Montgomery County (Map, News) - Odessa Shannon led Montgomery County's Office of Human Rights for 13 years before retiring Jan. 1. Shannon, a native of the District of Columbia, became the first black woman in Montgomery to hold an elected, policymaking office when she was elected to the school board in 1982. She has lived Colesville since 1966.

What brought you to get involved in politics?

I had kids in the schools. I was having some problems and people were telling me about other problems. This was an era when there were a lot of problems in the schools out here. As I got more involved, I started getting active in committees. As I became more active, people started urging me to run for the school board.

What is the mission of the human rights office?

The mission of the office has always remained the same, and that's to eliminate discrimination in employment and housing.

How has the office's role in the county changed with its shifting demographics?

The role has not shifted. What we're seeing has shifted. For a long time we did not have the diversity of the population we have now. For a long time, it was black/white. Now we have blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics.

You created a Hall of Fame at the office with Edith Throckmorton named as your first honoree. Who was she?

Edith Throckmorton was president of the [local] NAACP. She was the type of person who, when somebody called her, she would get out of her bed in curlers and go down to the police station and everything. I just couldn't let that be forgotten.

What do you plan to do during retirement?

I expect to have a full life. I'm a type A [personality]. There's no way I'm going to sit in the rocking chair.