Shannon Akimi Troetel is an AAJA-NY chapter board member and a Senior Producer at CNN's New York bureau where she works coordinating same-day coverage for the newsgathering division. Troetel has worked at CNN for over 11 years, first at the company headquarters in Atlanta, where she was a charter member of AAJA's Atlanta chapter. Before beginning on the broadcast side, she worked as a reporter at The Sun newspaper in San Bernardino, California.

Troetel wants to focus on more broadcast involvement for chapter members. "I love AAJA," Troetel says. "I credit much of my professional success to the support, encouragement and education I've received through AAJA. I would urge student and working journalists to join and participate in chapter activities." Troetel is a 2002 graduate of AAJA's Executive Leadership Program, an experience she calls "life changing."

She is a 1990 graduate of the University of California, Riverside, where she received a B.A. in History and minor in Journalism. In her spare time, the native Californian enjoys cooking, eating, and browsing Sanrio stores for the latest Hello Kitty products.