Sheila Atwell is a parent and activist in Evergreen, CO. She is now the Executive Director of Jeffco Students First, a foundation dedicated to raising academic achievement in Jefferson County. Prior to making the decision to stay home with her children in their younger years, she spent over ten years in the financial services industry providing investment and retirement plan advice to individuals and institutions. She spent four years on the board of Homesteaders, a Denver non-profit serving homeless families with children. She is a graduate and former board member of the Leadership Evergreen program and is currently the President of the Board of Into Your Hands – Africa, a local non-profit that provides scholarships and entrepreneurial training to children in Makondo, Uganda.Sheila has been active in education issues for seven years. She has been a volunteer in her childrens’ classrooms and chaired the school’s fundraising committee for two consecutive years. She is passionate about ensuring that every student in Jeffco has an equal opportunity for an excellent education.