Sheanna Spence
Chief Marketing Officer, Marshall Health & Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Spence pictured inside of the Wesley Chapel.
Written by Megan Bevins Photos by Tracy A. Toler Photography
Growing up in Huntington, WV, Sheanna Spence’ s upbringing revolved around family, church and a love of music. One of her interests stood out, though— storytelling, a passion that inspired her to want to become a newspaper reporter when she grew up.
Through job shadowing for local newspapers, Spence’ s love for writing grew, and she ultimately decided to study print journalism at Marshall University. She then went on to attend Ohio University, where she earned her master’ s degree in journalism.
While studying at Marshall, Spence worked one of her first professional jobs at The Herald-Dispatch as the weekend obituary reporter. In graduate school, she experienced nonprofit work through her role as graduate assistant with Appalachian Reads, which ultimately led her to a position at The Education Alliance, where she worked to coordinate mini grants for West Virginia schools.
“ From my first jobs, I learned practical life skills like punctuality and how to master parallel parking in downtown Charleston. More importantly, though, those experiences gave me a deeper appreciation for West Virginia,” Spence says.“ As a grants coordinator for The Education Alliance, I had the opportunity to travel across the state, visit schools and meet people who were deeply committed to their communities.”
Now, nearly two decades later, as the chief marketing officer at Marshall Health and Marshall University’ s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Spence utilizes her storytelling skills in a different way, still making an impact. In this role, she tells the stories of students, faculty and patients.
“ Each individual journey reflects compassion, resilience and expertise,” she says.“ More than personal reflections, they become powerful tools of storytelling that connect people to purpose, honor the individuals behind them and strengthen the broader narrative of who we are as an academic health system and medical school.”
As a mom of two, Spence acknowledges that balancing work and family can be challenging at times, but she says that experience has taught her the value of flexibility and perspective— lessons that strengthen both her personal and professional lives.
“ I’ ve learned the value of having a strong village to lean on and the importance of setting realistic expectations and deadlines for myself, even if my to-do list still insists I can do it all,” she says.
Spence says she draws inspiration from her colleagues through their passion and dedication to the organization’ s missions. That sense of purpose, she adds, is grounded in a principle that has shaped both her career and personal life.
“ I try to always choose kindness, even when it’ s hard,” she says.“ We all have frustrating days, and we won’ t always agree with one another, but we can still choose to respond with kindness and give one another grace. Hopefully, by modeling that characteristic, I’ m teaching my kids to do the same.”
Aside from her career and personal life, Spence spends much of her time contributing to her community.
She is currently a member of the women’ s ministry team at Gateway Christian Church and a board member of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. She is also a supporter of her son’ s local cub scout pack, where she serves as popcorn kernel— the organizer of the annual popcorn and nut sale— social media coordinator and cubmaster’ s wife, a term that covers many miscellaneous duties.
“ Giving back has always been central to my values, and as a family, we focus on causes that are largely local and meaningful to us such as our church, Marshall University and other nonprofit organizations,” Spence says.
Guided by family ties and a strong sense of community, Spence and her husband choose to stand firm in their commitment to the Mountain State.
“ There’ s so much that is special about working in a small state where everyone is connected in some way,” she says.“ Our careers have also given us the privilege of promoting West Virginia and highlighting all the good it has to offer.” •
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE?
west virginia location:
Blackwater Falls
midnight snack:
Cereal video game:
“ Ms. Pac-Man”
color:
Green
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