Hey you over there, I am SO happy to see you HERE!

My name is Shawna V. and I am excited to share a little bit of my light with you. Once you know about me, I can't wait for you to tell me about yourself and your vibrance as well!

I am a cis-gendered, bi-sexual femme gal and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I have an infectious energy, positive mental attitude, and vibrant aura. Rainbow is my favorite color. I call Manhattan Beach, CA home and I live here with my partner and rescue pitty.

Ever since I was a tiny humxn, I have been a unique little flower. My mom always said that they “broke the mold” after they made me. Growing up as an only child, my besties included the neighborhood kids on my cul de sac, my assortment of Barbie dolls, and my pink stereo with cassette player. I LOVED everything about the 80s: the loud colors, the big hair, and the musical sounds all spoke to my innocent, baby soul. I danced, twirled, and cartwheeled my way through every facet of my little kid life. Not to mention that I 1000% thought I sounded JUST LIKE Ms. Whitney Houston when I belted out the chords, “Ohhhhh, I wanna dance with somebody” in my family room showcasing my silver tinsel wig and my faux microphone from Halloween.

Zoom forward to Catholic School choir when my aspirations of a singing career came to a screeching halt when I was so rudely told by a girl “you are a BAD singer”...I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was HEARTBROKEN. My dreams had been shattered in grade school by some dumb girl one year older than me. She had taken my power away in ways I never knew at the time. This was the first of many snapshots that depicted this dulling of my true sense of self. Over the years, friends and family repeatedly dismissed my uniqueness for being “too much”...

Too loud...

Too bright...

Too eccentric...

Too “out of the box”

Now I embrace these as my super powers...they were just the start of my BUBBLE OF AWESOME!
I always knew that I had just the right amount of awesome to be me and I definitely was not going to fit into any box made for others. Not knowing how to embrace this juxtaposition of me vs. them as a child, I rebelled and acted out in little ways. I can still hear the ringing in my ears of my mom saying “Shawna Marisa if you don’t put that tongue back in your mouth…” as my five year old self giggled in church, adorned in a perfect white lace dress, matching bow, socks, and shoes. My parents ended up divorcing not too longer after and my dad picked up and moved to Florida. I spent the rest of my childhood living between IL and FL and spent my high school days at two different schools. High school was a smorgasbord of spirit weeks, best friends, football games, after parties, pot smoking, booze, and boys (and girls). To my credit, I still got straight A’s and maintained a part time job (booyah)!

I always knew that the “in the box” life wasn’t the life for me so I was determined to get up and out of that town the second I graduated. I applied to college in Georgia and got in! (a HUGE thank you to my HS counsellor who introduced me to Savannah College of Art and Design) I lived in Savannah, GA for 5 years and graduated with my BFA in Photography. My time in GA gave me permission to let my freak flag fly, I loved every minute of it! I started to grow into my authentic self without judgement. I made friends that embraced newly discovered parts of myself as well as the ones that had been bottled up. They loved my vibrancy and celebrated my “big” attitude which entailed dressing up in costume most weekends, dancing all over town, getting creative in the kitchen, making art of all shapes and sizes, you name it, I had FUN!

After college, it became clear to me that my life wasn't meant for a mundane 9-5 desk job. I spent the years managing fine art galleries and photography studios and worked as a professional photographer. I continued to add to my BUBBLE OF AWESOME by getting certified in multiple modalities of Yoga and Meditation as well as becoming a certified Life Coach with JRNI Coaching.

Throughout my career, I have supported entrepreneurs and executives in the fields of fine art, wellness, and human rights by helping them elevate their businesses to new levels of connectivity, productivity, and financial growth. I am grateful to continue to work alongside powerful humans who raise the universal vibration!

Whether it was snapping Polaroid pictures, cartwheeling, or hula hooping, I have always made it my mission to perfect my craft by bringing it alongside me Every. Single. Day. I am obsessed with healing, with growth, with thriving, with shining! My biggest drive in life is to help make the world a better place to live and grow.

In a world where so many folx are struggling to muster up the courage to share their light with conviction, I am proud to say that I have IGNITED mine! I want the same for you too! I AM HERE FOR YOU! This is a world FULL OF POSSIBILITY. We must continue to break the molds, burn the judgements of others, and RISE up from the ashes!

So now it is your turn, how's your bubble of awesome looking?

In the words of Whitney Houston:

Don'tcha wanna dance say you wanna dance

Don'tcha wanna dance….DANCE!

(--thank you Whitney, your brilliance will live in my soul for eternity.)

"Shawna’s energy is awesome! Her warm demeanor and positive energy created a safe space for sure. These have been my favorite coaching sessions so far. Shawna has a wonderful enthusiasm and genuine interest in the progress I’ve made. She has great energy and is animated which is something I really enjoy in another person, and is a great quality for engaging with someone over video chat. She’s going to help a lot of people to change their lives." -Kathy K.

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"Shawna has a presence that is quite open and energized while at ease in her skin. She was open-minded and provided a welcome space to explore ideas; I felt heard and understood. She is professional and accessible, relatable and empathetic. I left our sessions feeling engaged, present, and motivated to take steps to complete things/projects/work that are already in motion. Shawna is also very knowledgeable about intersectionality and gender fluidity." -Ali L.

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"Shawna was engaging and her humor made the room feel like it was judgement free. Her presence was professional, confident, fun, and relaxing. She was encouraging with my ideas with my business and gave me validation that I was on the right track. She used her expertise in business to guide me down the right track. In session, I was able to clear my head and get my overwhelming thoughts off my chest. Her life experiences and background helped open me up to different viewpoints. Very productive work." -Hopp

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"Shawna’s energy is incredibly bright and affirming. She earned my trust right from the start, something I struggle with when working with other coaches, therapists, and teachers. I don’t want to feel like I am running circles around them and, with Shawna, I felt she was someone I could trust and allow to lead me towards a deeper conversation with myself. The level of permission that she allowed me to give myself was incredibly freeing. I could feel her energy right there with me. We even got to a moment of the “fear of not being good enough” creeping in! I spoke freely without judgement and she made it clear that she was going to be a collaborator for me. When I shared something that I wasn’t feeling great about, I always felt like I was met with compassion and understanding. Shawna is wonderful and has a natural instinct for coaching." -Aaron A.

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"Shawna challenged me to announce my (business) plan which felt scary and a much needed push I had to hear. I would describe my session with Shawna as affirming, safe, and flowing. I felt a confident presence and eagerness to help." -Pam C.