Her Story
About Shelby
I advocate for survivors of sexual violence, strangulation, and traumatic brain injury. I'm a survivor myself, and my mom and dad are both survivors of domestic and sexual violence. I started off in a domestic violence shelter while I was still in school completing my bachelor's degree. In the midst of doing sexual violence work, my mom was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, and before that, I was educating service providers on what strangulation is, what it looks like, and how to work with clients that have strangulation and possibly a traumatic injury. I've been doing this work for 8 years. One of my most meaningful achievements was training the United States Navy last year alongside a friend and colleague. But the most significant moment was in May when I did a training where we amplified a survivor's voice, a traumatic brain injury survivor, and the survivor was actually my mom. I want to be the advocate that my mom and dad and I didn't have when I was younger. If I can just do one thing good in the world, then I've done something meaningful.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shelby
01What do you attribute your success to?
I want to be the advocate that my mom and dad and I didn't have when I was younger, and that they didn't have, that they needed. If I can just do one thing good in the world, then I've done something meaningful. That's what drives me every day in this work.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't silo yourself. There are other people in this industry that know what you're going through, know that you can just look at us and say, I've had a hard day, and we know exactly what you're meaning. So don't silo yourself, don't think that you're alone in this, because you're not, and we're here to support you and lift each other up.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some of the biggest challenges I will say is we are seeing across the board federal funding cuts, which means advocates are leaving their jobs, and local centers are having to close their doors. Survivors throughout the criminal legal system are not believed, and even in the medical system, survivors are not believed. That is, I think, the biggest obstacle, because a lot of survivors don't come forward because of the fear of not being believed, or fear of not getting justice. The narrative that survivors are doing this for some ulterior motive, when it's not like you report and you get a check. And just lack of funding that vital businesses are losing, and those are resources and agencies that could help these survivors.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Open communication is most important to me. I think in personal and professional, I need to have that open communication, whether it's with my clients or my clients with me, so I can assist them the best way that I can. And same within my personal life, you know, I have a young son, sometimes he thinks mommy can read minds, and I cannot. Not yet. And empathy. That is huge to me. Just caring about another human being, no matter what they have gone through, or the color of their skin, or how they identify, just pure empathy to help someone else.
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