SHAWN O'HARA

Senior Consultant, Asia Pacific

Shawn O’Hara joined Brakeley Limited Asia-Pacific as a consultant in 2004 and is resident in Singapore.   For short period she was responsible for the Tokyo branch office of the company. While living in Japan, she also taught at Temple University Japan in the Continuing Education Division where she covered NGO Management Aspects and Project Management for pre-MBA students.

In Singapore, she teaches for the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Center and The Social Services Institute. She has also done work with the Center for Creative Leadership, the Rotary Clubs of Singapore and Malaysia as well as the AWA Association and the RSVP Organisation.

Shawn has over 20 years experience in implementing fundraising strategies, programs and training of personnel in all fields related to management of a non-profit organisation and fundraising. Her fundraising experience has included annual giving, major gifts, event planning and foundation funding.

Prior to joining Brakeley, Shawn was the President of the Junior Achievement (an organisation dedicated to life skills development for youth) in the San Francisco Area where she served as the Chief Executive Officer responsible for all planning, finance, fundraising, program implementation, public relations and administrative operations for an organisation with 100,000 students, a USD 3 million budget and 24 staff members. She previously served as the Vice-President and National Director of Development for the Junior Achievement Inc. and ran the largest capital campaign in the history of the organisation raising USD 25 million. During this period she led teams opening Junior Achievement in Bangkok and Rome. During her career with Junior Achievement, she held positions in Utah, Atlanta and California.

Shawn also worked as a freelance consultant and trainer in the USA, providing effective management strategies in fundraising, market planning, grant writing, board development and corporate/foundation research and training. Her clients included: All Souls Alumni Association; Pikes Peak Area Trails Coalition; St. Scholastica Academy and Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. 

Shawn holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco with an emphasis in Human Resource and Organisational Development. She also earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah in Therapeutic and Industrial Recreation. She has taken various leadership courses and seminars from highly regarded speakers like Dale Carnegie, Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University and the National Planned Giving Institute.

While based in Tokyo, Shawn was an active member of the Tokyo American Club, the Women’s Society Tokyo Union Church and is a member of the Women’s College Association of Japan. Her professional and volunteer affiliations in the USA have included: The Junior League of San Francisco, San Francisco Rotary Club, The Summit Foundation, and Canine Companions for Independence, the Big Brother / Big Sisters of America and San Francisco Association of Fundraising Executives. She is also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.