Both Shannon Egan and Angela Carrillo joined Junior League of Miami (JLM) to give back to their Miami community–specifically to empower and serve women.  Each has also found tremendous personal development opportunities and friendship, too.

Shannon is an executive coach and co-founder of The Biz Sisterhood, and Angela serves as an Executive Director at JP Morgan.  The duo met five years ago, when Shannon volunteered to assist the Inn Transition South Thanksgiving Drive that Angela was leading. Housing nearly 400 women and children escaping domestic violence, Inn Transition South is one of two transitional facilities that served are by Junior League of Miami volunteers and programming.  “I remember how at ease she was in a room full of strangers. It felt like we had been friends for years, not as if we were meeting for the first time,” Angela recalls of meeting Shannon.

After becoming fast friends, Shannon and Angela co-chaired the New Member experience, facilitated a Poverty Simulation at an Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) conference, and now serve on the JLM Executive Management Team.  JLM is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and the Executive Management Team directs all operations.  Currently, Angela serves as Vice President of Development and Shannon as Vice President of Member Engagement.  Each has served on the Board of Directors, JLM’s governing body, in recent years.  JLM members that take on leadership opportunities such as these receive hands on training in running a non-profit organization. “Working together with Angela has helped me step into new areas of leadership that I may not have considered.  She’s great at encouraging me to try new things that are outside of my comfort zone,” comments Shannon about her best friend, Angela.

In 2021-22, Angela will serve as JLM President, leading the governance function of the organization, and Shannon will serve as Executive Vice President, running the day-to-day operations and management function.  Angela shares, “I feel so much more confident going into my Presidency knowing that she will be the League’s Executive Vice President. Her strong leadership skills, attention to detail and ability to connect with people will make her an exceptional EVP.”   Shannon admires Angela’s ability to take the lead and share her input in a way that is both honest and direct while also being open to everyone’s input in the discussion.  This coming year, the two will plan for their year in leadership. Now, in the midst of the COVID19 lockdown, they are in touch with each other via daily calls and texts, Zoom happy hours with other JLM besties, and FaceTime.

Any of us that have been actively involved in Junior League of Miami over the past five years have had the joy of seeing Shannon Egan and Angela Carrillo become best friends, and we have watched the mission of the organization come to life in their support for each other. It is evident that they see and bring out the best in each other.  Angela describes Shannon’s nature, “(She) is extremely supportive.  She genuinely wants to see everyone succeed.”  And, Shannon offers, “With Angela, she is a true leader and I try to remind her of that on a regular basis.”

Their growing friendship, and personal leadership, will continue to influence the women in JLM for years to come.