The Association Blog

Big congratulations and a warm welcome to Shannon Martin-Roebuck as The Association’s new Director for Strategic Initiatives. Martin-Roebuck has been a part of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee from the very beginning, and served most recently as the DEI Survey Committee Chair. Prior to this role, she was the executive director for Capital Humane Society, and is skilled in strategic planning, process improvement, project leadership, team building, program development and community outreach. Read on to meet Martin-Roebuck and get some behind-the-scenes intel on the DEI survey—and find out the first thing she’s planning to do in her new role.


Name & Title: Shannon Martin-Roebuck, Director for Strategic Initiatives
Member of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement since: 2020

Q&A with Shannon Martin-Roebuck

The Association: Describe yourself in 3 words. 
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: Generous, Analytical, Problem-solver

The Association: What’s the first thing you’d like to do in your new role?
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: Get to know my new colleagues and setup spreadsheets to track my projects

The Association: Thank you for your past work on the DEI Committee, and particularly on the DEI Survey Committee. What were some of the challenges the team faced in putting the survey together, and what are your thoughts about the results? 
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: Balancing the creation of questions that are inclusive and provide the important baseline information we needed while allowing respondents to remain anonymous. I think we had a great response rate and the survey is a great source of information to begin implementing change and measuring impact.

The Association: Share one small victory you had this week—personally or professionally.   
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: I get to start working with The Association!!!

The Association: Awww! Looking back at 2020, what’s one thing you started doing, either personally or professionally, that you’ve carried over?     
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: Making time for self care and taking more time to enjoy the people I care about.   

The Association: What’s your favorite one-sentence leadership tip?
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: A little humility goes a long way.

The Association: What’s the last movie you saw or book you read?
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: A Discovery of Witches series

The Association: One last question. A little fun—you can invite 5 people from all of history to dinner. Who’s at the table? 
Shannon Martin-Roebuck: Barack Obama, Josephine Baker, Nelson Mandela, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X

Meet More Members

Get to Know Phil Arkow
Get to Know Jack Cooper
Get to Know Kelly Bauer