A native of Iowa, she was educated at Iowa State University and began her career as an instructor of interior design at two Iowa colleges. Within a few years, she ventured into the commercial world as a professional interior designer, first in Minneapolis and then in Albuquerque.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1983, where she first applied her organizational skills to the world of event management. She has worked with the Long Beach Convention Center, the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Commitee and the Walt Disney Company.

LeDonna returned to teaching four years later at Santa Monica College in California as an interior design instructor. In 1998, she was appointed Dean of Academic Affairs, a post she continues to hold part-time while she pursues a career once more in professional design. In the latter capacity, she is currently working on the interiors for SMC's new Emeritus College at Second and Arizona Streets.

She is today the principal of le d'zigns in Albuquerque, a space planning and design firm that also handles her jewelry-influenced paper and metal assemblages and her similarly referenced handmade art cards.

At left: Artist LeDonna Shouse (top left) with several of her metal assemblages from the recent Galeria ARTopia show, "Gifted: Bright and Shiny Things."  "Metal Vase Assemblage" (SOLD) (top-right); "Warrior II" (mid-left); "Warrior III," (mid-right); "Warrior IV" (bottom right).

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