For Brock University Psychology graduate Shannon Braun (BA ’15), understanding people is at the heart of meaningful support and leadership.

The 2026 Distinguished Graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences says her educational foundation in human behaviour and social systems has fundamentally shaped her approach to her work supporting the health, safety and well-being of frontline workers in Niagara’s non-profit sector.

Braun, a manager in human resources at Bethesda Community Services, says her gravitation toward supporting non-profits in her professional and volunteer work is largely due to the interests and understanding she attained at Brock.

“My psychology education really helped me solidify my values,” she says. “It has informed how I show up in the community and professionally, always living my values, which I think is really important to being able to stay engaged and do the work, especially in the non-profit sector.”

Her human resources career path grew out of the interests she developed during her undergraduate degree. After graduation, she completed post-graduate certificates in human resources management and labour relations foundations at other institutions, as well as a certificate in non-profit leadership with Brock’s Goodman Group.

In serving and assisting the expert staff who provide invaluable support to the community, she says “living the mission” of Bethesda informs her work each day.

“Everything I do or work towards is really to forward the mission of the organization, which is empowering people,” she says. “All the training and development and initiatives to build up our staff helps build up the Bethesda community and mirrors the mission of empowering the people we support.”

In 2024, Braun’s peers at Bethesda honoured her with an Innovation Award for her approach to positive change. Her professional accomplishments were also recognized nationally in 2023, when she was included among Canadian Occupational Safety’s Top Safety Leaders Under 35 and Young Achievers.

Braun’s deep commitment to principled servant-leadership and to building Niagara’s community through the empowerment of others are also reflected in her community volunteer work, including with Start Me Up Niagara and through the Deborah Rosati Women in Leadership Mentorship Program, in which she was named 2025 Mentor of the Year. The same year, she was named as one of Niagara’s 40 Under Forty by Business Link Media.

“People were willing to invest their time in me; I’ve had some really excellent mentors along the way, so I really feel responsible to give back,” she says. “The mentorship program was a really neat way to tie together my experience at Brock, my HR experience and community involvement, all three of those passions, to serve and give back.”

Braun also believes that continually learning is the key to success.

“If you’re passionate about your education, it’s going to naturally translate into what you’re meant to do,” she says. “For me, education hasn’t really stopped. Brock gave me my foundation, my Psychology degree, and I continue to build on it. I never turn down an opportunity to learn more.”