Welcome Shannon O’Neil! As the new chair of the HMCA conservation work group, Shannon will facilitate collaboration among conservation groups and agencies as HMCA shapes an ambitious effort to protect land along South Mountain and the Middletown Valley. Shannon is a Land Preservation Planner II with the Frederick County Planning & Permitting Division. She assists in administering the various federal, state, and local land preservation programs offered in the County. She joined the County Ag Preservation office in 2018. Previously, she worked with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, a nonprofit land trust. Shannon has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Conservation and Biology and a Master’s degree in Biology, both from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.