James M. Shannon has been a member and Chair of the ULRI Board of Trustees since 2009. Mr. Shannon was appointed the Chair of our affiliate ULSE Board of Directors in spring 2024. He has been a member of the ULSE Board since the 2021 reorganization that created ULSE as a separate organization focused on the development of safety standards and related communication, advocacy, and policy initiatives. Given his role as ULSE’s Board Chair, Mr. Shannon no longer serves as ULRI’s Board Chair but continues to serve as a Trustee on the ULRI Board and a member of the ULRI Board’s Audit Committee. Mr. Shannon also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of UL Solutions.

Mr. Shannon served from 2002 to 2014 as President and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the world’s leading advocate of fire prevention and developer of fire safety standards and the National Electrical Code. From 1991 until assuming the presidency in 2002, Mr. Shannon served as NFPA’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Prior to joining NFPA, Mr. Shannon was elected Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a position he held from 1987 until 1991. Recognized as a strong advocate of consumer rights and civil rights, he argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and the Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He also served as Chair of the Antitrust Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.

Mr. Shannon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts in 1978 and, at age 26, was the youngest member of the 96th Congress. As a freshman he was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee, where he worked on major tax legislation and was actively involved in legislative efforts to strengthen Social Security. He was re-elected in 1980 and 1982 and left Congress after an unsuccessful campaign for the Senate in 1984.

Mr. Shannon received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School.