Shelly, in her eyes, has taken the road less traveled and it has been an amazing adventure that is far from over. There were two goals that she hand wrote on a poster board above her make-shift office desk when she was younger. The first goal was to be an advocate for children. Shelly passed the California bar in 1989. Her first position as an attorney was representing parents in dependency cases. Through that experience she volunteered at CASA where she was a court appointed special advocate for a little guy named Frankie. This experience was invaluable in her understanding and empathizing with children who had to deal with so much, at such a young age.
Later, Shelly practiced law with her father. During this time something very unexpected happened that would change the course of her life. She was serving a legal document on a woman in an apartment complex. After knocking on the door, a young man in his teens came down the outside hallway and went face to face with Shelly. He had a huge mag flashlight in his hand. He took the flashlight and slammed it into her face. She fell to the ground. She got back up and he hit her again. All she could think of was, “I do not want to be on the ground and I do not want to pass out.” He then began strangling her. Somehow she got away.
That experience changed her thinking. All she could think about was, how could she help young people in need. She knew that the boy who had beat her up needed help. From that experience she decided to leave law and become a teacher. She became a special education teacher and has been teaching for the past 25 years. This year is her last and she will retire in June.
As to her second goal that she had written on that poster board all those years ago. “I want to help animals in need.” Shelly always knew that somehow, someway her law degree would come in handy. “Here’s hoping it does!”