Exceptional EA has been here since 2013 for assistants around the globe and we’ve built some incredible communities along the way. The faces you see on this page are not stock images. Rather, they represent a sampling of some very impressive assistants I’ve interviewed – from 28 different countries – for my Real Careers series since 2015. These individuals are also representative of the people for whom I write: a global community of women and men at various stages in their careers, all focused on performing at a high level.
I’m Shelagh (pronounced “Sheila”) Donnelly. I live in Vancouver, Canada, and was a career assistant myself. As you’ll see here, my career goes back a long way; I walked the walk for three decades. While that is an IBM Selectric in the background, we did have colour photography when this snap was taken. This photo was taken for a corporate publication that was printed in black and white.
I launched this website while working in a demanding role supporting a board of directors, and was presenting to assistants in different countries long before I left the office environment in 2018. That’s when I began speaking, training and writing year-round, rather than using vacation time to travel and deliver keynotes and training presentations.