Robin Shepherd
“ Morgan Hill is blessed . It ’ s home to people from diverse backgrounds and interests who share the belief that community service binds us together …”
Co-founder & Exec Director - The Sue ’ s Story Project , Documentary Filmmaker , Board President - Susan & Charles Berghoff Foundation . thesuesstoryproject . com / morganhillhistoricalsociety . org
Though Robin Shepherd has had many different jobs since graduating with a BA in marketing , ranging from working for a private investigation firm to the computer company Oracle during the PC revolution . She is the past editor and a current contributor to gmhTODAY . The former journalist and current documentarian now puts most of her energy where she feels called to make a difference .
When her friend , Sue Berghoff , was diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease ( LBD ), one of the leading causes of progressive dementia , as both a friend and a journalist , she saw an important cause that needed greater awareness . In 2017 she co-founded and became Executive Director of The Sue ’ s Story Project , whose mission is to increase awareness , education , research , and resources for people living with LBD .
“ As a journalist I was so shocked by the lack of information , the lack of sharing of research , and the lack of training from medical school forward , about LBD ,” she said . “ I just felt that I had to do something about this .”
She says that the high incidence of a significant “ graying population ” in the U . S . with a lack of awareness about recognizing and treating dementia diseases is “ a perfect storm .”
“ For the first time in history we ’ ll have more people over 65 than children … More people are impacted by dementia diseases than the pandemic ,” she said .
The Sue ’ s Story Project has raised both funds and awareness for the disease and formed an advisory team that includes Peggy Martin , Nick Gaich , Don Larkin and Jennifer Tate , along with partners Stanford University , Kaiser Permanente , Santa Clara County and AAUW-Morgan Hill .
“ In 2020 we laid the groundwork for a new nonprofit , the Susan and Charles Berghoff Foundation , to expand our reach and impact ,” she said . They will formally launch the foundation in 2022 .
Her work with the Sue ’ s Story Project also led to another of her passions : documentary film . She made her first film about Sue to raise awareness , with L . Mattie Scariott , of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival , and loved it so much she spearheaded several documentary series for the Morgan Hill Historical Society . “ Stories from the Past ” a mosaic of oral histories captured in film is funded by the County of Santa Clara , and “ History Makers ,” funded by a private grant . She ’ s worked with such folks as Nils Myers , 152 West Productions , Kathy Sullivan and Ellie Weston .
“ I ’ ve had a passion for films all my life , and although filmmaking is a late career development for me , I ’ m glad I took the plunge . I love storytelling through the documentary art form . It ’ s incredibly rewarding work .”
28 WINTER 2022 gmhTODAY Magazine gmhtoday . com