Shannon McNamara

Shannon McNamara first came to Connective Parenting as a parent.

Twelve years ago, Shannon walked into Bonnie Harris’ “When Your Kids Push Your Buttons” program looking for help with her own children.

What she found changed both how she parented and how she understood herself. For Shannon, it was a paradigm shift. Guiding her to pay attention to her own internal reactions, her own patterns, her own history. From there, everything else followed.

Her story of personal transformation is the foundation of everything Shannon brings to Connective Parenting today.

As Associate Director, Shannon takes a big-picture, community-first approach, leading program development, professional training, and establishing community partnerships. Shannon’s passionate about bringing this approach to educators, mental health professionals, schools, and families across the United States and beyond.

She holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from Simmons University, with a background spanning school, hospital, and community mental health settings.

Shannon oversees the Connective Parenting Train-the-Trainer Professional Institute, parenting programs, and developmental curriculum. She’s dedicated to expanding Connective Parenting’s reach so that more families and communities have access to a different way of understanding one another.

She’s the mother of three children, whose relationships continue to inform and inspire her work every single day.