After building elevators for Westinghouse Elevator Company for several years, George Shannon started acting in commercials in Chicago and for nearly 30 years, he worked as an actor on stage, in films, and on television.

In 1995, after frequently playing parts in dramas that explored the need for greater social responsibility in society, he decided he needed to accept the challenge presented by those acting roles, that is, to commit his life to the service of others. It was time for him to enter the third act of his life, just as millions of "Baby Boomers" were about to turn 60, he returned to college, earning a Bachelor's, Masters, and Ph.D. in Gerontology - the last two from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California (USC). While still in undergraduate school, he found Gerontology, or, perhaps, more appropriately, Gerontology found him. He took a class entitled "Women and Aging".

He spent over a decade researching the problems associated with long-term care. While earning a Master's degree and Ph.D. at USC, he was nominated to Phi Kappa Phi, the All-University National Honor Society and Sigma Phi Omega, the National Gerontology Academic Honor Society. He authored or co-authored seven peer-reviewed articles in peer-reviewed professional journals.

In addition to his research skills and academic credentials, he worked as an actor for nearly 30 years. He studied acting for two years at Second City in Chicago and for 7 years with Lee Strasberg in his private classes and at the Actor's Studio in New York and Los Angeles.

His experiences as an actor - over 50 plays in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, half a dozen features, contract roles on three daytime series, and recurring roles on two others, co-starring roles on several nighttime series - as well as having been a teacher of improvisation (five years at with an acting workshop in Los Angeles) and theater director - all of these experiences enhanced his teaching and presentation skills.