Meet Our Founder

As the Chief Development Strategist, Shawnna Silvius is Building CommUNITIES through Encouragement and Accountability Coaching for current and future leaders, development organizations, and government officials. She enjoys helping rural communities prioritize, plan, develop, and implement community and economic development projects, requiring diverse stakeholder engagement, layered financing, multiple phases, and redevelopment initiatives. Shawnna officially founded iShine Productions® in July 2013 after four years of operating under eVentures Marketing. 

Shawnna is a seasoned rural, development professional, entrepreneur, and elected official with more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of rural, community, and economic development and regional initiatives. Over her career, she has facilitated and led development and grant administration projects as a senior economic development planner with a regional planning agency in the Omaha Metro region; in executive-level development positions for a county-wide non-profit and a municipality; as a site selector and talent development consultant; as marketing coordinator for a development foundation; and she founded several civic and youth leadership programs.

Most recently, she administrated a federal recovery and resiliency grants to expand and improve regional and statewide broadband access; created a regional digital equity plan; coordinated a regional economic development partnership project and bi-state coalition; reported on disaster recovery, housing replacement, and hazard mitigation planning; and managed a $1.8 million revolving loan fund for micro businesses. Most notably, she assisted in the development of a Heartland Robotics Coalition project with Invest Nebraska which received a $25 million Build Back Better Regional EDA Challenge grant. She continues grant preparation for robotic and simulator equipment for a new career and technical education center located in Southwest Iowa. 

In November 2021 and 2023, she was elected and re-elected to serve as the Mayor of the City of Red Oak, Iowa. She also serves on the Iowa Mayors Association and Executive Board of Directors for the Iowa League of Cities and she's completing her 6th year and 2nd term on the National Rural Economic Developers Association Board of Directors. 

In the past 2.5 years, under her vision, leadership, and persistence, more than $60 million in projects are underway in her community supporting three housing projects, a residential fiber optic buildout,  a new sewer plant upgrade, water, and flood mitigation studies, comprehensive plan, a 4-lane highway widening project, and brownfields technical assistance, assessment and redevelopment projects. Silvius was a presenter at the National Brownfield’s Conference in Detroit for her success in securing a developer for a former school property to ensure its transformation into a $10 million adaptive reuse 25-unit housing project. In July, she opened the plenary session at the Annual National Community Development Society Conference in Omaha, NE.

In early 2024, Silvius launched iShine Ministries and will soon launch another iShine development entity to support coaching and more development-focused projects. She is currently redesigning iShine's website, a company she first incorporated in 2013. 

Current Professional Leadership Positions:

Executive Board Director, Iowa League of Cities
Executive Committee Member, Iowa Mayors Association Representing SWIA
Board of Directors, National Rural Economic Developers Association (NREDA) - second 3-year term
Chair, Policy and Technical Committees, RPA-13 with SW Iowa Planning Council
Member, Montgomery Co. Emergency Management Association
Member, Professional Developers of Iowa
Chair and Representative, Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Program Council, Western Iowa Regional area
Member, Thriving Families Alliance
Member, Red Oak Elks Club #1304
Member, Red Oak Rotary Club
Member, Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary #2715

Shawnna has two children and a future daughter-in-law all who attended Kansas State University: son, Sheridan age 26, earned his graduate degree in Architecture and daughter, Ali age 21, in social work and psychology. Sheridan is engaged to Kaitlyn who earned her double major in mechanical engineering with minors in aeronautical sciences and mathematics. Outside of her career, Shawnna’s interests are oil painting, bicycling, and advocacy to protect animals, and mental health and trauma recovery for women and children.