Shawn is President of Strategic Giving, a philanthropy consulting firm. She is a Guild Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge and on the boards of the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern Memorial Foundation, American Associates of the National Theatre, Cambridge in America, and is past Chairman and Life Trustee of Goodman Theatre.
Her honors include Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network Award, Outstanding Individual Philanthropist, Treasure Coast Association of Fundraising Professionals, and Crain’s Chicago Business “Forty under Forty.” A member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Commercial Club of Chicago, she previously served 10 years on the boards of United States Artists, Chicago Community Trust, and Loyola University New Orleans.
The former head of political affairs for R.R. Donnelley, she received a B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans and an M.A. from Emerson College. She is a granddaughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley.