Mentors: The Freshmaker

If there is #OneThing that CSG gets right, it’s the accessibility of its Executive Group. So, when the most junior member of the Studio wanted to learn more about the Strategy side of the agency and how to navigate the world of work as a mother with a young child, she walked right into CSG’s C-suite and asked the Chief of Strategy, Shannon Fern to be her mentor. Read on to find out why Associate Editor, Candace Warren says Shannon is the freshest mentor in the business.

Shannon Fern is the queen of strategy. And not just because of her marketing pedigree and robust resume. Because Shannon’s beautifully complex brain can anticipate virtually every possible outcome, she is uniquely well-suited to devise and execute any winning strategy. Trust me — you want her on your team. And we are all endlessly fortunate to have her on ours.  

Shannon Fern is the everyworkingmom. Rowan and Rhys eat Pop-Tarts and Lunchables. I can’t tell you how much better that makes me feel about Graydon’s Spiderman fruit snack habit. As a working mom, Shannon keeps it real — she isn’t afraid to get candid about the struggle to balance work and home; the profundity of maternal guilt; and the futility of trying to “have it all.” 

Shannon Fern walks the talk. She doesn’t just deeply believe in equality and intersectionality — Shannon brings those values with her to work every day. She actively practices inclusion and she isn’t afraid to check her own privilege, which makes her a kind of Wonder Woman in my eyes. 

Shannon Fern gives the best advice. La Fern on working motherhood: “Make people accommodate you; your life is harder.” Shannon laid this pearl of wisdom on me the first time we had coffee and it completely changed my working life and significantly improved my family’s financial prospects. That was the day I decided to stop paying for full-time daycare and mostly work from home until Graydon started preschool. It’s hard to overstate the impact she made. Shannon Fern changed my life and I am eternally grateful. 

Shannon Fern is a style icon. I saw Shannon Fern wearing a cool Sigourney Weaver t-shirt with a pencil skirt, so I started wearing t-shirts and pencil skirts. She’s basically the Regina George of CSG. I mean, after she got hit by a bus and joined the lacrosse team and was cool with everyone. 

Shannon Fern really listens. Feeling not so fresh? Struggling to balance work and home? Wondering whether you fit into Steven’s broader vision for the agency? Shannon Fern is always there with an empathetic ear and, somehow, always exactly what you need to hear.