Kristen Mahoney Shannon received her bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross and her master's degree in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College. She has been a practicing genetic counselor at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center’s Center for Cancer Risk Assessment (CCRA) since 1997 and currently serves as Director of the Cancer Center Genetics Program and Director of Genetic Counseling for the MGH Department of Medicine. Ms. Shannon has served on various subcommittees of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, focusing most of her efforts on government affairs and genetic counseling outcomes. Ms. Shannon is also a member of the NCCN Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast and Ovarian panel. She was an integral part of the Massachusetts Genetic Counselors Licensure task force and served on the Massachusetts Board of Licensure for Genetic Counselors for eight years. She has lectured and published widely in the fields of cancer genetics and cancer genetic counseling and is a co-author of the newly released book, Counseling About Cancer: Strategies for Genetic Counseling. Ms. Shannon is a professor and advisory board member for the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.