Shannon is a published travel writer and award-winning conservation photographer. She’s worked with National Geographic Traveler Magazine as their “Curious Traveler” and is also one of National Geographic’s Young Explorers, raising awareness about the pollutants degrading our country’s coastlines and oceans. With a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Shannon has conducted field research and photographed endangered species and remote cultures worldwide. After living in Australia, Uganda, the Seychelles Islands, and on a boat sailing and surfing 3,000 miles down the coast of Mexico and Central America, Shannon believes in travel that directly invests in the integrity of the communities she visits.

As a lifelong West-Coaster hailing from San Diego, she’s excited to now explore all the “Right Coast” has to offer. Her dream is to someday live where she can ride a horse to the beach with a surfboard under her arm, surf, and ride home. Shannon’s academic goal at Duke has been to learn more about international development, community based management and participatory research techniques and apply that knowledge to sustainable resource use and integrated coastal management in developing islands and coastal nations.