Shawn Michael Pridgen

Place: San Clemente

Born: 1983

Biography:

Shawn Michael Pridgen is a documentary photographer and small business owner born in San Clemente, California. After graduating from DePaul University with a B.A. in Political Science & International Relations in 2010, he attended DePaul’s School of Public Service. He completed coursework toward a master’s in public service administration (MPA) in 2014. While completing his master's, he worked as a Research and Policy Intern for the Chicago Housing Authority (2009-10), as a Clerk and Coordinator for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of Chief Counsel (2010-12); as a Human Resources Administrator, for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice (2012-13); and as a Legal Team Assistant, for Target Corporation (2013-14). From 2016 -2017, he was a Consultant for Northwestern University; then went on to become a Shared Services Coordinator for Octave Group until 2018. The following year, he served as a Business Coordinator for CNN; and was a Legal Personnel Assistant for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Manhattan (2019-20) before beginning his photographic career with the outbreak of the Black Lives Matter protests (2020 -21). His imagery has since appeared in INQUE Magazine, Harper’s , The Guardian , Outside , The Washington Post , Bicycle , The Point, Hearst Publishing, Tracksmith, and GearPatrol.com. In 2020 he created ShawnMPridgen LLC; a documentary photography small business focused on racial equity. He actively contributes his work to local nonprofits, activist organizations, and corporate entities whose mission statements align with and/or acting as a catalyst for change in the fight against systemic racism.