Mrs. Shepherd has been on stage since the age of 3 when she was in her first ballet recital and played a robin. Since then, the theatre bug has always had a hold. Mrs. Shepherd has done all forms of dance from Ballet, lyrical, tap, jazz and Irish. She holds a B.A. in English with Theatre Endorsement and a Masters in the Arts of Teaching specialized in the Theatre and English classroom from James Madison University. Mrs. Shepherd enjoys choregraphy, both for dance and fight on stage and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors. She has also served as a lighting designer and producer for volunteer and hire throughout the community. Mrs. Shepherd's students have won multiple awards in the community and at State Conferences and she has been nominated multiple times for best direction as part of the NYA Awards as well as a nomination for Teacher of the Year for the Washington area in 2021. Mrs. Shepherd won Teacher of the Year for Virginia Thespians in 2022. Mrs. Shepherd's is also a playwright and has produced two original shows winning multipe awards over the last several years. Mrs. Shepherd also serves as a Co-Chair for the Secondary Division of The Virginia Theatre Association and as the One-Act Festival Chair for Virginia Thespians. Mrs. Shepherd has always wanted to be a teacher and served as Professor of English before taking over the Theatre program at John Champe in 2013. She lives in Loudoun County, Virginia with her husband, Jake and their many pets.