Danute Debney Shaw, Doctor of Jurisprudence, learned the values of resilience, subjective awareness, and drawing on one’s internal resources from the example set by her family, including her mother, father, and grandmother. As the owner and managing director of CelaPhontus LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 2017, she is a consulting facilitator and writer in the areas of professional, personal, group, and individual innovative strategies of thought and process development.
With more than 25 years of experience in management, organization, and law, Ms. Debney Shaw has worked for corporations, government agencies, aviation companies, and nonprofit organizations. From her mother, whom she describes as a visionary, rational, and intellectually gifted woman, Ms. Debney Shaw learned the importance of maintaining an inquisitive mind. Her father exemplified resilience and compassion in the face of adversity, and her grandmother helped shape her resourcefulness, offering invaluable guidance and strength. Throughout her esteemed career, Ms. Debney Shaw considers her accumulation of skills and experiences to be her most notable asset, as it contributes to her work on a daily basis and aids in her decision-making strategies. Finding success in her creative writing alongside her primary roles, she published “How the Tin Man Found His Brain – One Attorney’s Path for Perceptual Development” with Balboa Press in 2020 and is working on a second book in the series. Ms. Debney Shaw is incredibly proud of her writing, as it allows her to share her knowledge and perspective with the world.
Having a background in law, Ms. Debney Shaw first prepared for her career at Marquette University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast communications and psychology in 1989. In 1996, she graduated from the University of West Los Angeles with a Doctor of Jurisprudence, becoming a licensed attorney in 2003. She worked as an extern for the Alternate Public Defender’s Office in Van Nuys, California, and for Chief Judge Terry Hatter in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Before launching CelaPhontus LLC, she garnered experience as a clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, spending five years with the court. Ms. Debney Shaw worked as an attorney in Washington, D.C., and California and negotiated contracts for the aviation industry. In 2012, she authored “Global Forums: A Potential Resource for Young Lawyers’ Domestic Practice” for the Young Lawyers Newsletter with the American Bar Association.
Ms. Debney Shaw is a multifaceted professional with many plans. Within the next five years, she expects to publish her book “The Five Lives of Agnieszka,” a historical fiction novel based on her grandmother’s life. The novel will serve as an allegory for survival and resilience, covering her grandmother’s experiences through significant historical events and turmoil including the Russian Revolution, World War I, and World War II, as well as her time spent in labor and detention camps as a young woman. In addition to this project, Ms. Debney Shaw plans to create a workbook on decision strategy, as well as poetry and a children’s book. She is excited about the prospect of traveling the world on a book tour and looks forward to holding events across the United States. In the long term, she has her sights set on establishing an educational institution, reflecting her vision and commitment to contributing to society in a positive and meaningful way.
Ms. Debney Shaw knows that she possesses a unique perceptual awareness, often described by others as a visionary ability. This innate talent has guided many of her endeavors and continues to shape her aspirations. When she is not working to share her perspective and knowledge with others, Ms. Debney Shaw enjoys traveling, attending cultural events, sampling great food, listening to music, and reading.
