​​​Shannon Butrum began her Corrections career in 2001 as a correctional officer at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women (KCIW). She was promoted through the security ranks at KCIW to sergeant in 2004 and lieutenant in 2006 before promoting to the position of procedures officer in 2007.  

Butrum became training coordinator in 2016 before transferring back to the procedures officer position in 2017. During her time with the department, she has been a member of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT), Hostage Negotiation Team, KCIW's public information officer, litigation coordinator, and trainer for the Kentucky Offender Management System (KOMS). 

In 2013 Butrum was named the PREA compliance manager for KCIW and became a Department of Justice (DOJ) certified PREA auditor in 2014. In this role, Butrum helped lead KCIW through two successful DOJ PREA audits, participated in mock PREA audits for multiple institutions, and has represented the department during DOJ PREA audits for the Missouri Department of Corrections when Kentucky was part of a PREA audit consortium.   

In 2019, Butrum promoted to assistant director and served as state PREA coordinator until 2021, when she was assigned to assist in the development in the Compliance Division. In this role, she supervised five branches.

She is an active member of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency (KCCD). She is also a member of the Southern States Correctional Association, Compliance and Accreditation Managers Association, Correctional Peace Officers Foundation and the American Correctional Association.

Butrum has received several awards in her career, including KCIW Supervisor of the Quarter, a KCIW Achievement Award in 2011, a DOC Commissioner's Award in 2015, the Synergy Award in 2022, and the Director of the Year Award in 2024. She is a graduate of the 2015 Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program.