She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public, local, and urban history and heritage, and museum studies. Trained in cultural geography, public history, and the study of memory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, her recent work has focused primarily on Northern Ireland. Her expertise extends to community economic development, service-learning, and campus-community partnerships. Shea is currently a Mellon Fellow and resident scholar at the Collaborative for Southern Appalachian and Place-Based Studies at Sewanee—the University of the South, where she explores how collaborative engagements of place and memory can aid community development and public health initiatives.