Program: M.A.M.A., 2012
Current position: Community Rating System and Floodplain Coordinator, Barnstable County / Cape Cod Cooperative Extension (government)

After finishing her Master’s degree in 2012, Shannon moved to southeast Virginia and worked with a small non-profit called Wetlands Watch. During her time with Wetlands Watch, she developed a flood insurance program area within the organization and used the regulations and framework in place from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to encourage sea level rise adaptation. To further utilize the NFIP and its programs to incentivize adaptation, Shannon developed an expertise in the Community Rating System (CRS), a program within the NFIP that provides discounts on flood insurance for residents in communities that take action to reduce flood risk. In 2015, Shannon and her husband (a fellow MAF alum) returned to New England where she joined Barnstable County, MA as the nation’s first regional CRS Coordinator. She helps the fifteen towns in Barnstable County (Cape Cod) with CRS participation through applying to the program, increasing discounts, and maintaining participation. She continues to work with the NFIP to expand knowledge and use of floodplain and coastal zone management on the Cape. Shannon regularly uses the knowledge she gained through the MAF program in her work, including floodplain and coastal zone management, the NFIP, stormwater, marine pollution, coastal zone law, wetlands protection, and even some fisheries. Shannon maintains connections with many fellow MAF alums, including her classmates, other alums she has met at various conferences and meetings, and her husband.