The Joe Beretta Foundation has announce Davey Shepherd as its inaugural executive director. Shepherd will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Foundation’s programs and execution of its mission to provide non-medical support to the advanced heart failure community. He will begin work with the Foundation in October 2016.
Joe Beretta was a devoted husband, a loving father, a fierce friend and a fair boss. A brilliant yet humble leader, he played a key role in the automotive aftermarket industry for more than 30 years. Joe was diagnosed with sudden advanced heart failure in early 2016 and passed away in July. The Joe Beretta Foundation was established to honor his legacy of generosity and love.
The board of directors unanimously selected Shepherd for the role of executive director. “I’m thrilled to welcome Davey to this pivotal position,” said Lillian Beretta, president of the board. “He intimately and passionately understands our mission and I know he will foster the legacy of compassion, generosity and leadership for which The Joe Beretta Foundation was established”.
Shepherd most recently served as program director of Dismas House, a transitional home for formerly incarcerated men, where he gained valuable experience by developing and implementing their programming model. A licensed minister, Shepherd received his bachelor’s degree in religion from University of Valley Forge.
“Since its inception in July of 2016, The Joe Beretta Foundation is growing at a tremendous pace. We’ve quickly reached the point where a full-time staff member dedicated to overseeing varied administrative, visionary and community advocate roles is critical to our success. Davey Shepherd is a strong asset. His dedicated leadership is sure to accelerate the process of advancing our mission,” said Andrew Wharton, vice president of the board of directors.
The Joe Beretta Foundation exists to address practical, non-medical boundaries to advanced heart failure patients and their families. Specifically, their goal is to provide housing for caregivers and patients being considered for Ventricular Assist Device (or VAD) implantation, an advanced heart failure treatment that dramatically improves both quality and quantity of life. The Joe Beretta Foundation seeks to fill in the gap by providing Papa Joe’s House, a home in the Nashville area where several families from the large population of out-of-town VAD patients can stay during the most trying times of their journey.
“For far too many, the VAD is a life changing solution they just can’t afford,” said Shepherd, “I’m thankful for the opportunity to come alongside this distressed community and provide much needed assistance through The Joe Beretta Foundation.”
For more information, visit thejoeberettafoundation.com.
