{"id":3392,"date":"2026-02-13T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/?p=3392"},"modified":"2026-02-09T10:27:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:27:38","slug":"black-history-valerie-sheppard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/black-history-valerie-sheppard\/","title":{"rendered":"PWD Black History Month Spotlight: Valerie Sheppard"},"content":{"rendered":"

To celebrate Black History Month, we are featuring several Philadelphia Water Employees throughout the month. We asked them to share their stories about working at PWD, what they\u2019ve learned during their careers, what inspires them, and what Black History means to them.<\/p>\n

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Valerie Sheppard<\/h2>\n

Employee and Labor Relations Analyst<\/strong>
\nHuman Resources<\/h3>\n
14 years at PWD<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tell us a little about your PWD career journey. How did you end up in your current position?<\/h5>\n

My undergraduate degree is in Human Resources, and I\u2019ve always wanted to work in Human Resources. In PWD, I\u2019ve worked in Safety, Hiring, Transactions and now Labor Relations. I enjoy assisting employees with their questions and issues and get excited when I can see the results of hard work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What’s one thing that people would find interesting about your job that they might not know?<\/h5>\n

Labor Relations is not just about disciplining employees, it also involves employee rights, mediation, negotiation, conflict resolution, strong communication and analytical skills.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What’s the best career advice that you received that you could pass on to a potential PWD employee that wants to do what you are doing?<\/h5>\n

Always strive to excel at whatever job you\u2019re currently doing. Doing this sets the groundwork for future opportunities to learn more, do more and to potentially promote.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How are you going to celebrate Black History Month this year?<\/h5>\n

During the month of February, I intentionally dine and shop at Black-owned businesses in and around my community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which African American, dead, or alive, would you invite to your dinner party and why?<\/h5>\n

I would love the opportunity to share a meal with our former First Lady, Michelle Obama, simply because of her strong character, self-confidence, grace, and compassion. She emulates these characteristics so easily and these are all characteristics that I hope to fully emulate one day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Share an inspirational quote by an African American that motivates you?<\/h5>\n

\u201cThere is no magic to achievement. It\u2019s really about hard work, choices, and persistence.\u201d \u2013 Michele Obama<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finish the statement: Black History means…<\/h5>\n

Black History means recognizing the significant contributions to society of Black\/African American people while acknowledging their profound impact on world history, culture, and progress in the past, currently, and in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we’ll talk with Valerie Sheppard, Employee and Labor Relations Analyst in Human Resources, who has been at PWD for 14 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":35995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"div.header { display: flex; justify-content: start; align-items: center; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 1.5em; }\r\n.header .caption { flex: 1 1 max(35%, 12em); }\r\n.header .caption img { aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover; object-position: top; padding: 0; max-width: min(16em, 100%); }\r\n.header .bio { flex: 3 1 50%; }\r\n\r\n.post-content h2, .post-content h6 { padding: 0; margin: 0; }\r\n.post-content h3 { padding: 0; margin: 0.3em 0 .5em; font-size: 1.3em; }\r\n.post-content h5 { padding: 0; text-align: left; font-style: italic; }\r\nblockquote { margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding-top: .4em; }\r\n.post-content blockquote p { padding: 0; margin: .5em 0; }","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[541,558],"class_list":["post-3392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-history","tag-black-history","tag-employee-spotlight","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/black-history-valerie-sheppard\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"PWD Black History Month Spotlight: Valerie Sheppard","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/black-history-valerie-sheppard\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/black-history-valerie-sheppard\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Community","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Martin"}],"creator":["Justin Martin"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["black history","employee spotlight"],"dateCreated":"2026-02-13T14:00:29Z","datePublished":"2026-02-13T14:00:29Z","dateModified":"2026-02-13T14:00:29Z"},"rendered":"