Shannon Ivey MFA AEA PCC (she/her),is the founder of the award winning project #whatshesaidproject and Gather SC, LLC. Shannon is an ICF professional certified coach, actor/director, TedX speaker, and creative rabble rouser. Shannon spent over 20 years in traditional theatre as an acting professor, uniont actor, and director only to wake up to the realization that she had been telling other people's stories that didn't include herself or those she loved. This lead her to investigate the power of narrative through Theatre of the Oppressed, first person storytelling events, essay/creative nonfiction, Narrative Medicine, and eventually, coaching.  Shannon is a PhD student at the European Graduate School where she is studying creativity and hope post crisis. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina with one dog and one chicken, where she tries to grow veggies, writes haiku, supports community, and enjoys being a member of the local improv troupe. She is proud mother to a brilliant son named Marco. Shannon has a medical memoir coming out with the University of SC Press in 2026.