The Advocacy Center, Inc.
Wisdom, Integrity, Tact, and Honor.

Growing up as a small child our Founder, Michelle, was closest to her dad, Honorary Colonel Petty Officer First Class Gene Shearer.  She loved spending time with him so much that she would even go to work with him whenever he would let her tag along. He truly believed that given the right attitude and enough grit and grace, anyone could overcome any circumstance and right a multitude of wrongs, a stance our heavenly Father holds to be true Himself. Watching her dad use his work in faith-based nonprofit management to help those most vulnerable would spark a lifelong dream within Michelle to create a faith-based nonprofit that embodies her father’s beliefs, an organization that put God’s heart first not only in what they did but how they did it.  Wisdom, integrity, tact and honor. These are values every soldier vows to embrace whether on land, air or sea and they are the values Michelle's father tried to emanate. This is why TAC's values are and always will be wisdom, integrity, tact and honor. 

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While the dream of creating a faith-based nonprofit where every person feels valued has been in Michelle's heart since a small child, it wouldn’t start to take shape until 2004 when she moved to Chattanooga to be closer to her brother. It was here that she would meet her husband, Lance, who carried a twin flame bent towards injustice. They would work in nonprofit advocacy for over a decade, helping with various community projects. Yet it wasn’t until after Michelle finished law school and met Brooke Smith, another paralegal working at a local law firm, that the framework for a new non-profit organization really began to materialize. Brooke became the Tina Fey to Michelle's Amy Poehler and they realized that they couldn't do this work without each other. They were soul sisters from the start. While seeking what God would have them do, they began serving together at a small but mighty international faith-based nonprofit that operates out of Chattanooga and things just progressed from there. Brooke would go on to serve at Family Promise and Michelle at On Point, Inc., before Michelle would relocate back to her childhood home state of Florida to accept a position with All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota. The pandemic would hit and out of the tumultuous times to follow, The Advocacy Center was born.

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With a focus on the promotion of peace in relationships, families, communities, regions, countries and the world, TAC wants to change how people are viewed. Western society tends to promote the treatment of people based on a viewpoint developed from stereotypes. People are examined, categories are assigned and assumptions are made that affect how those people are treated. TAC believes that the foundation for human interaction is honor. Every individual has value, is unique and most importantly, is loved, whether that person is an employee, client or community partner. By recognizing those attributes in all people, TAC encourages honor for the relationship and for each other.

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TAC thanks those individuals and organizations that have come alongside us in this venture. A big “thank you” goes out to the Board, which is a "Round Table" of sorts of other nonprofits working to combat social injustice on a global scale. TAC’s work could not be done without them. TAC also extends gratitude to the local bar in Chattanooga, The Oasis Center for what they are doing in Chattanooga, the 20th Judicial District of Florida, and of course a BIG SHOUT OUT and THANK YOU to Litchford, Pearce and Associates for coming alongside TAC in this effort.