Shaune Lee

Shaune comes from a long line of librarians, teachers, and writers, which she likes to joke doomed her from the start to be the kid who got excited for class field trips to historic sites and family trips to the library. In fact, she still gets teased about the many times she toddled behind her mother, carrying a stack of books nearly as big as her. Shaune started her college career at NVCC; after earning her Associate's, she joined their Historic Preservation certificate program. This included a lot of road trips and a summer-long archaeology dig at Historic St. Mary’s, giving her more than a few “no, really, there I was…” stories (especially the one about meeting archaeologist William Kelso at Jamestown). She then transferred to Longwood University, graduating in 2017 with a double major in History (Public History) and Anthropology (Archaeology). She also has a background in student journalism and in campus radio – ask her about having to carry her personal turntable all the way to the station, on foot, in the rain. Shaune comes to WETA after finishing two post-grad museum internships and a season working at a family-owned winery, all on Virginia’s Northern Neck. Her current plans include traipsing around the area in search of new trivia and tidbits she can turn into articles, discovering new-to-her local eateries, and learning how to kayak without falling out.

Posts by this Author

It used to be that presidential pets were considered nothing special, but after World War I, Washingtonians were looking for happy news — and they got it in the form of a happy-go-lucky dog that changed how Americans looked at animals who lived in the White House.

As the United States entered World War I, women became a vital part of the war effort. The Navy created a single unit of African-American Yeomanettes, which was assigned to Washington D.C.'s Navy Yard, and quickly made an impression.

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One of the most memorable neighborhood block parties in recent memory kicked into gear as the Olympic flame came to Washington in the summer of 1996. From Rockville to Reston, area residents got into the Olympic spirit as they welcomed the unusual guest.

Called the "Forgotten War," the Korean War has been overshadowed by better-known conflicts in American history. The fight to remember it began in the 1950s, but it wouldn't be until the 1990s that a memorial would be built in Washington.

“Now this is no easy thing — naming a sports team,” Washington Post reporter Bob Addie wrote in the spring of 1973. Naming anything can have complications: the right name is memorable, hopefully catchy, and looks good on jerseys, while a bad name becomes a joke — or worse, an embarrassment. That was why there was such surprise that Abe Pollin, who had recently become owner of the new — and still unnamed — NHL hockey team that was coming to the D.C. area was “toying with the idea of having a contest to name the baby.”