MEET SHELANE
Shelane is the daughter of small business owners, growing up in central Florida and working on horse farms throughout her youth.
After the attacks on 9/11, she commissioned as an officer in the United States Army, becoming the first in her family to join the military.
Shelane deployed to Ramadi, Iraq leading Soldiers as a Military Police Platoon Leader and Executive Officer. Upon returning, she moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was specially selected for a Special Operations pilot program deploying women on combat missions in Afghanistan with Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, and charged with gathering critical intelligence on high-value Taliban and Al Qaeda targets. Shelane and her teammates’ contributions to this historic program are chronicled in the New York Times bestseller, Ashley’s War, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
Motivated to continue serving in Special Operations, Shelane attended and passed selection for a highly elite Special Mission Unit. She was deployed to combat yet again, partnering with Kurdish women forces in Syria to fight against ISIS, in addition to serving with inter-governmental agencies throughout the Middle East.
Interested in how business approaches can provide solutions to public issues, Shelane left the military after 11-years and earned a MBA from Harvard Business School and MPP from Harvard Kennedy School of government. She’s worked abroad on economic development projects, domestically as a security consultant, and volunteers with nonprofit organizations for youth leadership development and Afghan refugee resettlement.
Shelane has seen firsthand the consequences of living under authoritarian rule. She’s troubled by our political climate and elected officials who prioritize political gains over responsible leadership – from the attack on our Nation’s Capitol, botched Afghanistan withdrawal, and rolling back women’s rights, Shelane can no longer sit idly by. She’s committed to bringing principled leadership and representation to North Carolina
