Shaw named permanent director for schools foundation
The Hoover City Schools Foundation, like many nonprofits, had a challenging year in 2020 but was able to bring on a new executive director on a permanent basis.
Shelley Shaw, the wife of Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw, had been serving as interim executive director for the foundation since October of 2019, following the departure of former Executive Director Janet Turner.
A year later, the foundation’s board of directors unanimously decided to make that a permanent change.
Foundation President Jason DeLuca said Shelley Shaw is a great fit in the executive director role. As a former board member of the foundation, she is very familiar with the organization, as well as the various PTO, PTA and PTSO groups and their parent organization, the Hoover Parent Teacher Council.
Shaw has had two children in Hoover schools. Her daughter, Melodi, graduated from Spain Park High School in 2017, and her son, Canon, is a sophomore at Spain Park this year.
Shaw served as president of the Rocky Ridge Elementary School PTO in the 2013-14 school year and later vice president of programs for the Berry Middle School PTO and president of the Hoover Parent Teacher Council.
She joined the board of the Hoover City Schools Foundation in 2017 and served as the foundation’s secretary and vice president before she was asked to become interim executive director.
DeLuca said Shaw is well respected in the community and has the skills needed for the job. “We’re just thrilled to have her,” he said. “There certainly is no learning curve on day one.”
After graduating from Vestavia Hills High School in 1990, Shaw earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Auburn University in 1994.
She spent a year as an account executive for the WBRC TV station in Birmingham and then four years as the state communications director for the Alabama chapter of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, where she earned several awards and recognition for effective public awareness campaigns promoting prenatal care and the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality. She has been a homemaker since 1999 and spent about 21/2 years as a part-time recreation and fitness coordinator at Hunter Street Baptist Church from August 2001 to December 2003.
Shaw has been involved with her children’s activities in Cub Scout Pack 5, Berry Middle School Choir and the Spain Park band and color guard.
She is a graduate of the inaugural class of Leadership Hoover and served as an active member of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, Hoover Service Club, Hoover Historical Society and Shades Mountain Baptist Church.
She also continues to serve as president of Destination Hoover International, which focuses on citizen diplomacy and scholarships for Hoover City Schools graduates with international interests. During football season, Shaw coaches the Spain Park Jaguarettes and facilitates the Jaguar Twirling Club for K-12 students through the school year.
Shaw said it’s an honor to work alongside the foundation board of directors. She was interested in the executive director job because she truly believes in the organization’s mission and has the energy and time to commit to it, she said.
2020 was particularly challenging because the foundation was not able to have its biggest fundraiser, Denim & Dining, due to COVID-19. The 2019 Denim & Dining event netted more than $50,000.
Shaw said the foundation’s total income for 2020 was down by more than half from the previous year, but the foundation will work hard to make it up in 2021.
The foundation still was able to give out eight grants totaling $15,600 to classroom teachers in 2020, plus $20,500 in SeedLAB grants for special projects organized at the school system’s central office in response to COVID-19.
The organization hopes to have its fifth Denim & Dining event in 2021, though it could be different, she said. Also, Shaw said she is working to build relationships with new partners, including real estate agents who believe schools are a strong selling point for real estate in Hoover.
While 2020 was a difficult year, “we are very grateful for those who have had the opportunity to give, in spite of recent events,” Shaw said. “Students and teachers have suffered in this pandemic, especially through the domino effect of COVID-19. It is a privilege to support them at any level that we are able to fund during this unprecedented time.”