Virginia was born and grew up in New York but calls Houston her home. Her love for this city is evident as she has been involved in giving back to the community for over 30 years. She attended St. John’s University and received her Masters in Education. After teaching school for a few years she married the love of her life and has two wonderful children and four grandchildren that she adores.
Having a strong interest in fashion and design from the time she was a young girl, she started an Interior Design firm, Papillon, Ltd in the early 90’s. She enjoyed working with her individual clients and did many jobs pro bono for churches and businesses.
Her charity work began with Casa de Esperanza; she has chaired many of their fundraisers and has been on the Board and Advisory Board. When she began volunteering for the American Heart Association, she found a place to call home. Heart disease ran in her husband’s family so when they asked her to chair the Heart Ball she did it willingly. Serving on the Board as President was an honor and she continues to support AHA.
While involved with her charitable endeavors, in 1999 she decided to defend the underprivileged in another way by attending South Texas College of Law and becoming a Lay Mediator. Her bi-weekly visits to the court systems became a ritual as she began to see the impressive merits of mediation.
Virginia has served on the Boards and chaired major fundraisers for CCFA, Juvenile Diabetes, March of Dimes, Mental Health, Memorial Herman Children’s Hospital, and more recently Dress for Success Houston and The Methodist Hospital. Her passion has always been to serve children and women in need, and as a Board Member of Dress for Success she is able to advance their mission to empower women to secure employment and build lasting productive careers.
Virginia is a CCFA Women of Distinction and has been honored by the many charities to whom she has donated her time. This quote has stayed with her over the years: “Service is joy.”
* Note: Virginia Steppe passed away in May, 2019. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends. She is greatly missed.