A yoga student for 20 years, Shannon Roche’s career has centered around building bridges between mainstream institutions and community and coalition-driven initiatives to drive progressive social change. Prior to joining Yoga Alliance and the Yoga Alliance Foundation as Chief Operating Officer in 2017, Shannon served on the Obama Administration’s economic policy team, where she led stakeholder engagement for the U.S. Commerce Secretary. She also played key roles on the founding leadership teams of three innovative nonprofits, including the Democracy Alliance. Shannon has a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Duke University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and her most enlightening and humbling teachers of all, their two children.