(Photo by Dylan Todd)
Shannon Moore and her wife Joana “JoJo” Cardoso-Moore have become quiet architects of connection in St. Petersburg.
Through their shared passion, resilience and creativity, they founded Effortless City, a grassroots project that has grown into a community resource. It’s transformed how residents and visitors move through and experience the city.
For Shannon, accessibility is not an abstract cause. Diagnosed at two years old with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, she began using a wheelchair at age eight.
The experiences that began in her early childhood irrevocably shaped her relationship with the built environment. She grew up learning firsthand how sidewalks, storefronts, public spaces and simple infrastructure either open or close the world around her.
Shannon’s positivity and strength remain unwavering and fuel Effortless City’s work to give others the freedom of movement she often lacked. Her advocacy is a clear mission: everyone deserves to explore their community with dignity and ease.
JoJo brings a different but equally essential strength to their shared vision. A trained and exceptionally talented graphic designer, she channels her creativity, love for her wife and passion for accessible movement into the visual world of Effortless City. Her thoughtful design work shapes the project’s maps, guides and layouts, making them not only functional but beautiful, inviting and easy to use.
Beyond Effortless City, JoJo is deeply embedded in the community, lending her design skills to local businesses, events and neighborhood projects. Her artistry helps make the couple’s mission visible, tangible and deeply human.
Together, Shannon and Jojo map sidewalks, routes and local amenities — restaurants, bars, shops and ADA-accessible restrooms. Their motto is clear: eat, drink, shop and party like a local, whether you walk, roll or stroll. They also compile weekly lists of live music and cultural events around Gulfport and St. Pete, reinforcing their belief that community is built not just through access, but through connection.
Effortless City first sprouted after a few trips to Jojo’s hometown in Portugal and blossomed further as JoJo’s Thesis project for her master’s in graphic design. It later expanded to Gulfport when the couple moved there in 2019 and has been steadily growing across the Tampa Bay region with hopes of one day mapping all of Florida.
Their approach is hands-on and deeply personal; rooted not in institutional authority, but in compassion, curiosity and a commitment to making everyday life easier for the people around them.
Shannon and Jojo are a genuine force: two women who turn challenges into opportunities, art into advocacy and community into a shared responsibility. Their impact is seen not only in the routes they map, but in the lives they quietly make more navigable. Through Effortless City, they have made St. Petersburg not just easier to get around, but easier to belong to.
Their work, their partnership and their passion for a more inclusive city embody what it means to be truly remarkable.
View the full list of Watermark Out News’ Remarkable People of 2025 here.
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