Shannon Jolly
City of Atlanta – Office of the Mayor
DR. SHANNON JOLLY is a DEI research practitioner native of Atlanta, GA. He is a former student-athlete and Triple Dawg from the University of Georgia. He brings 12 years of leadership experience in program development, change management, and strategic planning across various industries — such as sports and entertainment, higher education, and non-profit. Shannon has served as the senior program manager for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for USA Fencing. Before joining the Olympic & Paralympic movement, Shannon was a DEI consultant for the NCAA — Office of Inclusion, Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena, and other professional and collegiate organizations.
In addition to his work in sports and entertainment, Shannon has managed federally funded grants for the University of Georgia and Morehouse College, developing pipelines and pathways to STEM for underrepresented students. An advocate for social justice and a champion of positive change, Shannon utilizes his academic and practitioner background to help educate, empower, and enhance communities.
Project
Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta aims to address deep-seated issues of racial segregation and economic disparity by making the city the best place in the country to raise a child. Partnering with FUSE, the City has established the Office of the Chief Policy Officer to tackle longstanding equity challenges. Starting in April 2024, FUSE Executive Fellow Shannon Jolly will lead a project to cultivate stakeholder relationships, develop an urban resilience framework, and establish values-driven partnerships to create a more equitable, systematic, and impactful approach to urban resilience by April 2025.