Shawn McClondon

Executive Director

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

- Man in the Arena

Shawn McClondon is a pioneering entrepreneur who founded an online marketing company in
1998, during the early days of the internet. His early successes included building websites for
Fortune 500 companies and introducing virtual tour technology to the real estate industry. As a
philanthropist, Shawn established Youth Campaigns in 2014, a nonprofit organization that
provided work experience in digital marketing for low-income youth from underserved
communities in San Diego.

While living in Solana Beach, Shawn was an active member of the community. He created “Skin
in the Game,” a program focused on discussing race, and another initiative that provided mental
health forums for affluent teens and their parents. Currently, he is the founder of the Sister Cities
Project, a racial equity organization dedicated to fostering partnerships between affluent and
underserved communities to deepen cultural understanding, improve economic equity, and build
relationships between diverse communities.

Shawn is also a respected consultant in Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion (DEI). He is known for his program “Leading with Courage, Compassion, and
Authenticity,” which transforms the way we perceive and discuss the corporate environment.
Shawn’s accolades include being a finalist for the San Diego Business Journal’s Nonprofit
Founder of the Year and being named a Union-Tribune Person to Know in San Diego.
Originally from Long Beach, California, Shawn now calls San Diego home and is a proud father
to his sons, Damion, 9, and Quentin, 11.