Sheila grew up literally surrounded by corn and soybeans in Defiance county. She graduated from Tinora High School in 1993 and continued her education at The University of Akron. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1998. While at Akron, she developed a fondness for working with college students and assisting in their development.

After earning her bachelor degree, she traveled to Oklahoma and earned her Master of Science in Counseling and Student Personnel from Oklahoma State University in 2001. She returned to Ohio and worked at Bowling Green State University as a hall director. After nine years working in residence life, she decided to return to school and earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University in 2014.

After a short stint in Connecticut, she returned to Ohio so she could be closer to her family. She started her current position at Ohio Northern University in 2016. She currently lives in Ada. Over the past 7 years, Sheila has become active in the Hardin County Democratic Party by serving on its central and executive committees and volunteering as a poll worker. In 2019, she was elected to serve as a council person for Ada Village; she was recently reelected in 2023.

Her time in higher education has shown her the importance of having a wide representation at the decision table. She’s running to be the representative for the 83rd district so all constituents feel and know that their thoughts, beliefs, and values are being heard. She’s looking forward to hearing from a variety of community members throughout her campaign, and hopefully, once she’s in the general assembly.