Shannon Wanless
Shannon Wanless
Community Impact Educator
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TOPICS
Youth
Education
Youth Development
Equity
Dr. Shannon Wanless is Director of the University Center for Social & Urban Research (UCSUR), and a community-engaged scholar.
Having been in Pittsburgh for 15 years, Shannon continues to focus on building community and social change among adults that are helping young children thrive. As Director of UCSUR, she has the opportunity to help lead Pitt in supporting community thriving as well. UCSUR has a 50 year history and is currently evolving to be the home of community-engaged research at the University of Pittsburgh.
Shannon began her career as a YMCA Summer Camp Director and a Head Start Teacher. She worked in urban and rural settings, and with children whose families showed incredible resilience in the face of the never-ending challenges of being refugees and being undocumented in the U.S. She earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Michigan, a doctoral degree in Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University and was a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching & Learning (CASTL) at the University of Virginia. Shannon was a Fulbright scholar for one year in Taiwan and researched the ways that social-emotional skills and self-regulation develop in a collectivist culture.
SPEAKING TOPICS INCLUDE:
Collectively Envisioning a Better Future & Developing the Skills to Build it Together
Dr. Wanless’s biggest strengths are, her passion, kindness, and knowledge.
...clearly very knowledgeable and has lots of real world experience that helps her connect.
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