Shannon is a South Carolina native who was graduated from Winthrop College and spent more than 10 years as an award-winning investigative newspaper reporter. After spending some time as a grants writer for several American Indian organizations, she turned her attention to raising a family. 

Both her daughter and son went through survival lessons, starting as infants through toddler stage, which made Shannon obsessed with becoming an instructor! "I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen," she said of watching her children learn the survival float. 

In 2011, she trained in Atlanta with Infant Aquatics Survival and taught there until opening her swim school in Columbia in 2013. Since then, she has taught thousands of young children life-saving skills. 

In 2018, Shannon advanced her training with swimsprout. Her teaching skills made students happier about the learning process faster. 

She is CPR/First Aid certified through the American Red Cross and insured by K&K Insurance Company.