A veteran television host, actor & social media influencer, Shannon LaNier has been keeping audiences tuned in his entire life.
Shannon recently completed his tenure as a television personality with Cheddar News & News 12. He anchored business news shows & hosted two lifestyle programs, “Be Well” & “Road Trip” which put him into more than 3 Million homes in NY, NJ, & CT.
Previously, you may have seen Shannon anchoring on the nationally syndicated network BNC (Black News Channel), or CW39’s morning show in Houston, TX. Before that, he was in NYC hosting the star-studded global culture and entertainment series “Arise Entertainment 360,” for BET…. and was a correspondent/Sr. Producer on Black Enterprise Magazine’s nationally-syndicated shows: “Black Enterprise Business Report” & “Our World With Black Enterprise.”
This year, the energetic father of 3, will reignite his critically acclaimed podcast, “Daddy Duty 365” which features celebrity dads revealing the good, the bad and the funny of fatherhood.
As a teenager in Cincinnati, Shannon got his first television job on “Real Exchange,” an Emmy Award winning talk show focusing on issues important to young people. After graduating from Kent State University, he made his New York City debut as a segment producer for the CBS2 Morning Show. But he didn’t waste any time getting in front of the camera. His next job saw him take on the multi-media journalist (One-Man-Band) role as a writer, director, editor, videographer, and reporter at News 12 Networks. Soon thereafter, he took a similarly comprehensive role at Fios1 News, where he recently returned, to anchor their weekend morning show.
Shannon is also a writer, having co-authored the Random House Inc. book Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family along with photojournalist Jane Feldman. The book follows his journey to uncover the history behind his heritage as a 9th generation direct descendent of President Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.
Additionally, Shannon has inspired audiences across the globe with captivating speaking engagements that touch on everything from his presidential lineage and Genealogy/Family Research to racial equality and his career in media. At the end of the Obama administration, Shannon participated in the White House’s My Brothers Keep initiative and the National Entrepreneurship Tour, bringing his signature brand of motivational humor to packed live audiences around the country. He’s now hosting a nationwide Small Biz Challenge for The UPS Store & Inc. Magazine.
Gifted with undeniable charisma and an energy that electrifies the stage, Shannon truly comes alive in the spotlight. Whether he’s hosting a TV show, speaking to a packed auditorium, or emceeing a live event—this is one Renaissance man who can’t help but draw a crowd. A former executive at CBS said it best: “Once Shannon’s “on,” the audience is glued. He’s born to be a star.” Despite his full schedule, Shannon remains an active member of his church, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and the National Association of Black Journalists. He currently lives between NYC with his wife/college sweetheart Chandra and their three Little LaNiers… Madison, McKenzie and Carter. Follow Shannon’s life on and off the camera with more that 1 Million followers on all social media platforms @MrShannonLanier.
Signature Talks
Red Carpet Courage
Through humor, relatable storytelling, and actionable insight, he delivers a call for courage and shows audiences how to move beyond self-imposed limits, own their story, and step into rooms as leaders with confidence, clarity, and purpose.
- Identify your velvet ropes. Recognize the invisible barriers — internal and external — that have been quietly defining what you believe is possible and reframe them as starting lines instead of stop signs.
- Lead with your full story. Discover how owning the complexity of where you come from becomes your greatest source of authority, authenticity, and influence in the rooms you enter.
- Build the table, don't just take a seat. Learn how to translate personal courage into collective impact — opening doors, mentoring others, and leaving the velvet rope a little easier to cross for the people coming behind you.
Because I Said So: Balancing the Pressures of Parenting and a Career with Love, Laughter, and Letting Go
Every parent who has ever uttered the words “because I said so” knows the quiet truth behind it. Sometimes we’re leading with conviction, or exhaustion and sometimes we’re just doing our best to hold it all together. In this honest and refreshingly funny keynote, broadcast journalist and father of 3 Shannon LaNier explores the real emotional weight of parenting while building a life, a career, and a sense of self. With warmth, humor, and personal stories from his own life on and off camera, Shannon offers audiences the tools to find peace in the truth that love, presence, and intention matter far more than perfect parenting.
- Redefine what "showing up" looks like. Move past the guilt of not doing it all and learn how presence, not perfection, is what your family and your career actually need from you.
- Lead with love, laugh through the chaos. Discover how humor and grace become essential tools for navigating the daily pressures of parenting, especially in the moments when everything feels overwhelming and patience is running low.
- Master the art of letting go. Identify what only you can do, release what someone else can carry, and create the space to be a better parent, partner, and professional without burning out trying to be everything to everyone.
Pres. Jefferson’s Grandson: Where Family, History & Healing Collide
How does your family history shape who you are? As the sixth great-grandson of President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Emmy Winning journalist and author, Shannon LaNier has spent his life navigating one of the most talked-about family legacies in American history. But beyond the headlines, historical debates, and public curiosity lies something far more personal: the universal search to understand where we come from, what we carry forward, and how our stories shape who we become.
In this deeply personal and thought-provoking keynote, Shannon shares his journey of exploring family, identity, legacy, and truth through the lens of a uniquely American story. With honesty, humor, historical perspective, and heartfelt storytelling, he invites audiences into a conversation about the complexities every family carries — the stories celebrated openly, the stories left unsaid, and the healing that can begin when we choose understanding over avoidance.
More than a history talk, Pres. Jefferson’s Grandson is a powerful reflection on family, resilience, connection, and the importance of facing our shared human story with openness, empathy, and courage. You may not be related, but you’ll definitely be able to relate.
- Reckon with your inheritance. Understand how the stories we inherit — the celebrated ones and the silenced ones — shape our identity and why facing them honestly is the first step toward owning who we truly are.
- Lead with love and grace. Explore how people, families, and history can be complicated — and why understanding that complexity helps us grow instead of divide.
- Turn legacy into liberation. Move from being defined by the past to defining what comes next — using history not as a burden, but as the foundation for healing, dialogue, and generational change.
Media Resources
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