shannon collins

Shannon Collins is a survivor advocate who strives to cultivate collective leadership, survivor empowerment, and peer support. A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), Shannon has dedicated over 25 years to working to end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) through advocacy, response, prevention, and education primarily in college and university settings. At NOVA, Shannon currently serves as the Associate Executive Director, where she collaborates on organizational strategy, strategic planning, communications, and NOVA’s victim advocacy policy and research initiatives. She is responsible for managing NOVA’s portfolio of federal grants and contracts for programs designed to build the capacity of victim service professionals and victim assistance programs.

Shannon specializes in developing and sustaining trauma-informed victim advocacy programs and Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Teams to address DVSAS. She has provided specialized training and consultation to numerous institutions of higher education and federal agencies, including overseeing multiple Training and Technical Assistance Grants funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women and Office for Victims of Crime Offices to support campus-based victim advocacy, support for military-connected survivors, and youth advocacy initiatives. In 2023, she was appointed by the congressionally mandated Advisory Council to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Additionally, Shannon serves as an adjunct faculty member at several universities and teaches workshops and academic courses on the ethics of campus advocacy, evidence-based practice, trauma-informed leadership, and gender-based violence across the lifespan.

Shannon is grateful to serve her community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA). Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, a Master of Social Work degree, and a Women’s Studies Certificate of Graduate Study from the University of South Carolina, as well as an Executive Certificate of Nonprofit Management from the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute.