Born and raised in Greater Pittsburgh, Shogan was encouraged to read mysteries by her late mother, Patricia, and started with books from the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.

Shogan worked as the vice chair of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and taught as an adjunct professor in the government department at Georgetown University.

[7][8][9] She is the author of eight murder mystery novels, featuring Washington congressional aide Kit Marshall,[10] with titles that include Stabbing in the Senate, Homicide in the House, and Larceny at the Library.

Senator Jon Ossoff on Civil Rights Cold Cases,[21] stated that she would "welcome all Americans to the National Archives" if confirmed,[22] and said she would serve in a "nonpartisan, apolitical capacity".

[32][33] On January 6, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump stated in a phone interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt that he intends to replace Shogan as head of the National Archives, saying "we will have a new archivist.

"[36] On February 7, 2025, Sergio Gor, White House Director of Presidential Personnel, announced on social media that Shogan had been removed as Archivist of the United States.

[2] Shogan stated on her personal LinkedIn page that Donald Trump had fired her, asserted that "no cause or reason was cited," and noting she had "zero regrets...[and] did [her]...best...for the National Archives and the American people.

"[42] In October 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shogan and her top advisers had censored numerous displays at the National Archives' museum in an effort to de-emphasize negative parts of U.S. history, according to documents, and current and former employees.

According to the article, Shogan and her top aides, like Ellis Brachman, ordered the removal of images of Martin Luther King, Jr., Dolores Huerta, and Minnie Spotted-Wolf from the Discovery Center wing of the National Archives Museum, images by Dorothea Lange of Japanese-American concentration camps, cut information about the negative environmental effects of coal mining and the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese-Americans from various exhibits, and directed employees to find "success stories about white people".

The president of Win Without War, Stephen Miles, argued that Shogan's reported action was, "preemptively self-censoring and hiding essential parts of any honest telling of American history", and called it a dereliction of the agency's mission.

Historian Harvey G. Cohen echoed the same sentiment, stating that the National Archives should be focused on "preserving and presenting the truth" and Timothy D. Snyder called Shogan's reported conduct, "anticipatory obedience".