Shawn was born and raised in Modesto, California. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Regional and Urban Planning and received his J.D. from the BYU J. Reuben Clark law school where he was President of the Student Bar Association, Minority Bar Association, and given the Faculty Award for Meritorious Achievement and Distinguished Service.
He worked for two years at a law firm in Utah County focusing mainly on municipal law. In 1997 he was hired as the Loss Prevention Manager at the Utah Association of Counties working with the Utah Association of Counties Insurance Mutual. In 2000 he was appointed Director of the Utah Association of Counties Insurance Mutual, a member-owned Insurance Mutual comprised of twenty-six of Utah’s 29 counties. In 2002 he was appointed City Attorney for the City of St. George and served in that capacity for over 19 years until he accepted the newly created Government Affairs Director for the City of St. George in 2022.
Shawn has served on the Springville City Board of Adjustment and on the Springville City Planning Commission, where he served two years as Chairman. He also has served twice as President of the Utah Municipal Attorneys Association and is on the Legislative Policy Committee for the Utah League of Cities and Towns. He currently serves on the Utah State Behavioral Health Commission and on the board of the Utah Communications Authority. He is active in his community and has served on the boards for Art Around the Corner and the St. George Book Festival and is currently a member of the Governing Board of Intermountain Healthcare’s St. George Regional Hospital as well as the Switchpoint Community Resource Center Board.
He and his wife Suzanne Gustaveson Guzman are the parents of five children and eight perfect grandchildren.