The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO SHELIA PAYTON
______
HON. GWEN MOORE-
of wisconsin
in the house of representatives
Friday, April 30, 2021
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Shelia Payton who is retiring from my district office on April 30, 2021, after 16 years of dedicated and distinguished service to my office and the constituents of the 4th Congressional District.
I have known Shelia for over 30 years. She joined my district office in 2005 immediately after I began my first term in the House of Representatives where she worked as a caseworker on the following issues: small business and minority business matters, Internal Revenue Service concerns and outreach to business groups and faith-based organizations. She assisted constituents in obtaining their money on their federal returns and she created awareness and shared resources to small businesses and minority businesses looking for opportunities. Over the years, she established and maintained strong working relationships with many federal agencies, business groups, business chambers, and community based and faith-based organizations. Shelia took immense pride in her work product and throughout her tenure in my office ensured the constituents of the 4th Congressional District were well served.
I am happy that Shelia will start a new chapter in her life having had such an illustrious career as a journalist, business owner, marketing and copy freelance producer, author, playwright, and most recently as a public servant in my office.
Shelia began her career by earning a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Syracuse University and working for the Miami Herald. She also received a master's degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She worked in public relations for Miller Brewing and went on to work for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Minority Entrepreneurship Program. She also held jobs as a freelance producer for Milwaukee Profiles, a program on Milwaukee Public Television. She has owned the Wisconsin Black Pages for the last two decades, which not only serves as a directory for African-American owned businesses, but also provides resources to the community.
Shelia's belief in the power of education inspired her and her parents to create the Payton-Price Family Scholarship Fund. The scholarship helps African American students from the City of Milwaukee pursue higher education at historically black colleges and universities. It is clear that Shelia has a passion for education, community, advancing the economic power of African Americans and people of color.
She also possesses a strong interest and numerous accomplishments in the creative arts. She authored two non-fiction books, Cultures of America: African Americans and What Counts Most Is How You Finish: Thoughts on Living Life to the Fullest. As a playwright she wrote her first professionally produced play, Facing the Shadow, which was staged in 2012 at the Black Rep in St. Louis. Shelia has also written a libretto for an African American themed opera, Black Caesar.
Shelia is devoted to family, especially her mother, brother, sister-
in-law, niece, nephew, and other extended family members. She was close to her late father and serves as a loving companion and sometimes caregiver to her elderly mother, Gertrude Payton. Shelia is very active in the community and her church. In addition to previously being an avid skier, Shelia loves writing, attending the theater, traveling, and other hobbies.
Madam Speaker, after 16 years of dedicated service on my staff, I wish Shelia well in her retirement and continued success in all her future endeavors. I am so proud to honor my dear friend and thank her for her service to the constituents of Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District. While she has closed this door, another one is opening for her so that she may pursue life at her own pace.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 75
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