Shannon Richards is a Group Executive People and Culture at UnitingCare Queensland. They possess expertise in workforce planning, human resources, negotiation, employee relations, recruiting and 19 more skills. Colleagues describe them as "It has been my great pleasure to work with Shannon Richards since she joined the City of Gold Coast in 2014 as the Chief People and Culture Officer. When Shannon first took on this role, she quickly established herself as a leader who was open, transparent and clear in her direction for her new team of roughly 60 employees within People and Culture at the City. Shannon very quickly improved the City as an organisation by leading the charge on the implementation of many high-level initiatives, including but certainly not limited to, for example, a new set of City values to which she held herself and her colleagues accountable, ensuring that a level of respect and value was provided to the organisation and the City as a whole. On top of this, during the 2020 year, Shannon helped guide the City through the Global COVID-19 Pandemic, ensuring that the organisation maintained its Health and Safety integrity and that there was minimal impact on employees and their livelihoods. Over these last six-plus years working with Shannon, I have come to respect her immensely as not only a leader but as a person. Shannon has always provided the broader team and me with clear, realistic expectations, goals and guidance, and I have learned something new from her on a daily basis; Shannon is always looking to bring out the best in her team and colleagues and challenges them to become better versions of themselves every day, "seek to understand" as she would always say; this is a mantra has stayed with me ever since. Shannon's door is always open, and she is always willing to give more of herself; then she is to ask of others. I cannot speak more highly of Shannon, and it is my genuine aspiration to be able to work with her again in the future; If I were to become even half the professional that she is and possess even half of the integrity that she displays, then I would be very fortunate indeed."