Media career In 1981, Afendoulis started her career as a reporter for
The Grand Rapids Press until 1987. In 1987, Afendoulis became a reporter for
The Tampa Tribune until 1989. In 1989, Afendoulis became a Communications/Public Relations Manager for the Bay Plaza Companies in
St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1995, Afendoulis was a consultant for The Greystone Group. Since 2003, Afendoulis was a Director of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for
Universal Forest Products.
Political career In August 2018, Afendoulis won the primary election for
Michigan House of Representatives for District 73. Incumbent
Chris Afendoulis, who is her cousin, had run for the
Michigan Senate. On November 6, 2018, Afendoulis won the election against Bill Saxton and became a member of the
Michigan House of Representatives for District 73. In June 2019, Afendoulis introduced a bill that would allow only the Michigan and United States flag to be flown on state office buildings, claiming that it was inappropriate to promote social policy. This bill was authored by Afendoulis as a rebuke to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who ordered the gay pride flag to be flown at the Romney building in mid-June to commemorate Pride Month. Widmer announced the flag order on Twitter including a video. In the same month, reporter Susan J. Demas penned an op-ed titled, "Same-sex marriage has been legal for 4 years. A Michigan Republican still thinks homophobia is a winning ticket to Congress," referencing Afendoulis's as the author of the bill stating that she "has decided to get lathered up over a couple LGBTQ rainbow flags in hopes that it’s her ticket to Congress. The stunt comes more than four years after a conservative U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is the law of the land, because truly, we’re living in the dumbest timeline." Demas noted in her commentary that she had reached out to Afendoulis with the question: “Is this in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer flying LGBTQ Pride flags for Pride month? I am not aware of any other ‘social movement’ flags. Does Rep. Afendoulis support LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage?”. Afendoulis failed to respond. In June 2020 following the
George Floyd protests in Grand Rapids, she proposed a bill to punish those who participate in riots with
terrorism charges of up to a 20-year felony sentence in, with Afendoulis stating "We want prosecutors to be able to charge them as terrorists. As social terrorists". Afendoulis ran for the
United States House of Representatives in in the
2020 elections. She lost the August 4 primary election to
Peter Meijer. == Personal life ==