 In 1978, she became co-owner of "Network Magazine", which focused on women's workplace issues, and she soon founded a publishing business, Webster Publishing.In 1988 she sold the business and the magazine and became the Director of Development at the University of Utah's School of Business.In 1990 Shepherd was elected to the Utah State Senate, taking the place of Frances Farley, who had been at that time the only woman serving in the Utah Senate.