February 14, 2025 By Hingham Veteran Services
Shannon Burke is the new Veteran Services Director for Hingham with two years of experience in the field. Before starting her career in veteran services, she spent twenty years working in the security/law enforcement sectors in asset protection, security management, and police dispatching. She was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Lancaster until she moved to Lake Norman North Carolina where she attended North Mecklenburg High School. Upon graduating she attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she was studying International Business. She left for the Air Force in 2002 after developing a deep need to serve her country. Shannon completed boot camp and Security Forces training and was then stationed in Minot North Dakota as part of the 91 st Space Wing, 91 Security Forces Group, 791 st Missile Security Forces Squadron where her main task was to protect ICBM Minuteman III missiles while being transported between the silos and the Air Force base. Her time in the Air Force and working in public service taught her about the importance of community and wanting to help others as much as possible.
While stationed in North Dakota, she met her husband Matt, from Quincy Massachusetts. They left North Dakota in July 2007 for Massachusetts and settled in Abington. They have two wonderful children, Dakota and Matt Jr. They also have three German Shepherds, Fritz, Mischa, and Hilde. She has a love of camping, boating, reading, spending time with family, and her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Shannon graduated from the University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Management with a minor in Finance.
Shannon is on the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Veteran Services Officer Association (MVSOA) serving as the Training Committee Co-Chair and the Advisory Committee Chair, a member of the Southeastern Massachusetts Veteran Services Officer Association (SMVSOA) and serves on the By-Law Committee, and is the Historian for American Legion Post 22. Her goals as the new director are to uphold the traditions of Hingham, with their extensive military history, while growing the program through outreach and educational programs. Bridging the gap between the various generations of veterans is an extremely important goal to her as well. By doing so, she will help to ensure that these traditions, programs, veteran clubs, etc., continue to be a part of the Hingham community for generations to come.