Mondaire was born to a young, single mother who dropped out of college and had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. When Mondaire was two years old, his mother was diagnosed with a devastating mental illness resulting in his grandparents playing a major role in his upbringing. 

At 19, Mondaire was elected chair of a committee on the NAACP’s National Board of Directors. He took his activism along with him to Stanford University, where as a student leader he championed progressive causes. After college, Mondaire served in the Obama Administration in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice before deciding to attend Harvard Law School.  As an attorney, he began representing defendants who could not afford counsel in criminal proceedings and learned first-hand how this country perpetuates a system of mass incarceration by over-arresting, over-charging, and over-prosecuting poor people and people of color. He has been honored by the Legal Aid Society for his hundreds of hours of pro bono legal work. 

Today as an openly gay man with an impressive life story and resume, Mondaire is running on a platform committed to; helping his district overcome the devastating impact of covid-19, securing healthcare for all, increasing the minimum wage, moving forward on criminal justice reform, taking bold action on climate change, and more.