From growing up in a converted one-room schoolhouse in rural Taylor County to leading fights for reproductive rights and workers' freedoms in the state legislature, Roys brings more than two decades of progressive advocacy to this race.

As a mom and stepmom of five, small business owner, attorney, and longtime champion for women's health, Roys has built a reputation for seeing political threats before they materialize and building coalitions to fight back. She was in the streets protesting Scott Walker's Act 10 in 2011, helped pass Wisconsin's first pro-choice legislation in 30 years, and now co-chairs the Legislature's Reproductive Freedom Caucus.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss how she thinks about leadership and compromise in a purple state, her vision for education and healthcare, what drives her advocacy work, and how she manages the chaos of running a small business and raising five kids while serving in the state Senate.

This is the first in our series of conversations with candidates for Wisconsin governor across the political spectrum.