Sheila is lead facilitator for the Shaping Your Life program on Tuesday and Thursday and the Explorations programs on Wednesday. Sheila joined the staff in 2023. Her family has been a part of the Open Connections community since 2014.

Sheila grew up in rural Kansas and spent the majority of her time outside making mud pies and walking the gravel road to see what adventures nature wanted to take her on each day. 

Sheila received a BA in Spanish and her Pennsylvania teacher certification from Bryn Mawr College. She received her Literacy Specialist degree from University of Pennsylvania. 

Sheila has worked with humans ages 4 through 60 in various educational settings including English as a second language, nursery school, middle school, high school and adult learners. Sheila has taught a range of subjects including math, history/social studies, English and even Spanish briefly. 

Sheila loves word games, poetry, learning about plant medicine and human relationships with plants, baking and cooking, and eating said deliciousness. Sheila’s two teens attend OC. Sheila lives with her family on a little homestead which includes small cows, dwarf goats, kunekune pigs, ducks, chickens, a number of dogs and a couple of cats.