Business + Operations Staff

Director of Business and Operations

(717) 732-8400, Ext. 8456

sfarr@caiu.org

Shawn Farr serves as the Director of Business and Operations and Board Treasurer for the Capital Area Intermediate Unit located in Summerdale, PA. In this capacity he is exploring ways to transition the Intermediate Unit to a new and more profitable model of business operations. Previously, he served as a Special Assistant to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education during the first term of Governor Rendell. In this senior level capacity his areas of focus included working with fiscally distressed school districts across the Commonwealth, serving as Board of Control Chair for the Duquesne City School District in Allegheny County, and leading internal management and productivity initiatives of the Department of Education.

Prior to working for the Department of Education, Shawn was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida; Chief Operating Officer for the Annenberg Foundation in St. Davids, Pennsylvania; and Acting Executive Director and Program and Operations Director for the Greater Philadelphia First Foundation in Philadelphia.

Earlier in his career, Shawn worked in higher education in California overseeing administrative and business operations at campuses in the California State University System.

Shawn holds a M.B.A. from California State University, Bakersfield and a B.S. in Business Administration with an option in Accounting from California State University, Long Beach.

Throughout his career, Shawn has consulted on business operation and management matters for numerous universities and nonprofit organizations.