Let's Partner to Build Resilient, Inclusive,
and Healthy Communities
Mary Snow, mOVEMENT BUILDER (She/Her/Hers)
I have extensive experience advocating for rural people and places, directing complex social impact projects, and facilitating place-based strategies that result in strong, healthy, and powerful communities. My open and honest communication style enables me to build trusting relationships and alliances across nonprofits, foundations, government agencies, businesses, and grassroots organizations. Most importantly, my core values guide my work and are rooted in the deep belief in local people to lead and drive fundamental change within their own communities. I received the 2018 CoThinkk Community Ally Award which honors community leaders who diligently strive to advance communities of color in Asheville and Western North Carolina.
As a movement builder at Equitable Community Strategies, I have partnered with nonprofit and philanthropic leaders to develop strategic initiatives related to rural community organizing, community-led public health research, public art projects, and community-centered collaborations to advance just and inclusive policy and systems change. Notably, I have raised over $7 million dollars from public and private foundations for public health and grassroots movement building initiatives. I also co-authored the toolkit, “Shift Happens in Community: A Toolkit to Build Power and Ignite Change.” I have a Master of Arts in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity from the University of Essex in England and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. My love for travel, people, and culture has led me to value and learn from diverse movements for equity, diversity, and inclusion across Europe, Asia, and South America. These experiences heightened my awareness of global challenges and highlighted all the beautiful solutions that people are working towards to create a more just and inclusive world.
Clients: Dogwood Health Trust, BlueCross and BlueShield Foundation of North Carolina, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Appalachia Funders Network, West Marion Community Forum, Inc., Centro Unido Latino-Americano, Watauga Compassionate Community Initiative, BeLoved Asheville, WNC Health Network, People on the Move for Old Fort, Center for Native Health, Center for Participatory Change, Food Justice Planning Initiative, Foothills Food Hub, Yancey County Foodshed Project, Better Together Montgomery, Caswell Health Collaborative, and Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex.
Publications: “Addressing Health Disparities in the Appalachian Region of the United States: The Role of Grassroots Voices in Pursuing Social Justice,” accepted for presentation at the 2021 International Society for Social Justice Research. “What You Resist Will Persist: Power Moves Across the Southeast and Appalachia,” published in 2020 by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. “Shift Happens in Community: A Toolkit to Build Power and Ignite Change,” published in 2020.
Speaking Events: Panelist at Dogwood Health Trust’s Partner Conference at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, 2023; Alumni Speaker at the Human Rights Centre’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at the University of Essex, England, 2023; Workshop leader at Communities Joined in Action Conference in New Orleans, LA, 2022; Guest Speaker at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and UNC Program on Community Engagement and Leadership in Health in 2020-2022; Panelist at the Outdoor Economy Conference on Strategies for Community Engagement in Asheville, NC, 2020; Moderator for the Black Communities Conference: A Conference for Collaboration, hosted by the UNC Institute for African-American Research in Durham, NC, 2019; Panelist on the Southeastern University Consortium on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Symposium at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 2019; WealthWorks representative at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Moscow, Russia, 2014.
A Guide to Start Planting the Seeds for Community Power.
Follow the Link to Order Your Copy Today: www.shifthappenstoolkit.org
My Process
At every stage of a project, I listen deeply to better understand my client's vision, ideas, needs, and challenges. I believe in co-creating a project and strategy together. This will ensure the very best processes are in place to meet desired deliverables.
Project Teams
I work with a network of trusted partners to bring an intersectional approach to projects that address policy and systems change in the areas of economic development, health equity, food systems, racial equity, and human rights.