2019 40 Under 40: Millie Schuchmann, 30

SBJ photo by Wes Hamilton

Children in crisis across the Ozarks have a safe place to rest their heads thanks, in part, to Millie Schuchmann. As the development coordinator for Isabel’s House, she secures funds to support the nonprofit’s mission of providing refuge to kids birth to 12 years old during family crises. In 2018, Schuchmann secured a grant to construct three new family visit rooms. She also spearheaded a peer-to-peer initiative, Parent Cafes, to help address red flags of childhood trauma.

Schuchmann is president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Ozarks Region Chapter and was named Junior League of Springfield’s manager of membership-elect for 2019-20. She holds a master’s of communication from Drury University.

What are you doing to make the Ozarks better? Using my writing and relationship-building skills to identify solutions to complex problems our community faces.

What is your best productivity hack? To help stave off my procrastination, I give myself five seconds to resist doing something. Then it’s go-time!

What was your professional aha moment? I learned early on when I began fundraising that this career doesn’t require an extroverted personality.

What is your theme song? “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty.

What’s your most treasured possession? My first name. I was named after my maternal grandmother, who I never got to meet.