Shelly spent most of her life in Milwaukee, WI and fresh out of high school she began to work in the insurance field. She worked her way through the ranks of the same company for nearly 25 years while raising her two daughters with her husband of now 24 years.

For more than 8 years of her life Shelly was also a fierce advocate for her father who became disabled in a quadriplegic state. She learned quickly that her voice had power and prompted change. She worried about those who did not have someone like her to make sure they were being properly cared for. Sadly, in 2015, Shelly’s father passed away from health complications. Shelly found herself longing to advocate for people who have no support system and she began to seek out volunteer opportunities within the community. In January of 2016 she began assisting at the emergency winter warming room and this is how she met Co-Founder Eva Welch.

When the warming room closed, the real work began and Street Angels was founded. For several years, the work that Shelly and Eva did in the community was 100% volunteer based and the outreach was taking place from the back of their own personal vehicles. Since then the organization has grown to have a large community presence, a strong Board of Directors, two outreach buses, mobile shower trailer, and over 8000 community volunteer hours per year serving 100 to 240 individuals per outreach evening.