SANDPOINT — For Janine Shepard, trust in God is all she needs when facing a task of uncertainty.  

After all, that belief has yet to fail her. 

Shepard is known throughout the county for her endless support of community-driven projects, whether that be through her role as executive director of 7B Clinic, sitting on the board of the Bonner County EMS Advisory Committee, serving at the Sandpoint Nazarene Church, or facilitating impactful projects like the recently installed Safe Haven Baby Box.  

But that wasn’t always the case.  

Before her role at 7B Care Clinic, Shepard spent her time serving at the Nazarene Church, carrying out administrative duties and tasks.  

For Shepard, leadership has never meant being the loudest voice in the room. Instead, she leads with quiet strength, lifting others and equipping them to succeed. 

That style has carried her into some of Bonner County’s most practical challenges, through supporting women’s access to healthcare, strengthening the county’s emergency services and assisting services that offer families a place to turn to in times of distress.  

“I do implement biblical values within the ministry to guide my decisions, but it’s always, you know, God’s grace, and how do we lift people up and help them succeed?” Shepard said. “I like giving people the tools that they need, whatever that is. Like right now, my staff is studying the “9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations”, so you're handing them a tool to help them do their job better, and it's just cool to see how they flourish.” 

One of the clearest examples of Shepard’s stewardship is through her facilitation of the baby box in Sandpoint, making the second such facility in Idaho for a judgment-free alternative for mothers in crisis to safely surrender their babies.    

“I saw a video of the baby box founder calling someone to tell them that a baby had been placed in the box that they paid for, and I just thought ‘this is the coolest thing ever,’” Shepard said. “It’s the idea of that one life, what if it’s that one life; that person that needs that care, or the box will receive that one baby that, you know, you never know the potential of people.” 

Over two years, Shepard worked with local municipalities such as Bonner County EMS, 7B Care Clinic, Life Choices Pregnancy Center, Busch Legacy Builders, Top Notch Electrical and Tamarack Ridge Media Group and Safe Haven Baby Box, an Indiana non-profit dedicated to providing a discreet and secure option for parents to surrender their newborns, in establishing the state’s second baby box. 

Though she’s been a part of groundbreaking projects that push the safety of women and families throughout the county, Shepard didn’t grow up believing that she could be a community leader.  

Until she met Ross Hall.  

According to Shepard, Hall, a pillar in the Sandpoint community, is the reason for her success within the community, helping her create connections while speaking life into her ambitions.  

“He just spoke words into me that I had never considered about myself. He would call me out as a leader, and I had never looked at myself that way. So, there were these things he said to me that really changed the trajectory of my life,” Shepard said. “It just made a huge difference, and he connected me to people that made my job even possible.”  

Shepard also accredits her leadership style to some of the women within the Nazareth Church who posed a quiet, calm strength to the community instead of showcasing a loud authority.  

And now, using the impressions that have been left on her as a community leader, Shepard faces her next task, something that is no small feat — bringing OBGYN services back to Bonner County.  

Though the journey is proving more difficult than expected, including an eight-month contract fall-through, Shepard remains persistent in providing the best care for the county. To Shepard, her work has never been about building a name for herself, but to glorify God through her servant leadership.  

Whether through the clinic, the church, or the baby box, Shepard continues to approach each new challenge the same way she always has — with faith, humility and a willingness to step forward even when the outcome is uncertain. 

Janine Shepard, executive director of Life Choices Pregnancy Center and 7B Care Clinic speaking at the Safe Haven Baby Box blessing