Shannon O'Brien is an American educator and politician serving as a member of the

Montana Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

from the 46th district. Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 4, 2021.

Early life and education

O'Brien was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Raised on

Orcas Island Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, in northwestern Washington, United States. History and naming of the island The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' from Juan Vicente de Güemes P ...

, Washington, she graduated from Orcas Island High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1991, a Master of Education from

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

, and an EdD from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

Career

From 1994 to 1998, O'Brien was a history teacher at Stanwood High School in

Stanwood, Washington Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The city is located north of Seattle, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2020 United States ...

. She was later an administrator at the Early College for Native Youth. From 2013 to 2015, she was an education policy advisor for Governor Steve Bullock. She was the dean of the Missoula College–University of Montana from 2015 to 2017. O'Brien was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 4, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Shannon Democratic Party Montana state senators Gonzaga University alumni Living people Politicians from Portland, Oregon University of Montana alumni University of Montana faculty University of Washington alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Montana Legislature