Fighting in D.C. for Florida's 20th District
This is my story.
I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, and nurtured by Broward County, Florida. I am the youngest of three children of Haitian immigrants who came to America fleeing a dictator.
As the proud daughter of Haitian immigrants who came to America fleeing a dictator, I have experienced the American dream. My journey has not been without hard work or hardships. As a child, I watched my parents work hard to provide better opportunities for their children, my mom as a maid and my father as a taxi driver.
Faith has been a consistent thread throughout my entire life; from our family coming to this country, working my way through law school, building a successful health care business, becoming a community advocate and arriving in the halls of Congress, my faith has always been my center.
Over 10 years ago, I began advocating in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill to drive positive change in Health Care Reform. My success and expertise as a Chief Executive Officer of a healthcare company opened many doors, including sitting down with many members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
With every door that opened, I took each opportunity to advocate for children with disabilities, healthcare expansion, and economic development.
Over the years, my frustrations continued to grow. Finally, the unwillingness of some elected officials to move legislation that would address the community's immediate needs led me to run for office. When people ask me why I'm running for Congress, my response is clear, "Our community has been suffering immensely from the lack of healthcare and economic opportunities. Now is the time to exercise political courage and put forth bold economic and healthcare policies for the people! I have the expertise and track record to move bold policies forward. My proven track record of political courage, job creation, building generational wealth, and bringing healthcare into the community speaks to my ability to deliver results."
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, I led monumental efforts to meet the immediate needs of our district. Through our partnership with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM), my company vaccinated over 300,000 and employed over 1,000. While many businesses were shuttering and reducing employee hours, we were the largest black woman-led and owned company to participate in this federal and state initiative.
Over the years, I have consistently served my community through our non-profit and outreach programs. We provided over 100,000 masks to community members in partnership with the Florida Office of Minority Health and Equality. We provided over 4,000 hot meals to families in need through my Sunday Dinner Program. Most recently, I was recognized as Rising Star Awardee (2018); Miramar's Progressive Woman of the Year (2019); and Community Voice of the Year (2020).
Small business will always be the heartbeat of our communities. I led an aggressive small business initiative assisting small businesses to acquire Payroll Protection Program grants, federal and state contracts, and investors. In order to provide capital for small businesses, we created a minority women's investment group in which members invested over $1 million into small businesses.
I've served as the Chair of several Board of Directors and Advisory Boards and instituted transformational policies that increased transparency, profit, market share, diversity and acquisition of state and federal contracts.
I continue to serve our district diligently. Presently, I've been appointed to the Human Relations Committee, Advisory Board for Broward County Public Schools and Chair of the Advisory Board for the McCormick Law Firm Essential Community Health and Haitian Chamber of Commerce.
Before joining Trinity Health Care Services, I worked as a project manager for New York City Transit Authority in the Capital Programs & Environmental Sustainability division, managing over 2-million-dollar projects. In 1999, I launched my career with Trinity Health Care Services, Inc., leading to several promotions and achievements and being named Chief Executive Officer.
My family is my proudest achievement. Before joining forces with my husband, I was a single mother for twelve years. Like so many women, I raised my daughter alone while completing coursework working towards a Master's in Business Administration, and putting myself through law school with navigating my daughter's learning disability. I was told that my daughter would never attend a regular school. Out-of-pocket medical expenses began to pile up. But together, we persisted in the face of adversity. Today, my amazing daughter is enrolled in honors pre-law, preparing to pursue a career in law.
I'm a proud graduate of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, Howard University, and St. Thomas University School of Law. In addition, I completed extensive coursework toward an MBA from the University of Maryland University College.
As the proud daughter of immigrants I have experienced the American dream, but it has not been without hard work or hardships. As Americans, we all share this story of trials and triumphs. As citizens, it is our right to demand more, of our system and of our leaders. It is our right to pursue a more perfect union. It is accessible healthcare that creates opportunities for our people. Economic opportunities that keep our families together and our brightest at home in Florida.
I've invested 20 years into building healthcare for Americans who need it most and spent the last decade lobbying on Capitol Hill to drive positive change in Health Care Reform.
As your Congresswoman, I've delivered for the district by leading the fight to fix housing, tackle inflation, grow our local economy, and expand access to quality affordable healthcare. As a strong Democrat in Congress, I look forward to continue working with President Joe Biden, and our democratic leaders to build a better America. I humbly ask you to keep me in the fight by re-electing me on November 5th.
For the People,
Sheila