She moved to Baltimore in 2015 after spending 20 years in Seattle, where she was a union carpenter for many years. While in the Pacific Northwest she also managed her own construction business and has bought and sold numerous houses, restoring each one. After attending law school as a William H. Gates Public Service Law Scholar at the University of Washington School of Law, Shelley decided to put her skills as a carpenter and her passion for economic and reproductive justice together by using her degree and particular skillset to begin BWBB.

Under Shelley’s leadership BWBB has rebuilt 13 more houses, with another 25 in the pipeline. To help keep their houses affordable, BWBB works with the Committee on Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), which provides a 10-year tax credit on the property value increase resulting from rehabilitation work, saving thousands of dollars for the homeowner. Another initiative to increase affordability is using low energy/net zero building strategies to reduce the high utility costs that can quickly put a Baltimore homeowner in debt or foreclosure.