Shannon M. Ross

Founder & Principal

Shannon Ross is the Founder & Principal of VectraBlue Advisory Services, a strategic advisory firm that helps campaigns translate complex economic data into the district and state-level messaging that wins elections. Over three decades at the U.S. Department of State, she built expertise — and relationships — across the energy, defense, and national security communities of the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, leading large interagency teams and managing complex programs in some of the world's most demanding operating environments.

Her economic and energy credentials were forged in some of the world's most consequential markets. As Energy Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, she advised senior policymakers on oil production and OPEC dynamics during the run-up to the 2008 oil price peak of over $150/barrel and helped secure summit-level energy security agreements during the President's visit to the Kingdom. As Iraq Economic Policy Director, Shannon pioneered energy security agreements with a new Iraqi government. As Political and Economic Chief in Nigeria, she advised on the security and market impact of militant attacks that removed a million barrels a day from global oil supply, while securing U.S. trade finance for Nigeria's emerging natural gas sector. As Deputy Economic Counselor in Azerbaijan, she shaped U.S. policy on the Southern Gas Corridor — the pipeline network that would strengthen transatlantic economic security by delivering non-Russian gas into European markets — during a critical negotiation period.

That foundation informed the senior assignments that followed. As Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain, Shannon advised the Commander through the 2017 Gulf rift, a diplomatic crisis that threatened to disrupt Arabian Gulf maritime and aviation linkages across one of the world's most critical waterways. She subsequently served as Director of the Syrian Operations Team, managing more than $100 million in foreign assistance across an active conflict zone, and as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, where she led the Political section's analysis during a period of heightened internal tension and strain on governance institutions.

Most recently, Shannon served as Chief of Staff of the State Department's Office of the Chief Economist, where she revitalized a specialized unit advising the Secretary of State and National Security Council on sanctions evasion, economic coercion, and supply-chain risk. She brought the full weight of her experience to develop the platform and resources needed to advise policymakers on critical economic issues at the highest levels.

Shannon's career produced a specific and transferable skill: taking dense, fast-moving economic information and making it actionable for decision-makers under pressure. That is the work VectraBlue does for campaigns.

Shannon holds an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, including appointment as a Park Fellow; a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University's Eisenhower School, where she received the Commandant's Award for Best Long-Term Strategy Paper; and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College.