Danute Debney Shaw, Doctor of Jurisprudence, learned the importance of developing powerful, subjective awareness, along with critical thinking and creativity, from the example set by her family and through more than thirty years working in the areas of management, organization, and law. These key factors, thereby, have given her the experience to apply all of this knowledge and perspective to professional, personal, group, and individual innovative strategies of thought and process development as an author, speaker, and consultant. In this vein, she has been awarded by the International Association of Top Professionals as the Top International Speaker, Author, and Decision Strategist of 2024.
Ms. Debney Shaw’s family foundations were critical to her life path development. From her mother particularly, whom she describes as a visionary, creatively brilliant, and intellectually gifted woman, she learned the importance of intuitive awareness, resourcefulness and continuing mental development. From both her parents and maternal grandmother she learned the skills of overcoming major adversities and thriving through developing resilience. Before eventually launching and becoming managing director/consultant for her “thought and process development” company, CelaPhontus LLC. Ms. Debney Shaw began honing her life skills by attending Marquette University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast communications and a super minor in psychology in 1989.
With a number of early years in the broadcast industry, the performing arts, and theater – both in front of and behind the “footlights” in New York City – Ms. Debney Shaw decided to pursue law. Upon starting her graduate education, she benefited greatly by becoming an extern for Chief Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and then for the Alternate Public Defender’s Office in Van Nuys, California. Ms. Debney Shaw graduated from the University of West Los Angeles with a Doctor of Jurisprudence, receiving her California Bar license in 2003. She became a law clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, where she spent five years. Further, Ms. Debney Shaw negotiated national and international contracts for the aviation industry and continues to work as an attorney in California and Washington, D.C., on a contract basis. In 2012, Ms. Debney Shaw authored “Global Forums: A Potential Resource for Young Lawyers’ Domestic Practice” for the Young Lawyers Newsletter with the American Bar Association. She has worked for corporations, government agencies, aviation and nonprofit organizations, and spent 20 years as a federal practice counsel in Washington, D.C.
Throughout her 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 the facilitation of developing decision-making strategies personally and for clients. This, she feels, is vital in her capacity as a consulting facilitator and writer in the areas of professional, personal, group, and individual innovative strategies of thought and process development. Finding success in her authorship, Ms. Debney Shaw won the International Impact Award 2024 in the category of Self-Help, among other acknowledgments for her first book, “How The Tin Man Found His Brain – One Attorney’s Path for Perceptual Development” with Balboa Press in 2020. The book is a collection of highly-lauded essays and commentaries to be followed by two more books in the trilogy—writings on the critical experiences of risk-taking and the need for validation many of us seek in our lives. Her next book, “The Five Lives of Agnieszka,” will detail the saga of her grandmother’s journey from her manor home beginnings, two world wars, a Siberian labor camp, a Middle East holding camp, and finally to the United States. The historical novel, based on real events, will serve as an allegory for survival and resilience, covering her grandmother’s experiences through a personal journey of triumphs and tragedies.
Ms. Debney Shaw is a dynamic and multifaceted professional with many plans. Her first novel will be made into an audiobook and in the next year or so, translated into Spanish. She plans to write a children’s book among other writings. Her understanding of perceptual awareness is 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, reading, and enjoying her love for animals.