Shannon spent seven years teaching in public schools as a middle school teacher in Alameda, CA, San Francisco, CA and Brooklyn, NY. The use of documentary film as a tool for social change was a key component of her curriculum and in 2003, she left teaching to work in the Documentary Department at HBO. During her time at HBO, Shannon created outreach campaigns and worked closely with filmmakers, NGOs and educators to create meaningful educational materials to be used in conjunction with HBO Documentary Films. During this time, she also served as lead researcher for 'Too Hot Not to Handle' (an HBO Documentary Film about climate change) and spear-headed a partnership with Columbia Teacher s College to produce high quality lesson plans for educators. In 2004, after attending New York Film Academy in Manhattan, Shannon began making a documentary film about high-stakes testing. But never finished after moving overseas and having a family. Years later however, she began pursing film again and released her acclaimed documentary, Defies Measurement. Shannon lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two kids.