Sheba R. Wheeler became a Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter before the age of 30, and she did so by demonstrating solid "shoe-leather" journalism, tenacity, and tremendous grace under pressure. Practically straight out of the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communications, this Temple, Texas, native landed a staff reporter position at The Denver Post, a paper with a circulation of nearly half a million.
Wheeler earned this distinction by telling people's stories-including her own-with detail and integrity. She covered multiple beats during her 15-year tenure, including both hard news and lifestyle feature assignments. However, one of her most important assignments was covering the April 1999 Columbine High School shootings, for which the Denver Post's staff collectively won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting.
In 2011, Wheeler left The Denver Post to pursue a freelance career. She established her studio, Picture Your World Photography, LLC which recently celebrated its 14th year anniversary. Her body of work -- both photography and written articles -- has appeared in several publications across the globe, including The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, and 5280 Magazine.
Leveraging years of storytelling in the journalism world has allowed Wheeler to pivot her career to corporate communications in the agency/consulting space at Dentsu, currently the largest advertising agency and the fifth largest advertising agency network in the world. She serves as communication leads for multiple Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pillars within the company. She has owned office social media presence by managing Facebook pages and produced newsletters to boost office culture and highlight team members' personal and professional achievements.
But as a champion of mental health and well-being, the project she's most proud of today is a company-wide initiative she conceived, lead and orchestrated called "fearLESS: Our Stories Inspire." The weekly series which ran during Mental Health Awareness month featured interviews key company leaders who shared living with debilitating conditions including depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder and the daily strategies they used to overcome their struggles.
