Shannon Baker (They/Them), Community Outreach & Programs Director

Shannon Baker (they/them) is the Community Outreach & Programs Director at InReach, bringing over a decade of experience in communications, outreach, and nonprofit leadership.

Shannon’s personal journey shapes their work: growing up in a rural community marked by poverty and harmful religious doctrine, they fled their biological family as a teenager to escape conversion therapy. At just sixteen, they experienced homelessness, were unable to attend high school, and faced the same assault and trauma that many unhoused LGBTQIA+ youth endure.

Chosen family helped Shannon reclaim their future, supporting them to complete school and earn a bachelor’s degree. They used national service as an AmeriCorps VISTA to overcome poverty and build a career dedicated to social justice and community empowerment.

In their nonprofit career, Shannon has led communications, built partnerships, and developed programs that advance mental health and equity initiatives. They are passionate about mentoring emerging organizers and ensuring underserved communities have access to the resources they need.

Shannon’s lived experience fuels their commitment to InReach and its mission. They are proud to contribute to a resource that could have changed the trajectory of their own youth.

Outside of their advocacy work, Shannon enjoys digital and tactile arts, as well as writing autobiographical fiction for young adult audiences.