SHANNON RINELLA
About Shannon
Shannon Rinella brings over two decades of expertise in luxury hospitality, customer experience, and higher education to the world of personal brand strategy and experience design. Featured in Harvard Business Publishing's Inspiring Minds, Skift, and HotelExecutive.com, she has worked with and for some of the most iconic names in hospitality and entertainment to drive customer loyalty, operational excellence, and team empowerment.
​
A proud Duke University graduate and an award-winning faculty member with Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies and its Center for Intercultural Education and Development, Shannon seamlessly bridges academic rigor with real-world insight. Certified in Sally Hogshead’s Fascinate System and Cultural Intelligence (CQ), she empowers leaders to uncover their unique value and transform it into strategies that resonate and drive measurable success.
​
Beyond her professional endeavors, Shannon is deeply committed to empowering the next generation of business leaders, with a strong focus on collegiate students and the military community. She currently serves as Chair of the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s Education and Certification Advisory Committee and as an advisory board member for Dog Tag Bakery, which equips military veterans, spouses, and caregivers with business skills essential for future success.
​
Whether refining a personal brand or designing unforgettable guest experiences, Shannon’s mission is clear: to transform potential into excellence, creating authentic connections and enduring loyalty.
Certifications + Awards
Fascinate Certified Advisor
How To Fascinate, Inc.
Developed by Sally Hogshead, the Fascinate system helps high-performing individuals, teams and companies discover how to communicate most persuasively by applying their natural personality advantages. Certified Advisors are trained in incorporating the Fascinate System for personal or professional development in the areas of branding, leadership, communication, team dynamics and more.
Tropaia Award, Outstanding Faculty
Georgetown University - School of Continuing Studies
The Outstanding Faculty Award honors faculty who advance the mission of the School and University through active engagement of students in teaching and learning, a commitment to their industry or field of study, and contributions to the Georgetown and Washington, D.C. communities.
Certified Facilitator
Cultural Intelligence Center
Cultural Intelligence, or CQ®, predicts effectiveness in culturally diverse situations, success in work performance, and leadership effectiveness. Certified facilitators are equipped to analyze and assess CQ assessments and lead workshops to help others develop their CQ
One To Watch
Association for Talent Development
The "One to Watch" award is presented to an individual who is early in their talent development career (five or fewer years of experience) and viewed as a leader by peers and colleagues within and outside of their organization.
Certified Hospitality Educator
American Hotel + Lodging Educational Institute
The internationally-recognized Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE®) certification focuses on the teaching ability of hospitality educators at the college level, and the only program of its kind for post-secondary hospitality educators around the world. The program emphasizes techniques to strengthen your students’ critical thinking and motivation to learn.