Kristin Shields
Kristin Shields has built a 37-year career in telecommunications that began at a small, family-run pager and cell phone shop during the early days of mobile technology. She went on to spend three decades with the Will County Health Department, where she developed deep expertise in communications systems, operations, and emergency preparedness. During that time, she also received training through the FEMA Emergency Management Institute and served on an emergency task force, helping design and implement a command center to support large-scale public safety response efforts.
Today, Kristin serves as a Voice Services Engineer at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where she led the transition from an Avaya-based phone system to a cloud-based Clearspan VoIP platform. Her work has included implementing unified communications, migrating voicemail systems, converting fax services to eFax through Concord, and integrating departmental systems with Salesforce. She also supports multiple departments across the university to ensure communication tools meet operational needs, while managing and mentoring student workers within the Office of Technology Services.
Earlier in her career, Kristin also contributed her technical expertise to healthcare and community organizations, including work with MacNeal Hospital and the Child Care Resource & Referral of Illinois. In addition to her technical roles, she serves as a speech coach at Millbrook Middle Junior High School, helping students build confidence and communication skills through competitive speaking programs. Her career has been recognized with inclusion in Who’s Who in America, reflecting her long-standing contributions to telecommunications, public service, and education.
• Avaya Certifications
• FEMA Emergency Management Institution Training
• Homeland Security Training
• College coursework (no degree completed)
• Who's Who in America 2020
• Who's Who in America 2021
What do you attribute your success to?
I just love what I do. I love communicating with people, and I love making sure that people know that in an emergency, they're taken care of also.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Keep doing what you do, because it's really working for you. This advice came from my supervisor, who was blind, and I was doing his press releases and sending them out. God bless him.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
That even though it's predominantly male, you can still be very successful just being you. I've seen this with the speech kids I teach at the grade school or middle school level. They're so timid and don't want to stand in front of people, but I'm telling you, they've gotten first place awards every time we go up to do something. They're amazing. I'm teaching them how to just be themselves and be happy in their own skin.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge was moving to voice over IP, because before, I was so dead set against it. You can't have all your eggs in one basket, so that was a very hard transition for me to make. I ended up doing it during the pandemic, which was amazingly weird, but you have to have a really good data network. In the past, I didn't have that, so I didn't have what I have at IIT.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Communication. I know it's crazy, right? But you need to know what other people are going through, and I put myself in a lot of people's situations. Maybe that's my biggest downfall and my biggest good goal, because once you put yourself in people's situations, you can never judge somebody, because you're not walking in their shoes.