Bob Shevlin

In 1968 Bob Shevlin was born in Columbus, Ohio, and educated there, beginning work in pharmaceutical sales before changing directions at the age of 25 and departing for Italy and a 20-year career in the fashion industry focusing on advertising and communications. A life-long activist for gun control, human rights, and the environment, in 2008 Bob and fashion designer Wilbert Das founded the Brazilian hotel and design studio UXUA in Trancoso, Bahia, an experiment in sustainable design and progressive social values – using the business’s visibility and profits to finance various local education and environmental organizations such as Association Despertar Academy, the Observatorio Social, and Capoeira Sul da Bahia. Bob is a co-founder of activism school MAMA Trancoso, Organic Festival Trancoso, and the regional Trancoso+Sustainable project created in partnership with Conservation International Brazil, of which Bob is a sitting board member.