Shawna is an alumnus of the OHSU program, having graduated in 2014. She joined the PA program as principle faculty in 2025 after spending 3 years as principle didactic faculty at Pacific University, where she taught clinical medicine courses, directed the simulation curriculum, and co-created a curriculum to better prepare students to care for a variety of marginalized communities. She has practiced in family medicine since graduating, where her clinical interests include preventative medicine, gender affirming care, and hepatitis C eradication. Shawna maintains a part-time clinical practice at OHSU.

Prior to becoming a PA, Shawna earned a MPH and worked in STI prevention in a LGBTQIA+ community center. She also has a DMSc with a concentration in adult education. For her doctoral capstone project she developed a PA-specific curriculum to prepare students to care for gender diverse patients. 

A native New Englander, Shawna moved to Oregon in 2012 to pursue her PA studies. She has since made the Pacific Northwest her home, where she lives with her family. In her free time she can be found fixing up her old house, reading, running, traveling, gardening, and spending time with the people she loves.