AICP - Shannon Washington

Shannon Washington

R/GA

Creative, traveler, culturist, and friendly provocateur. Shannon Washington is a busy woman.

Currently, Shannon serves as the US Chief Creative Officer, Connected Communications for R/GA US, the network’s largest and flagship region  with a sharp focus on reshaping the region’s creative vision, fidelity and culture for a post-pandemic world. 

Since joining R/GA in 2020, her intersectional and craft-centric style of leadership has led to a renewed creative vigor in the office, netting an impressive set of wins to include 4 Webbys (including 2022 Agency of the Year), 3 ADC Cubes, 5 Clios, 2 AICP Awards and 2 Cannes Lions, and a   #2 listing for AdAge’s A-list, with her sights set on another successful season for 2023. In addition, her approach has earned her two distinctive honors: The AdWeek 100 and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business. 

Forever hands-on, Shannon actively leads creative work for Nike, Sephora, Samsung, and The Ad Council/Love Has No Labels in addition to supporting her cadre of leaders across Verizon, Quest, Google and many more. When she can, Shannon also lends her expertise to a number of independent and women-owned brands like The McBride Sisters Wine Company.

Shannon joined R/GA after a stint in Los Angeles with Media Arts Lab, where she helped launch Apple TV+ and build a foundation for original content marketing in the Apple ecosystem, and at Deutsch Los Angeles where she led H&R Block. Previous to Los Angeles, Shannon was at Droga5 NY, where she led the culture-driven “I Am What I Make Up” relaunch of CoverGirl and the launch of You Invest with Chase. 

In her spare time, Shannon works to fuse her many passions into action and service. She is the founder of PARLOUR, travel experience company for black women. In 2019, she also created TONI, a social space for Black women in marketing and advertising. A huge mentorship advocate, she has also served as a mentor with New Inc, The One School, and currently serves as a board member of The Marcus Graham Project. 

When she can, Shannon can be found actively adding to the discourse around the culture of leadership and inclusivity in advertising through paneling and public conversations. When she's not in front of a monitor, Shannon is working on adding another stamp to her passport or attempting to run a 10 minute mile.

Shannon is a proud and loud graduate of Howard University and lives in New Jersey.