Shawn has a Master of Architecture and Master of Community Planning, both from University of Cincinnati, and a B.A. in Film Production from Bowling Green State University. He has volunteered for the Cincinnati Preservation Association, National Trust, Habitat for Humanity, and Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. A nomad at heart, Shawn has lived in many cities including New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Brussels, and Shanghai, but considers Cincinnati (where his family is) as home. His dissertation, Terrace Plaza Hotel: An Icon of American Modernism won the Young Voices Publication Award in 2013.