Meet Wendy Shepherd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Shepherd. 

Hi Wendy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My path was set from when I was 4 years old – my mother was instrumental in bringing the new Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF program to our city, and my father was elected as a councilman in our city (beginning 15 years as councilman and 10 as mayor). I grew up thinking that EVERYONE got involved, did what they could to make life better for everyone, and it was fun to do charitable work and be active in participatory government. Those early days of being a junior philanthropist as I knocked on doors and shouted “TRICK OR TREAT FOR UNICEF!” every Halloween remain in my mind and heart as really wonderful experiences. The idea of NOT participating in the community just wasn’t thought of in our house! 

As I got older, I learned more about how easy it is for a person to do just one thing to make a difference, and how “the power of one” is something pretty magical. I got involved where I could, whether it was protesting the war, doing community service for children’s organizations, putting on backyard carnivals for Muscular Dystrophy, or standing 100 feet from the doors to the polling centers on November mornings, handing out election literature with my dad’s name and face on it. (It wasn’t until I was in 3rd grade that I realized that the only kids standing outside freezing, asking folks to vote were my sister and me!) I learned that the world is run by the people who show up. 

As an adult, I chose to teach in and direct childcare centers until I couldn’t afford to stay in the field. I was engaged in volunteer work, on boards and committees, working to make life better for kids and families. In between, I had a lot of different jobs and even careers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, all of which with their diverse approaches to messaging and marketing, let me to be ready to work for Mittens for Detroit. 

I found out about Mittens for Detroit in 2012, upon my return to Detroit after living Seattle for a few years. I wanted a charity component for my birthday party I found MFD online. My 30 friends brought 150 pairs of beautiful new, warm mittens and gloves, and I reached out to MFD to see if they wanted a part-time Outreach Manager. They were a volunteer-led community initiative founded in 2010 looking to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. They suggested they needed a part-time Executive Director. I raised my hand and suggested I might be the one! 

MFD became a 501(c)(3) in 2016, growing incredibly in past 12 years. Since our start, we have collected and distributed more than one-quarter million pairs. MFD works because the community wants it to work. I love this job and the opportunities that I have had to make a difference, every day. It is important to do the work you love and love the work you do – without sounding corny, MFD has been a dream job for me, where all of my various and eclectic skills are put to use. I’m still the only staff, and like the saying goes when it comes to the health of a forest, Diversity = Stability. The wide and diverse set of skills and experiences I’ve along the way has allowed me to grow MFD into a strong and meaningful nonprofit, and I have grown with this job as well. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Some of the struggles I’ve had along the way come back to wanting to work the work I love. Sometimes the “diversity = stability” doesn’t always work as well as one would like! 

I have creative and diverse job skills… I’ve been a teacher, a director, a nonprofit manager, a secretary, an office manager, an advertising director for two magazines, a foreign agent (great job title, but the job was not exactly what you might picture!), a journalist, an outreach manager, and I was even a birthday party clown for a number of years, as well as creating and owning a tap-dancing messenger service. And I’m a mom and grandma. 

Since 1989, I’ve been an independent contractor. In that capacity, I have been a speaker/trainer/keynoter in the areas of stress management, balancing work/life challenges, communication, elder care, working intergenerationally, parent education, child advocacy… and juggling. While this sounds completely crazy in terms of a work-life, it has allowed me to go with the flow, reinvent myself professionally as needed and have plenty of time to be around for my kids and grandson through their school years. 

The struggles have been mostly financial, as it is for many independent contractors. However, I must say that I wouldn’t change one thing along the way. I really enjoy what I do, what I have done, and mostly that I have been able to be there for my family. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of my ability to reinvent myself, by taking the skills and assets that I have and creating jobs out of nowhere. Most of my work, both professionally and volunteer, have involved me creating something that didn’t exist previously. I’m known for this kind of work flexibility, and I realized when I started working when I was 15 not to say no to a work opportunity if it might teach me something new. 

When it comes to my professional development trainings, parent education, and early education professional trainings, I’m known for being able to deal with hard topics, often emotional topics, and bring humanity and humor to them. I’m even a certified Professional Laughter Leader! 

I think that my ability to be able to adapt to a situation and know when to change it or myself has set me apart from many who are less flexible. My work hero is Gumby! 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Interesting question. My profession as an independent contractor trainer/speaker has changed with the pandemic. Work windows closed (in-person trainings) and work windows opened (webinar/video trainings expanded). Now that folks are returning to work and having conferences again, I see that training is coming back with in-person opportunities. I believe that businesses and educational organizations will do hybrid trainings, some live and some on-screen going forward. 

The nonprofit sector has take a big hit since the pandemic. The smaller nonprofits like MFD have weathered the storm of the past two years by being able to be flexible. The nonprofits that can adapt what they are doing to be able to change with the new ways of doing nonprofit program work and management will survive. The ones that learn HOW to do new things, especially in the areas of fundraising and technology will not only survive, they will thrive. 

One thing that has the possibility of impacting small and large nonprofits is the economy. People are skittish about donating, and they need to feel a real connection to the nonprofits they support. Again, the nonprofits that can maneuver the new ways of doing fundraising and how to find new funding streams will continue to move forward. “But we’ve always done it that way” has to be stricken from the vocabulary of boards and staff… and more honesty about investing in the operational costs of running a nonprofit has to happen. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MittensForDetroit.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/mittens4detroit
• Facebook: facebook.com/MittensForDetroit
• Twitter: twitter.com/mittens4detroit
• Youtube: https://bit.ly/MittensForDetroit_YouTubeChannel

Image Credits
Nicole Mehelich Photography