Biography

Shawn Lent, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Program and Communications Director, moves this world as a social practice dance artist and manager with experience ranging from a field in Bosnia, to a children's cancer hospital, to an embassy in revolutionary Egypt. She is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and UN Alliance of Civilizations International Fellow serving on the editorial team for The Clyde Fitch Report and leading a project with Syrian refugees in Chicago. Shawn was the EducationUSA Coordinator for AMIDEAST/Egypt and has spoken at the German Mission to the United Nations, Brigham Young University, University of Maryland, Hope College, Universal Exposition Milan, TEDx Shibin El Kom, and Commencement 2014 for Millikin University. In 2013, her blog post Am I a Dancer Who Gave Up? went viral in the field. Shawn holds a Masters in Arts Management with a concentration Arts in Youth and Community Development from Columbia College Chicago and a Professional Certificate in Youth Arts Development from Goldsmith's College, University of London.