The Board of Directors are excited to share with you they have hired Elizabeth Reed as our new Executive Director.
Here is Elizabeth’s hello to Everyone!
I’m excited to join the Shepherd’s Center of Orange Park as Executive Director! I cared for my mother in her final years, and the SCOOP activities were so meaningful to us. We found a home with the people we met at yoga. writing, crochet and flower arranging. Despite her memory loss due to dementia, my mother always enjoyed going to the educational classes and hearing the lunchtime speakers. We both felt encouraged and supported by the staff, teachers, and participants. And I dearly loved teaching yoga on Thursdays this year as we delved into ways to build resilience. Seeing the class members make connections was a joy and a pleasure for me.
I’m an Orange Park native, and I have an MBA from the University of Georgia. My education and most of my corporate work experience are related to accounting, although for ten years, I homeschooled my children, which gave me the liberal arts education that I didn’t get at business school, as well as experience leading and teaching. After I left my corporate job in 2016, I completed professional coach training and founded my life coaching practice. I help people live a joyful life. Most of my clients come to me for help organizing their lives, or for health coaching. During the COVID pandemic, I moved in with my parents and walked them home in their final days.
My volunteer and nonprofit experiences include 15 years of leadership roles in Toastmasters, as well as board member and President of the Northeast Florida chapter of the International Coach Federation.
Social support is one of the six pillars of health, according to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine – just as important is nutrition, activity, stress management, sleep, and avoidance of risky substances, I’m passionate about providing a strong social network for the seniors of my hometown because I’ve seen firsthand how valuable it is.
We will all miss Christy Fitzgerald, who has been an excellent leader for the Shepherd’s Center. I look forward to the challenges ahead as we continue to build on Christy’s legacy and the work of the many volunteers, participants, and board members who make the Shepherd’s Center an inspirational place.
Elizabeth Reed
