Shannon Maguire
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Resume

Work with Shannon

Professional Timeline

    • Managed a $300 million democracy portfolio across 18 countries in Eastern Europe, aligning cross-functional teams and tracking performance metrics across 20 active programs

    • Designed and procured three new press freedom programs and strategic initiatives annually, including in complex environments (Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia)

    • Briefed senior inter-agency U.S. officials and Congressional representatives on sensitive and classified projects to shape strategic policy and funding decisions

    • Led monitoring, evaluation, and learning efforts on 30+ projects over 10 years to ensure more effective, impactful, and coordinated programming

    • Secured $20 million in co-funding from public and private donors to launch global initiatives, including a journalism defense fund and public-interest media fund

    • Presented at international and U.S. conferences on a bimonthly basis on foreign assistance, geopolitical trends and risks, and donor engagement topics

    • Managed global impact assessment and team of five researchers to deliver actionable recommendations to media funders and anti-corruption stakeholders

    • Designed learning toolkits and coordinated a 500+ attendee global conference, managing logistics, content, and stakeholder engagement

    • Developed USAID/Rwanda’s five-year civic engagement strategy and impact tracking system for $20 million portfolio

    • Led stakeholder engagement across ten donors and five embassies (UK, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Japan) on governance programming, resulting in leveraging $5 million in co-funding

    • Served as deputy to Senior Director for outreach, events, research, and advocacy efforts

    • Organized high-level convenings including UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day conference (200 attendees), annual donor fora, and quarterly executive advisory council meetings

    • Cultivated partnerships with governments, foundations, think tanks, and advocacy organizations, resulting in an increased support by 10% from the donor community for international media assistance

    • Designed youth entrepreneurship strategy for USAID/Bosnia, resulting in mandating youth as a cross-sectoral component across all programs

    • Contributed to five-year country strategy, annual program cycle design, and resource allocation planning

    • Briefed senior U.S. diplomats and congressional delegations on foreign assistance portfolio

    • Managed external communications and coordinated advocacy efforts with press freedom organizations

    • Developed research agenda on journalism support, media literacy, and internet freedom topics

    • Cultivated partnerships with governments, foundations, think tanks, and advocacy organizations, resulting in an increased support by 5% from the donor community for international media assistance

    • Managed student advising office services and supervised Educational Advisor, resulting in 15% increase in service provision (advising resources, materials, and counseling sessions)

    • Organized four study tours for U.S. university and senior educational administrators across southern Vietnam

    • Led EducationUSA outreach for southern Vietnam, organizing annual education fairs (200+ attendees) and marketing campaigns

Professional Experience

Strategic Influence & Thought Leadership

Articles: “USAID Is Gone. Its Democratic Legacy Shouldn’t Be.”, “Press Freedom Under Threat”, “Media Literacy: The Other Vaccine”, “Free Media Always Fight”, more…

Publications: Media Assessment Tool, Disinformation Primer, Investigative Impact: Best Practices in Measuring the Impact of Investigative Reporting, Empowering Independent Media, more…

Speaking Engagements: International Press Institute's World Congress and Media Innovation Festival, European Commission, Guest College Lecturer, Department of Defense Russia Influence Group, European Endowment for Democracy Eurasia Conference, European Commission Western Balkans Media Days, more…

Education

Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service |  Washington, DC
MA in Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Foreign Language Area Study Fellow, May 2004

University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg, VA
BA in Political Science, Summa cum laude, May 1999 

Languages

Native fluency in English

Intermediate proficiency in French and Russian

Basic proficiency in Turkish, Uzbek, and Vietnamese

Community

PATH Forward volunteer, Arlington, VA, Present

Loaves and Fishes volunteer, Washington, DC, 2001 – 2013

U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, Uzbekistan, 1999 - 2000

Recommendations

Marguerite Sullivan, Founder of the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy

“Shannon is a leader in the field of media development and champion for press freedom. She has deep expertise in grantmaking, democracy support, and international development. She brings over 25 years of experience guiding complex, multimillion-dollar programs across Europe, Eurasia, Africa, and Asia. With proven strengths in program design, monitoring and evaluation, and cross-sector partnership building, Shannon consistently delivers impact for public donors, philanthropies, and social impact organizations. Her collaborative approach, exceptional communication skills, and subject-matter expertise in media development, civic engagement, and disinformation make her a trusted leader and advisor in advancing democracy and human rights worldwide.”

Andrew Sullivan, Publisher, Co-Founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

“Shannon is an exceptional strategic advisor and project manager with expertise in democracy support, grantmaking, and international development. She is a fierce advocate for investigative journalism and its role in holding the powerful to account. She is not only knowledgeable about how development should work, she is effective in getting impact and results. I highly recommend her.”