Born and bred in B.C., Shanon was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Disease in the Fall of 2011 when her GP told her she had ‘RA’, her GP also told her that is was a field that was progressing rapidly with research and treatment and it gave her hope from the beginning.

Shanon attended a Reaching Out With Arthritis Research Forum, organized by the Arthritis Patient Advisory Board (APAB) at Arthritis Research Canada in 2013 and in 2014 became an active member on APAB, providing patient input in research as a patient partner, followed by an interest in future healthcare professional education by becoming a Health Mentor at UBC and attending the Where Is The Patient Voice is Professional Healthcare Education Conference in 2015 then became one of the founding members of Patients in Education (PIE). Shanon also served on the Consumer Coalition of the Arthritis Alliance of Canada until 2019. Being a part of the SPOR Evidence Alliance is an important component of Shanon’s passion for advocacy in research and the education of future healthcare providers.