About

Shawn has been working as a “Mountain Town Planner” for 21 years. After graduating from the University of Utah’s Urban Planning Program, he began his career as a Community Planner in the Park City area. His work continued in Jackson Hole area as the Senior Planner for the Town of Jackson, where he participated in a years-­‐long effort to jointly plan the Town of Jackson and Teton County jurisdictions. Shawn also played a leadership role in the formulation of the Comprehensive Plan for Teton County, Idaho as a member of that county’s P&Z Commission.  After obtaining a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming, he developed an interest in organizational structure and the role of the public, private, and NGO sectors in community planning issues such as housing. In 2013 he founded Frontier Forward, a Planning and Development firm tasked with facilitating community-driven planning projects throughout the Intermountain West. Shawn also served as the Executive Director of Valley Advocates for Responsible Development, a Teton Valley, Idaho-based NGO engaged in sustainable and restorative planning, and as Executive Director of Future West, a Bozeman, MT NGO focused on conservation in the High Divide of Idaho and Montana.