Shannon started working for Sweet Lydia’s in early 2013. Shannon has worked in a few different establishments as she learned about the industry and how to do everything from bread baking to cake decorating to composed desserts. She has worked in small retail bakeries and larger fine-dining restaurant groups, hoping to get well-rounded experience. She took over from the founder, Lydia, two years ago and has been growing the business ever since. During the pandemic, Sweet Lydia’s joined forces with Mill City Cheesemongers to establish the Lowell Culinary Collaborative. Together, they created a space that celebrates local, seasonable foods and the people that curate them. At the Collaborative, her responsibilities range working as a confectioner, a dishwasher, a pastry chef, an educator, an accountant, a cashier…the list goes on. She loves to learn and grow and thoroughly enjoy the hands on nature of the food service industry!

Shannon has been married to her partner, Max, for nearly four years. They live in the Pawtucketville neighborhood of Lowell with their four ‘kids’…a dog named Kona, two cats named Curry and Nutmeg, and a bearded dragon named Pico. Their lives mainly revolve around food, even when they aren’t working.

Shannon started as a vocational student at Shawsheen Valley Tech in the culinary shop. She received her Associate’s degree in baking and pastry, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Management from Southern New Hampshire University. She has also studied abroad at Florence University of the Arts and worked at the university’s student-run restaurant and bakery.