Tom Shanahan

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Tom Shanahan is the chief Human Resources officer for Children’s Wisconsin, the state’s only pediatric health system dedicated 100% to kids and teens. As the chief Human Resources (HR) officer, he leads multiple teams including: Organizational Development; Educational Services; Talent Acquisition; HR Consulting; Benefits; Compensation; Inclusion, Diversity and Equity; and Employee Health and Wellness.

Tom has held a variety of roles within the organization since joining 29 years ago – from employee relations manager to executive director of HR to vice president before assuming the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. In all of his roles he has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring that Children’s has the culture and talent to support the largest and highest-ranked children’s health system in Wisconsin. Through hiring, training, employee health programs and more, Tom’s teams ensure we are at our best as an organization so we can provide the best and safest care and experience to kids and families.

Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a master’s degree in industrial and labor relations from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to those degrees, he holds a senior professional certification in human resources through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI®) and is a senior certified professional through the Society of Human Resources.

Tom currently serves on the board of the Center for Healthcare Careers of Southeastern Wisconsin (CHCSEW). CHCSEW is a collaborative group comprised of Froedtert Health, Advocate Aurora Health, Children’s Wisconsin and Ascension (Columbia St. Mary’s and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare). The organization works to identify, train and develop a diverse, skilled health care staff to meet the workforce needs of the future.