in Relationships: Supporting Families After a New Diagnosis on October 22, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Join Dr. Heather J. Risser, Director of the Family CARE Parenting Lab at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, for a discussion on supporting families through new diagnoses or developmental delays. Dr. Risser will share practical, research-based strategies to strengthen family resilience, build trust, and connect caregivers to meaningful supports.

Reserve your spot by going to https://tinyurl.com/mpdtv5av

18/10/2025

Let the fall festivities begin!