Making an Impact with Philanthropic Giving

After graduating from California State University, Sacramento, Shellie began her successful 20-year professional career in the tourism industry specializing in destination marketing. She excelled at travel trade development, event planning, coordinating sales missions, and managing international sales offices. While managing a career and raising two children, Shellie partnered with her husband Sean, in the development of Cook Engineering, Inc., a general site work contracting business that just celebrated its 20 year anniversary.

Shellie chose to slow down on the air miles to stay home and be a full-time mom while her kids were young. Once they entered school, she found a passion for philanthropy by volunteering as her kids’ school PTC President, Site Council Member, and local high school foundation board member. Shellie took over the high school foundation’s chair position for its charitable golf tournament for 9 years raising thousands of dollars for every student and every faculty member on campus. Every department was impacted by these funds including visual & performing arts, wellness center, science, athletics, and manufacturing & engineering. It is imperative to Shellie that the teachers and students have the necessary supplies and tools to be successful.

Volunteering and serving the community have always been a passion for Shellie. Once the kids were grown, it made sense to establish a vehicle to bring friends, customers, and business partners together to serve the community and make an impact in areas of need. Thus, The Cook Foundation was established.

Philanthropy: One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.

Sean Cook, known for his strong work ethic, potent sense of pragmatism and innovative thinking which were instilled at an early age as he grew up on a working ranch. Inquisitiveness in finding better, more efficient, and economical ways to resolve problems. He gets satisfaction in accomplishing goals, which in turn became a way of life for Sean. As a business owner of 20 years in construction, he has experienced a wide range of needs in his community and industry. He has joined forces with two of the community’s best philanthropists to launch The Cook Foundation and raise funds to help tackle his community’s needs.

Catherine Broomand grew up in Danville, California, where her passion for volunteerism was born while spending time with residents of an eldercare facility, providing food for those in need during the holidays, and working with young children in drug abuse prevention programs. She later completed her undergraduate degree at UC Davis before going on to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Catherine’s enthusiasm for helping others led her to a career as a pediatric neuropsychologist at Kaiser Permanente, where she also directed the post-doctoral training program, and founded the Sports Concussion Program. During this time, she was also co-founder and President of the non-profit MindGame (formerly Sacramento Valley Concussion Consortium) which brought together all of the major healthcare systems to provide improved access to concussion specialists for youth athletes. Her work in the field of concussion landed her a position on the Center for Disease Control’s Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Guideline Workgroup where leading experts in the field of TBI worked together to create a clinical guideline for use in doctor’s offices and emergency departments (published 2018).

Catherine has maintained her commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy since those early days. In addition to Cook Foundation and MindGame, she has served as a board member for the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association, El Dorado Hills Soccer Club, Lakeview Parent Teacher Organization, and is currently the president of the Oak Ridge High School Foundation.

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My Motto:

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.
— Edward Everett Hale, U.S. author, historian, and clergyman