Shawn M. Peterson is President of Catholic Education Partners, a national Catholic nonprofit whose mission is to serve the Catholic community by advancing policy that empowers families and children to enjoy the benefits of a Catholic education. Before joining the staff at Catholic Education Partners, Shawn served as Associate Director for Public Policy with the Minnesota Catholic Conference. Prior to that he spent two decades working on numerous legislative and policy issues, including parental choice in education. During that time he was president of his own government relations firm and worked in state government serving in the administrations of two governors, and as senior staff in the Minnesota state legislature.

Shawn is a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Education, a member of board of directors for the Institute of Catholic Liberal Education, and is an advisory board member of the Institute for the Transformation of Catholic Education at the Catholic University of America. Shawn is also a Third Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus. In addition, he is an American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network member, on the board of the St. Croix Preparatory Academy Foundation, and serves on the board of St. Croix Preparatory Academy Foundation. He previously served two terms on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Federal Assistance Advisory Commission.

Shawn holds a degree from Hamline University in International Relations and Russian Area Studies, and is a graduate of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute. He has a wife and three children, resides in Lake Elmo, Minnesota and is a member of Transfiguration Catholic Church.