Shannon Wilson earned dual degrees in business management and organization development, and liberal arts from Eastern Mennonite University. She began working at JMU in 2009, where she received her Master of Education, and served as the Assistant to the Dean from 2014 until 2022, when she assumed the newly created position as Director of Professional Development with the Dean's office.

This role builds on Shannon's extensive network of relationships in the College, her training as an educator, and her varied work experience. She works with the college to help students navigate professional development by coordinating the College of Arts and Letters Career Readiness Conference, liaising with the University Career Center, building engagement between alumni and students, and increasing internship awareness.

• Engage alumni and employers through student programming 
• Manage communication about professional/career development opportunities to students  
• Plan, coordinate, and lead career activities for Arts & Letters students including, but not limited to 
  
  • CAL Career Readiness Conference (yearly) 
  • Career Treks  
  • Clifton Strengths workshops 
  • Student Advisory Council 
  • Day of Development  
  • Student career advising  
  • Annual programming (in collaboration with UCC and other colleges across the university), such as:
    
    • Career Fair 101: preparing students to talk with employers at the career fair. 
    • Bouncing Back, Resiliency after Rejection: Learning how to stay motivated when the internship/job search isn’t going well. 
    • Can I Afford this Offer? How to compare offers, red flags to look for, areas that may be negotiable, and tips for determining the salary that is needed. (Fall and Spring) 
• Track alumni volunteer engagement  
• Chair Career Readiness committee  
• Supervise CAL Graduate Assistant 
• Create Alumni Engagement Council or Affinity Group for alumni who are interested in giving time to CAL engaging with students and one another. 
• Coordinate CAL commencement ceremony; liaison to University Commencement Committee
• Work with departments to support career readiness programming at the department level through classes, programming grants, alumni engagement, etc. 
• Establish relationships with employers to increase employer visibility for CAL students.  
  CAL Liaison (with the Dean), College of Arts and Letters Alumni Advisory Board