Leadership

Shannon Italia President - Leadership

Shannon Italia joined Junior Achievement of North Florida as President in December 2020, bringing more than 25 years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, and community engagement.

Prior to leading JA, Shannon served as Chief Business Development Officer at Harbor View Advisors, a boutique investment banking and consulting firm in Ponte Vedra Beach. She is well known in the Jacksonville community for her 12+ years at the University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business, where she served as Senior Director of External Relations and founded the Coggin Career Center. There, she built best-in-class career services and cultivated impactful relationships with the regional business community. Many of her former students are now thriving leaders in the region—something Shannon takes great pride in.

Originally from Cincinnati, Shannon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati, graduating magna cum laude, and an MBA from the University of North Florida. She has proudly called Jacksonville home for nearly 20 years.

Shannon is deeply engaged in the community and has served on multiple nonprofit boards. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Winston Family YMCA (since 2023), and previously served on the board of Rethreaded from 2012–2020, including five years as board chair. She has also served on the board of the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center and was a founder and advisor for UNF’s Women in Business Society. Prior to stepping into her current role, she served on the JA of North Florida Board from 2019 to 2020.

Shannon’s leadership and commitment to impact have been recognized both locally and nationally. She is a two-time finalist for Junior Achievement USA’s prestigious Karl Flemke Achievement Award (2023 and 2024), which honors the contributions of first-time JA Area Presidents with two to six years of service. She has also received the 2013 Women of Influence award from the Jacksonville Business Journal, the 2015 Susan B. Anthony Award from UNF, and the 2017 UNF Alumni Service Award.

She lives in the Lakewood area with her husband Mike, a Georgia native who brought them to the South in 2005. They enjoy working out together and following college football—#GoBearcats and #GoDawgs!