“A year later, I was hired to be the first Napa County In-Home Support Services Public Authority Director, which helps keep low income seniors and disabled folks safe and independent in their own homes.”
Before joining NVCNA in March 2009, Shiff had most recently been the program officer for Napa Valley Vintners/Auction Napa Valley grants review committee, working closely with many Napa County nonprofits. “I developed deep respect for the incredibly difficult job nonprofit agencies do,” she says. “I also knew the [NVCNA] position would put all my skills to use. …Plus, I mostly get to work from home in my pajamas.”
Sounds cushy, but given Shiff’s lengthy background of working the hard cases, I’d say she’s earned it.
Are you married?
I’m a newlywed! I met Ira on craigslist, of all places, and our first date was in December 2006; we were married in March 2009. This was after I’d been divorced for 28 years, so I beat the single-old-lady odds.
My husband says I have “bountiful spirit.”
Have you had an experience that completely changed your life?
When I was 19 years old, I moved to San Francisco with two suitcases, not knowing a soul, to start my bachelor’s degree at the Academy of Art. I lived at the YWCA for a while, which was across the street. That experience provided me with a great deal of confidence and a sense of adventure.
Describe your favorite relative.
Hands down, it’s my halo-of-red-ringlets, toothy-smiling, 4-year-old nephew, Harry. My brother and sister-in-law adopted him knowing he was born with severe physical and mental challenges. Every little thing he does is a miracle, and his parents are my heroes.
Of all the places in the world, where would you choose to live (besides the North Bay)?
Vernazza Italy, in the Cinque Terra. It’s a tiny village that hugs the Mediterranean. I love to sit in the sun on a bench in the piazza. I’m joined by cats and old Italian men. It’s La Dolce Vita.
Probably not. I want to spend more time exploring this planet first. There are so many places on my travel list—Mongolia, Brazil, Kenya and Australia. Plus, my husband and I would like to see all the Western National Parks.
What do you love to do outside of work?
I’ve discovered recently that I have two green thumbs and love to garden. I also rekindled an old interest in art and last year started a small business creating one-of-a-kind designs using repurposed vintage porcelain plates, antique buttons and knitting needles I find at garage sales. Plus, I’m a collector of Kodak Brownie cameras; it’s for the nostalgia. I have 67 so far, and seeing them lined up on my bookshelf reminds me to smile.
Describe one of your happiest life moments.
There are two, both of which occurred after I turned 50. The first is when I crossed the finish line in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2004, after completing my first walking marathon for Team in Training. The second is when, in 2001, I decided to live in Florence, Italy, for three months and study Italian. I had the happiest time of my life discovering the joy, people and magic of Tuscany.
What remedy for the common cold works best for you?
I think I make the best real, honest-to-goodness, Jewish chicken soup in Napa. I always keep containers in the freezer to deliver to friends who are sick.
I watch “Cinema Paradiso” twice a year and still cry at the end.
If you could enact one law that doesn’t currently exist, what would it be?
That all American youth, within five years of graduating from high school, would have to do a minimum of six months’ community service. They’d be able to get a small stipend or credits for college.
What real person, dead or alive, do you wish you could be more like?
It would have to be these five people rolled into one, because they represent all the things I love or would love to do: Teri Gross from NPR radio’s “Fresh Air”; Rick Steves, because he gets paid to travel; Chagall for painting dreams; John McClaren, who designed Golden Gate Park; and Aaron Copland, whose music sends chills up my back.
