The Frederick County Office of Ag is thrilled to share the news on its first hire! Shannon O’Neil has been announced as the Agricultural Preservation Program Administrator. She has a passion for land preservation and a history of work in the field making her the perfect fit for this role.
Shannon has long been drawn to environmental conservation and land preservation, a passion that took root in high school and flourished throughout her undergraduate studies. During her master’s program at Clark University in Massachusetts, Shannon’s advisor introduced her to a class on land preservation easements, where her awareness of career opportunities in the field developed and later guided a path for Shannon to pursue her passion post-graduation.
A couple of years after graduation, Shannon secured her first position in land preservation with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust where she was tasked with conservation stewardship work. Quickly she was promoted to a role with the increased responsibility of bringing in new easements for the trust. There she obtained invaluable knowledge preparing her for a position in Frederick County.
Shannon and her husband always desired to return home to Maryland. In the fall of 2017, their dream materialized with the purchase of a home in Baltimore. The stars aligned perfectly when a Planner position became available within Frederick County Ag Preservation. Shannon was hired, joining Frederick County in January 2018, a turning point in her career! Shannon worked directly supporting the Ag Preservation Program Administrator in tasks including but not limited to easement inspections, board requests and providing direct assistance to landowners in Frederick County. The establishment of the Office of Agriculture has brought newfound enthusiasm to Frederick County and Shannon is proud to have been involved in the transition. She is particularly excited about how the Office is elevating agriculture in Frederick County and the subsequent promotion and awareness it will bring to land preservation programming.
Shannon is thrilled about her new role as the Ag Preservation Program Administrator and for the future of land preservation in Frederick County. She brings innovative ideas and a fresh perspective to the position. When discussing the future of preservation, she outlined three main goals for her team, “upholding and expanding Frederick County’s reputation of a high-functioning preservation program, broadening programming to better facilitate the generational transition in agriculture and increasing preservation support for the evolving landscape of agriculture in the county, particularly by assisting small and urban growers.”
Frederick County Office of Agriculture Director, Katie Stevens looks forward to the growth and success of the newly created office and her staff. Katie is pleased to have Shannon leading the ag preservation team stating, “Shannon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position, has developed trust and strong relationships within the local agricultural community and exudes the excitement to bring forward-thinking ideas to our new Office.”
For more information on the Frederick County Office of Ag, visit https://frederickcountymd.gov/8675/Agriculture and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs featuring the backstory on the creation of the Office of Ag and meeting the Office of Ag team!