After receiving a BA in religion from Harvard, Shawn spent his twenties as a singer/songwriter. In 2015, he completed studies at NYU’s Graduate Film Program and in 2016 was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” TO DUST, his first feature, co-written by Jason Begue and starring Matthew Broderick and Géza Röhrig, premiered at Tribeca in 2018, winning both the “Narrative Audience Award” and “Best New Director” for Shawn. The film was released theatrically in 2019 and went on to be nominated for “Best Screenplay” at the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards. Shawn has always had a passion for teaching alongside his creative endeavors and delights in exploring the medium with different age groups and in different settings. Most recently, he’s been an adjunct professor in the Graduate Film Program at NYU and an instructor at the Brooklyn-based nonprofit ReelWorks. He is thrilled to be joining the Rutgers community this semester.