Shannon Valentine – Member, Virginia House of Delegates 23rd District

Biography

Shannon Valentine was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates on January 10, 2006. She serves on the Transportation Committee, the Courts of Justice Committee and the Judicial Review Panel.

In April 2007, Delegate Valentine was appointed by Governor Kaine to serve on the Virginia Interagency Coordinating Council. She was also named as the 2007 Nicki Bazaco Individual Distinction Award winner by the Medical Society of Virginia Alliance, awarded to the individual who best promotes health education and quality of care through legislation. In July 2007, Delegate Valentine was invited to be a member of the Medical Society of Virginia’s Foundation Board. Delegate Valentine became an honorary member of the Citizens for Adult Literacy and Learning, Inc. Board in May 2008 and was elected to the statewide Board of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia in June 2008.

Delegate Valentine has been named as a Top 20 delegate three years in a row by the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

EDUCATION

• Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia in Economics (1981)
• Graduated from Education for Ministry, a four-year theology course through Sewanee University’s School of Theology (2000)
• Graduated from Just Faith, a course in Catholic Social Justice (2002)
• Graduated from the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia (2005)

BUSINESS

Prior to her election, Shannon served as neighborhood coordinator for the Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation, and has worked to improve inner city housing over the last 15 years.

Between 1982 and 1985, Shannon’s professional career included advertising, production and business news at The Meridian Star and WLBM-TV, an NBC affiliate, both in Meridian, Mississippi. Between 1986 and 1990, she worked at Equifax, a billion-dollar information company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, Equifax was the parent corporation of nine operating companies with more than 1100 locations in the United States and Canada. She served as Director of Media Relations, Director of Public Relations and Associate Vice President of Corporate Communications for Equifax and its nine operating companies. Under her leadership, a new corporate identity program was launched to bring all companies under the Equifax name, which she considers to be the greatest test of her leadership abilities. In 1990, Shannon and her husband, Mike, moved to Lynchburg. Mike a cardiologist, joined what is now the Cardiovascular Group of Central Virginia, and Shannon began working with Habitat for Humanity for the next six years.

PAST CIVIC COMMITMENTS

• Holy Cross Regional School Board – Co-Chair of Long Range Planning
• Voter Registration for the Lynchburg Democratic Committee – Chair
• YMCA of Central Virginia Board
• Virginia School of the Arts Board
• Women’s Resource Center Board – President
• Habitat for Humanity and Board – President
• Saint Paul’s Tutorial Program

She is married to Dr. Mike Valentine and is the proud mother of Catherine, 14; Jack, 11; and Brooke, 9.

Website: http://shannonvalentine.net