Shannon Barrett is the new Advancement Director at Dogwood Alliance. “One of the things that really attracted me to the position is the thoughtfulness that’s gone into planning where Dogwood goes next,” she explains, adding that it is a very exciting time for Dogwood because the organization is poised to go to the next level.
“It’s almost like starting from the ground floor and having this opportunity to be a part of something new and to help shape it.”
Shannon originally grew up in the small town of Chester, South Carolina. Shannon is the kind of person who not only wants to live intentionally by giving back to her community and the environment, but also wants to explore our world: she has been to Guatemala, Mexico, England, France, Italy, Canada and all over the United States. Last year, she even visited Nepal through a legislative exchange program. “Being exposed to that culture and meeting with people there in their government and in their non-profits and NGO’s was just so fascinating!” she says.
Shannon comes to Dogwood Alliance from a 10-year-long career in local government in Marrietta, Georgia where she served as Assistant City Manager and had many Human Resources responsibilities. Before that, she worked in fundraising and development in Charlotte’s Arts & Sciences Council. Shannon has always chosen to work where she feels she can make the biggest difference, and that’s exactly why she chose Dogwood.
Through Dogwood, she is excited to work towards something she is both passionate about and that she hopes will bring people together by talking about Dogwood and our forests. She says it’s all about asking the right questions.
“How do we take all the great information we have and make it accessible? There’s a lot of technical information with what’s going on with bioenergy and even carbon canopy. How do we present it in a way that people can relate to?”
She cites Dogwood Alliance’s recent Ron Maxwell video as a great way to communicate the importance of protecting our forests against the bioenergy crisis.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKNAePtgaBE[/youtube]
A true lover of the outdoors, Shannon looks forward to exploring and hiking Asheville’s beautiful mountains.
Hey Kimala, so glad you joined Dogwood Alliance! We need all the help we can get to fight the wood pellet industry. So infuriating that UK is cutting down our forests to reduce their carbon footprint.