Lee’s Summit, Mo. – Lee’s Summit community leader and AFS host mom Hillary Shields will be hosting a reception on February 21st to kick-off her campaign for Missouri’s 8th Senate District. After narrowly losing in a special election last year, Shields will be running in a rematch against Republican Mike Cierpiot.
“Volunteering in my community has taught me a lot about the issues affecting families in Eastern Jackson County, from the importance of supporting our great public schools to the need to protect our seniors. It is clear that our community’s needs are not being addressed by the career politicians in Jefferson City,” said Shields. “I’m running for the Missouri State Senate because I believe our community deserves a senator who will put regular families first.”
Hillary Shields grew up in Missouri and lives in Lee’s Summit with her husband, Mitch. As longtime residents of Eastern Jackson County, Hillary and her husband chose Downtown Lee’s Summit as their home for its strong sense of community and charm. For the past nine years, Shields has worked with local schools as an advocate for study abroad programs and as a partner with AFS-USA.
“As an AFS host family, we’ve opened our home to foreign exchange students from around the world. We love making these kids feel like a part of our family and our community. It’s been a joy to share in their learning experience and to see how they have enriched our schools and our community in return,” Shields said. “That’s why public education is so important to me. Without proper funding, enrichment programs like foreign exchange will be cut, and that will hurt our local community.”
Hillary Shields works as a paralegal and dedicates her spare time to local constituency groups as an advocate for community interests and a volunteer for several non-profits throughout the area. Hillary and her husband also enjoy spending time with their rescue dog, Bowser.
