our TEAM

ROB CACACE

Partner/Co-founder

Rob has over a decade of experience focused on career and professional development. He coaches partners and associates at large firms around the country; and he helps senior leaders in other industries clarify and act on goals. As Director at Georgetown Law’s Office of Career Strategy, Rob has researched professional development issues and presented findings at local and national levels. In addition, he has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown in areas related to communication, resilience, feedback, and work/life balance. As part of his continuing education, Rob earned a certificate in design thinking from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

A native of the Bronx and the first in his family to attend college, Rob enjoys working with clients from different backgrounds. He attended Regis High School in New York City before heading off for the colder environs of Massachusetts for college and law school.

In a past life, Rob clerked for a federal judge in DC, and then became a litigator at a public-interest law firm. These experiences built on law school internships at the Department of Justice, appellate and legal aid non-profits, and a large New York City law firm.

These days he spends the bulk of his time — and calories — chasing after his three kids in the parks, playgrounds, and museums of DC alongside his wife, who works at the intersection of civil rights law and tech issues.

Education

  • Georgetown University (Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching)

  • Harvard Law School (Juris Doctor)

  • University of Oxford (Master of Studies)

  • Harvard College (Bachelor of Arts)

Areas of focus

  • Career strategy

  • Interview preparation

  • Imposter syndrome

  • Workplace communication

  • Networking

  • Feedback and resilience

  • First-generation professionals

Marcia PENNINGTON Shannon

Senior Coach/Consultant

Marcia has over 25 years of experience as a career and leadership coach and consultant to organizations. Marcia partners with clients on career design, navigating major career transitions, and planning for life after law practice. In addition, as an executive coach, she supports new and experienced leaders with the opportunities and challenges of managing and leading others. Marcia has presented on numerous career and professional development topics.

Most recently, she served for a decade as the Assistant Dean for Career Strategy at Georgetown University Law Center, directing a team of 20 professionals. Prior to taking on the Assistant Dean role, Marcia was a founder and principal in the six-office national legal consulting firm, Shannon & Manch, serving the professional development and career transition needs of law firms all over the U.S. Her publications include: The Lawyer’s Career Management Handbook: Your Bridge to a Satisfying Career, Managing Editor and co-author (West Publishing), a contributing author to The Art and Science of Strategic Talent Management in Law Firms (West Publishing), and co-author of Recruiting Lawyers: How to Hire the Best Talent (ABA). For many years, she wrote the award-winning “Managing” column for the ABA’s Law Practice magazine. 

Marcia is a native of Washington, DC and recently relocated to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When not coaching or presenting, Marcia enjoys boating on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband; raising boxer dogs; visiting with her two grown sons and their partners; and, most of all, dancing with and chasing after her toddler granddaughter, Elvy.

education

  • Georgetown University (Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching)

  • The Behavioral Coaching Institute (Master Certified Coach)

  • University of Cincinnati (Master of Education, Counselor Education)

  • Emory University (Bachelor of Arts)

Areas of focus

  • Career design

  • Career transitions for experienced professionals

  • Succession planning/”The Next Chapter”

  • Leadership opportunities and challenges

  • Managing career and life in a hybrid/remote world

Amy Killoran

Senior Coach/Consultant

Amy has spent more than 15 years focusing on lawyers’ career and professional development.

She works with attorneys in all life stages to design and execute career pivots in one-on-one and group coaching meetings. As the dedicated alumni career advisor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, she designs and executes programs on the job search and advancement process and advises alumni of the school’s JD and LLM programs. Amy has previously worked as a career advisor at other law schools, as a legal writing coach, in law school admissions, and with a business school’s career office.

Amy has presented to virtual and in-person audiences on topics including networking, lawyer wellness, coaching experienced attorneys, and job searches in the private and public sectors. She relies on life design principles, more than two decades of experience in the legal practice and education field, and healthy doses of honesty and empathy in delivering bespoke advice to coaching clients.

Originally from Michigan, Amy prides herself on having spent most of her adult life in climates that don’t require her to own a snow shovel. After law school, she clerked for a federal judge and practiced labor and employment law in Atlanta before moving to the Washington, DC, area to work at American University’s and Georgetown’s law schools. Presently, Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two teenage sons, and an aging puggle who still chews on toys as if he’s a puppy.

Education

Georgetown University (Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching; Certificate in Financial Planning)

Duke University School of Law (Juris Doctor)

Cornell University (Bachelor of Arts)

Areas of Focus

  • Career strategy and career transitions

  • Interview preparation

  • Attorney well-being

  • Networking (including for introverts)