Shannon Arnette

Shannon Arnette is a Doctoral Student and Research Analyst at the Virginia Center on Aging, concurrently serving as an instructor in the Department of Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work bridges academic research with practical policy implementation in aging-related systems.

Her educational background includes:

• Master of Science in Gerontology from Virginia Commonwealth University

Arnette specializes in financial exploitation of older African Americans through private guardianship and Power of Attorney frameworks, with secondary expertise in abuse in later life, workforce development, and procedural quality improvements. Her research critically examines systemic vulnerabilities in elder protection mechanisms and ageism in healthcare delivery.

She leads the Senior Mentoring Program for VCU's Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, pairing medical students with senior mentors to contextualize aging experiences. As a member of Virginia's Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders (WINGS), she contributes to statewide evaluations of adult guardianship court practices and develops educational resources for judicial stakeholders.