Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon O’Malley.
Hi Shannon, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I started my career working for a documentary-turned-non-profit organization called The SOLD Project. It was a film focused on the issue of child exploitation and sex trafficking in Thailand, followed by a grassroots initiative to do prevention work in at-risk communities. My role started in the Bay Area, supporting advocacy work across the US; then after I completed graduate school, I moved to Thailand to manage the volunteer program on the ground. It was a formative period and really set the trajectory of my career in the direction of storytelling for social change.
From there, I was able to expand the reach of my work to working on girls’ issues beyond Thailand to a global reach with The Girl Effect. This was a program of the Nike Foundation, so I had this incredible opportunity to leverage the power of brand and use it towards the audacious goal of ending global poverty by investing in adolescent girls. It was during my time at the Nike Foundation that I really started to understand how much change can be made in the world if we use the same brand elements that we do in sports, fashion, and culture towards a bigger purpose.
I thought I landed my dream job at 24 with the Nike Foundation, but life had other plans. A couple of years in, the Girl Effect spun off into its own organization, and my role with Nike no longer existed, so it was back to the drawing board. At the time, I could only see two options: move into brand marketing or go back into the non-profit work, and neither felt right. And just when I was about to take a job with a major advertising company, I was offered a position at a startup agency focused on brand strategy for inspired companies and became the first employee for what is now Perennial Strategies. During my time there, I led projects focused on ending trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in the US, such as the Webby-nominated platform TheLifeStory.org and consulting on a television series illuminating the realities of the sex trade so people can move beyond the sensationalized ideas of what trafficking looks like. All of my work was in deep partnership with women who have experienced the sex trade, and we brought them into the creative process at various points beyond just having them share their stories with us.
My biggest learning in this work is how to share stories with dignity, honor, and respect and provide the true experts – those with lived experience – the support and resources needed to contribute to creative projects.
At the start of 2020 (right before the world flipped upside down), I had the opportunity to pursue a couple of projects independently and created Shan& in the middle of a global pandemic! While I had the experience of working with clients remotely, I actually think 2020 accelerated my work both in organizations becoming more comfortable with virtual settings and people starting to pay more attention to race and social justice issues.
Since starting, Shan& I’ve had the opportunity to work across a spectrum of issues, communities, and opportunities for impact.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been an incredible road, but not necessarily smooth.
A major struggle is learning how to take care of myself in order to sustain the work I want to do in the world. Between deeply internalized grind culture and a scarcity mindset, along with some commonly held beliefs that if you do “charity” work, you should not be making a lot of money, it has been a challenge to prioritize my needs—particularly around finances and health.
I’ve definitely hit moments of extreme burnout. These were primarily a combination of corporate culture and a lack of an understanding of second-hand trauma. Without any formal training in social work or similar fields, I had to navigate working in heavy issues and with those directly impacted, all while being asked to show up in pretty demanding work environments without the space to process appropriately or take care of myself in the ways needed.
Moving into consulting has been a game-changer. It’s allowed me to take on clients that I am emotionally ready for and balance my work appropriately. For example, if I’m working on an issue that I am particularly sensitive to, I’ll limit my hours to allow space to rest and focus on other things or balance it with a fun, light-hearted project. I also prioritize my mental health – therapy is on my calendar every week as if it is any other standing meeting.
And finally, knowing my worth and working with clients that value that. When your work is centered around helping others, it’s easy to compromise, accept a lower rate, or do work for free. It is fine to do on occasion, but I’m constantly challenging myself to state my full rate without hesitation or walk away from a role that will not compensate appropriately. We should all be able to do good work in the world and make good money.
We’ve been impressed with Shan&, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with individuals and organizations across philanthropy, corporate, athletic, and entertainment industries, addressing a diverse range of issues. I joke that my primary job is a translator. A lot of my work requires translating between sectors – helping creatives understand the nuance of the social justice topics they want to write into their scripts, helping athletes use their platforms to promote movements they care about, helping organization bringing accessible language to their complex and technical programs; connecting activists, influencers, and experts to create the best possible constellation to make change. Social impact can look like a lot of different things, so it’s hard to position myself based on my services. I do strategy, brand development, writing, facilitation, production along all the aspects of a business. And while those are my offerings, my values are what drive my work. Relationships and integrity are foundational to everything I do. While the work is important, we are all humans, and the personal aspect is always what I prioritize. I’m going to ask how you are before I let you know we’re getting close to a deadline. I’m going to expect us to move an event if it’s going to conflict with your niece’s birthday party. It also helps that doing this kind of work attracts really amazing humans. When you’re diving into heavy topics and looking at the pain humanity holds, it is so important to be able to connect with your colleagues and make as much space for joy as possible.
I am lucky to have the opportunity to do the work that I do, but a couple projects I am particularly proud of have been elevating the lived experiences of survivors in the film Sell/Buy/Date and supporting national civic engagement with the organization HARNESS.
Executive Produced by Meryl Streep, the film, led by playwright Sarah Jones, delves into the sex industry’s intersection with feminism, economics, race, class, and power. In addition to from providing archival research for the film, I played a crucial role in elevating survivors and organizations for the premiere at SXSW and launch events in Los Angeles and New York.
During the 2022 Midterm elections, I supported HARNESS with their Ride to the Polls campaign. HARNESS was founded by America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ryan Piers. William focuses on centering the voices, stories, and experiences of underrepresented communities in popular culture. In the fall of 2022, we worked to mobilize BIPOC youth aged 18-35 to vote in the midterm elections. The focus was on historically excluded communities, employing culturally tailored art campaigns and activations, such as the Solidarity Ride in Navajo Nation.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up in the Bay Area on a block that was basically a second family. We played outside until way after dark, families all carpooled to school or soccer practice, and I had several extra moms (still to this day). Every summer, we had an epic block party complete with a talent show. I danced competitively growing up, so the talent show was jam. I am pretty sure I choreographed dances to the entire Space Jam soundtrack one year, and obviously, the outfits were complete with tearaway pants. If I can dig up some photos, I’ll share for sure. But the block party and talent show were the highlight of every summer and a favorite childhood memory.
Contact Info:
- Website: shanand.com
- Instagram: s_omalley
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omalleyshannon/
Image Credits
Tracie Ching
