Sheila PIRES

PIRES, Sheila A. On May 16, 2024, Sheila Ann Pires, 75, passed away peacefully in her home after a 12-year battle with cancer. Sheila was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 8, 1949. She called St. Petersburg, Florida and Washington, DC home, and Dewey Beach, Delaware her favorite getaway. She died in Brooklyn, New York, where she was receiving care. Sheila graduated from Boston University in 1971 and received her MPA from Harvard's Kennedy School for Public Policy. She is survived by her wife and loving partner of 27 years, Kathy Lazear; children, AJ (Rachel Johnston) Pires and Claire (Katherine Rhodes) Pires and their father, Alexander Pires Jr.; grandchildren, Jack and Isla Pires, and Elle Rhodes-Pires; siblings, Mark (Barbara) Condon, Nancy Condon, Jean (Nancy Kenney) Condon, Cathy (Dan) Harro, Michael (Mary) Condon; sister-in-law, Bridgid Roark; and beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. Sheila is preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Nancy (nee Toomey) Condon and her brother, Edward Condon. Sheila was passionate about her work. Her first job out of school was teaching creative writing at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. While in graduate school for English Literature at Georgetown University, she took a job as a legislative correspondent for Lester Wolff, a New York Democratic congressman. Sheila would always say that she was honored to be a part of "the feisty NYC Congressional delegation" that included Lester Wolff and Bella Abzug. Sheila was one of the youngest women Congressional Staff Directors and later was appointed Special Assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and then to the White House as Senior Staffing Specialist for President Jimmy Carter. She specialized in recruiting women, minorities and people with diverse cultural backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. After leaving the White House, Sheila was appointed by Mayor Marion Barry as the Acting Administrator for the DC Child/Youth Services Administration, the Children's Coordinator for the Children's Mental Health Reorganization Office and became Deputy Commissioner of Social Services for the District of Columbia. Sheila also was proud to serve as a Board member for Bell Multicultural High School, a public-private high school serving youth with immigration experience. In 1990, Sheila founded the Human Service Collaborative, a policy and technical assistance group focused on children's behavioral health. She was asked to serve as an advisor to the New Freedom Health Commission by President George W. Bush and co-chaired President Bill Clinton's Behavioral Health Care Reform Task Force. Her seminal work, Building Systems of Care: A Primer was a driving force in understanding how to advance children's behavioral health reform. Throughout her career, Sheila partnered with almost every state government, relevant federal agency, national technical assistance and policy research center, and many family and youth organizations. The close relationships she formed with individuals during partnerships like these lasted a lifetime. It was not only her work, but the way she worked and cared about people that deeply influenced individuals personally and professionally. People sought Sheila for her subject matter expertise and for her uncanny ability to bring people together. She possessed the intelligence to link divergent or disparate ideas and the insight to bring clarity where there often seemed only chaos. Since childhood, Sheila's favorite past time was reading. Although she enjoyed the solitary experience of reading, her like-minded friends and family often sought her out for her personal reviews and discussion. Her most treasured gifts to her loved ones and friends were often the books she thoughtfully shared. For Sheila, there would never be enough bookshelves. Sheila also enjoyed competitive racquet sports, including squash, ping pong, tennis, and yes.pickleball. Sheila loved playing cards and would stay up till the wee hours of the night playing Up and Down the River with her siblings. Never one to shy away from a good poker game with friends, especially the New Year's Day Poker Marathon, Sheila was also happy to teach her grandchildren Texas Hold 'Em, Midnight Baseball, Follow the Queen, and many other poker games while spotting them two bucks. Sheila was especially proud of her children, AJ Pires president of Alloy Development of Brooklyn, NY, whose company recently designed and built NYC's first all-electric skyscraper, and Claire Pires, Program Administrator for the Horizons-Upward Bound program at Cranbrook Educational Community, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. "She was a force! Whip smart, intrepid and deeply caring," said her son AJ. "On the things that mattered most, she always had our greatest potential in focus." Her daughter Claire said, "My mom was grounded and wise, and she gave such thoughtful advice. She was always there for me, and I admired her strong sense of self. I will carry her with me for the rest of my life." Sheila and Kath lived a life together that was full of adventure and travel, extraordinarily loving, often hilarious, and so wonderfully ordinary in the day-to-day that they cherished. Their life together was filled with shared poetry, song, flower gardens, and treasured moments of sitting in quiet companionship. Always thankful for the life they shared, Sheila lived her life without remorse and loved people without judgement. Sheila thank you for your strength and love until the end. You will be forever remembered. A celebration of life will be held in St. Petersburg, Florida in October at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Sheila to support policy innovations and research for effective children's systems, to the Sheila A. Pires Fund at Innovations Institute, University of Connecticut School of Social Work online or by making checks payable to the UConn Foundation, Inc., Attn: Data Services, 2390 Alumni Dr., Unit 3206, Storrs, CT 06269-3206. Please use the check notation line to designate the Sheila A. Pires Fund.