Stephanie was born into a family of educators and grew up listening to stories about children who were poor, often came to school hungry, and lived in very difficult circumstances. These same children returned to an empty house after school and remained there alone for several hours and sometimes overnight. The stories Stephanie heard were rooted in child abuse, domestic violence, and mental illness.

These stories shaped and informed Stephanie’s work as an attorney and social activism. Stephanie has represented children who are abused, neglected, and dependent, worked on initiatives to support victims of domestic violence, and developed other programs to empower women and girls.

Stephanie openly shares her personal story to encourage and inspire others. She tirelessly advocates to remove the stigma associated with having a mental illness. In October 2013, Stephanie talked about the importance of openly embracing life’s hard and difficult places at TedxColumbus 2013. Stephanie blogs for The Huffington Post and is a Reporter for The Shriver Report. Her work can also be found on several online platforms including: Medium.com, MariaShriver.com, Project Eve, and Mamapedia. In May 2015, Stephanie will tell her story about living with a mental illness as a cast member of This Is My Brave.