Donna Shanor, LCSW-S, LCDC

Donna Shanor, LCSW-S, LCDC, amplifies the role of social work in clinical settings by applying a strengths-based, patient-centered lens to health care. Her expertise lies in interpreting and translating the medical approach to her social work team and vice versa to health care providers to facilitate shared understanding of goals on an individual and programmatic level in order to meet patients’ needs.

At UT Health Austin she supports clinical social workers, dietitians and others using a relational, strategic and mission-driven approach. Additionally, she is an assistant professor of practice at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.

Shanor received her Bachelor of Arts in social work from the University of Oklahoma and completed her Master of Science in social work with a clinical concentration at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a board-approved clinical supervisor and is bilingual in English and Spanish. In 2020, she earned an additional master’s degree in health care transformation from Dell Medical School and the McCombs School of Business. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Health Care Social Work Leader of the Year Award from the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare.

Shanor is currently a principal investigator and co-lead of the Zero Suicide initiative at UT Health Austin. A gap was identified in safer suicide care, and she responded with an evidence-based framework to apply along with funding to implement the program. Shanor is an associate of TEND Academy and has been invited to speak to helping professionals on topics related to burnout, secondary trauma and compassion fatigue. She is a university field affiliate for the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and a member of the National Association of Social Workers.