Dr. Shannon Kennedy serves as president of Rappahannock Community College. She has been with the college since July 2019. Prior to RCC, Shannon worked at Cleveland Community College, Gardner-Webb University, the Uptown Shelby Association, and Shelby Headline News—all in North Carolina.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Valerie has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Millersville University in Pennsylvania), a master’s in English education from Gardner-Webb University in South Carolina, and a doctorate in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University. She serves on the GO Virginia Region 6 Council, the Peninsulas EMS Council, and on the boards of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, the A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GENEDGE Alliance), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

In 2011, Shannon received the Athena Award, which recognizes women for leadership and community service. She also has received both the H. Eugene LeGrand Lifetime Achievement Award and the JT Scruggs Volunteer of the Year Award from the United Way, the Distinguished Woman Award from the Cleveland County Commission for Women, and the Distinguished Rotarian Award.

Shannon and her husband, Larry, reside in Port Haywood, Virginia. They have three sons: Jake, his wife, Danielle, and daughter, Caroline, live in Greenville, South Carolina; Nate resides in Baltimore; and Frank is a junior at the University of Virginia.