[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 75 (Friday, April 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E467-E468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        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

[[Page E468]]

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.

                          ____________________