Shannon Steene awarded the 2020 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award.

One of three recipients, Shannon has been recognized for his resourcefulness and his ability to lead the Carpenter’s Shelter through immense growth and rapid change.

 It was announced today that Shannon Steene, Carpenter’s Shelter’s Executive Director, received the 2020 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award from the Greater Washington Community Foundation. This award, given to area nonprofit leaders annually (this year’s cohort: Shannon Steene, Paula Fitzgerald, and Tyler Spencer) is in recognition of their potential and promise as leaders in the nonprofit arena and is meant to help them create forward momentum for their teams and organizations.

As the Executive Director of Carpenter’s Shelter, Shannon was recognized for his efforts to help the shelter live out its mission of helping residents struggling with homelessness achieve dignity and independence through shelter, guidance, education, and advocacy. When asked about how his leadership has changed during the pandemic, Shannon reflected, “If we were on a game show, this would be called the speed round. The leadership required [during COVID-19] has been faster and the rules have been changing much more rapidly. A few things have remained constant for us: the safety of our residents, volunteers, and staff and that shutting down, even temporarily, was not an option. But otherwise, every element of what we know has been shifting.”

The award was created in late 2018 by Alex Orfinger, along with David Bradt’s wife, family and friends. Alex wanted to find a way to recognize David’s many years of service to the local community. Together, with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, they established the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund. The honor was designed to provide an annual award that would enable nonprofit leaders and their teams in the DMV to attend intensive executive training programs.

“I’m humbled by this recognition and look forward to the leadership development that comes as part of the award. My aim is to fully leverage the opportunity to keep moving Carpenter’s Shelter forward, especially as we are starting the next chapter of our organizational life in the new shelter. Support from the David Bradt Leadership Award can only help strengthen my leadership during these unusual times,” says Steene.