SHANNON GETZEL
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR
TOGETHER WE CAN COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER INC.
COMMUNITY
ADVOCATE
AWARD
Shannon Getzel was born and raised in South Jersey. In 2008, she relocated to New York to pursue her dreams
and her master’s degree.
Getzel graduated in May 2008 with a Master’s of Social Work from Fordham University and now holds an
LMSW.
Throughout her internships and volunteer trips, Getzel had the opportunity to work with immigrant families and
recognized the community’s need for resources to the underserved.
Shortly after graduation, she pursued only community organizing opportunities and was offered a position as a
community organizer in North West Queens.
Getzel spent six years as a community coordinator with the Elmhurst Community Partnership, Families Building
Community.
Throughout her experience as a coordinator, Getzel was able to implement and oversee child welfare community
programs, including a support group for foster and adoptive parents, a community-based supervised visitation
program for families without primary custody of their children, and a community resource and referral program.
Getzel took a short break from direct community work, and volunteered with the FACT Foundation and the Suffolk
County Jewish Community Center while raising her two small children from 2014 to 2016.
In 2017, Jessica Chacha and Getzel reconnected during some community volunteer work and agreed to move
forward with their dream of starting a one-shop nonprofit.
Chacha and Getzel founded Together We Can (TWC) Community Resource Center, Inc. Since 2017, Getzel has
been the full-time director for the nonprofit serving as a fundraiser, grant writer, coalition builder and community
organizer, while focusing on helping to develop the nonprofit infrastructure.
Together, with the Board of Directors, TWC has made great strides in the community by feeding and supporting
over 5,000 families with, among other things, food, resources, diapers, coats and toys.
Getzel says she is “forever connected to TWC” and is looking forward to making more of an impact in the
community with her team.