Michelle Dillard

I am the founder of 'Until You've Walked in Her Shoes,' my organization that celebrates and honors women doing great and unique things in the St. Louis community. What we do is designed to educate, empower, and honor women through special events and conferences. This past May 8th and 9th, we did an 'I Survived' conference which celebrated and honored survivors of breast cancer, mental illness, as well as abuse. We told the stories through three short plays on Friday evening, and then on Saturday, we had an award celebration of mothers as well as survivors. It's a different theme every time I do it - I started off doing it back in 2006, and over the years I've celebrated women under a certain age who had accomplished major feats, breast cancer survivors, and other themes. I started off doing it every year, then I went to every couple of years, but it's all about acknowledging women and bringing women together. This last event ended up with 189 women, which is the highest we've had. I also write plays as a playwright, I'm a director and an actor, and I'm a teaching artist where I teach voice acting to elementary, grade school, and high school students - I teach them how to make money with their mouth without leaving the house. I have a staff of about 5 people who help with these special events.