GUEST HIGHLIGHT:
DR. VANESSA SHANNON
JUNE, 2020
Dr. Vanessa Shannon has been the Director of Mental Performance for the University of Louisville Athletic Department and Norton Sports Health since October 2015. She is a member of the Health and Performance Team which oversees the Health, Safety, and Wellness of all Louisville Student Athletes. She serves on the Mental Health Team along with Kate O’Bryan and Dr. Chris Peters.
Prior to moving to Louisville, Dr. Shannon spent two years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. While at IMG, Dr. Shannon served as the Mental Conditioning Coach for the Girls’ Soccer and Basketball programs, coordinated Psychological Test Preparation for IMG’s NFL Combine Training Program, and served as a Vision Training Coach for the Academy’s Major League Baseball Off-Season Training Program. While at IMG, Dr. Shannon also served as the Mental Conditioning Coach for the University of Louisville Women’s Lacrosse and Women’s Soccer Programs.
From 2008-2013, Dr. Shannon was an Assistant Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at West Virginia University. During her time at WVU, she also served as the Sport Psychology Consultant for the West Virginia University Women’s Soccer Program and supervised sport psychology services for the Swimming and Diving, Gymnastics, Volleyball, and Rowing programs.
From 2005-2008, Dr. Shannon was the Department Chair of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN where she consulted with coaches and athletes within the athletic department.
Dr. Shannon has been invited to speak at camps, clinics, classrooms, and conferences both nationally and internationally. In the Spring and Summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012, Dr. Shannon traveled to Lund and Halmstad Universities in Sweden, Leipzig University in Germany, and Aarhus University in Denmark, where she taught lectures and short courses on the psychology of injury, team dynamics, and careers transitions in sport as part of the European Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology Erasmus Mundus Programme International Scholar Initiative.
Dr. Shannon holds a PhD in Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sports Studies with a specialization in Sport Psychology and concentration in Counseling from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She holds a MS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Psychology from Kansas State University and BAs in Health and Human Performance and Psychology from Rice University. While at Rice University, Dr. Shannon was a member of the Women’s Volleyball team.