Shani Penn

Shani J. Penn is the President and CEO of JPW Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm established in 2012. JPW Strategies offers specialized consulting in the areas of municipal government, contract negotiations, strategic planning, automotive client relations management, executive training and operations streamlining. Prior to consulting full-time, Shani served as interim chancellor and chief of staff of the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). Before transitioning to the education landscape, Shani served as Senior Strategy Advisor to the Governor of the State of Michigan. She brought to that position dynamic leadership, over 13 years of corporate experience, and over 4 years of community service experience in the City of Detroit. Shani also served as Chief of Staff to the Emergency Manager of the City of Detroit, Kevyn D. Orr during the historical successful bankruptcy. She is a member of the Girl Scout of Southeastern Michigan Board, the Detroit Belle Isle Conservancy Board, the DAPCEP board and was named one of Michigan Chronicle’s Women of Excellence in 2012 and Michigan Chronicle’s 40 under 40 Emerging Leaders in 2013. Shani was selected in the 2014 American Marshall Memorial Fellowship for the German Marshall Fund of the United States and traveled to Europe with 74 other United States fellows. Shani was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a member of their 2014 “40 Under 40” class. This recognition highlights some of the community’s young achievers based on factors such as financial impact and community leadership. In December of 2016, Shani was appointed Trustee of Western Michigan University by the Governor of the State of Michigan.