Shanahan has devoted her career to increasing the prominence of women and minorities in the newsrooms of America. She was one of seven employees who sued The New York Times for sex discrimination, a case that was settled out of court. Shanahan has worked for The Washington Post and has been assistant managing editor of the Washington Star and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She currently is the senior editor of Governing, a magazine she created to cover state and local governments for a national audience.

Updated: July 13, 2012