Shannon Binns

Shannon is the Founder and Executive Director of Sustain Charlotte, where he leads efforts to create a more connected, equitable, and healthy community through smarter growth and transportation choices.

Since founding the organization in 2010, Shannon has helped shape many of Charlotte’s most important land use and transportation decisions—advocating for safer streets for walking, biking, and running; securing major investments in parks and greenways; and advancing policies that support more walkable neighborhoods, improved access to affordable and climate-safe transportation, and more affordable housing. His work brings together residents, business leaders, and policymakers to build a city that works better for everyone.

Under his leadership, Sustain Charlotte has become a leading voice on how Charlotte grows—championing solutions that reduce sprawl, improve public health, strengthen neighborhoods, and expand opportunity across the region.

Before founding Sustain Charlotte, Shannon worked on climate and environmental policy with The Nature Conservancy and served with the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, including co-founding a tsunami relief organization in Thailand. He also worked as an industrial engineer at Motorola, General Motors, and Trane.

Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Public Administration in environmental science and policy from Columbia University. He has served on the Mecklenburg County Soil and Water Conservation Board, as an adjunct professor at Central Piedmont Community College, and on the North Carolina Advisory Board for Environmental Defense Fund.

He has been recognized by The Charlotte Observer as one of “Seven to Watch,” by the Charlotte Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” honoree and one of the region’s “Top 100 Innovators,” and by WFAE as one of “The Most Powerful Voices in Charlotte.”

He believes the way a city is designed shapes how people live, connect, and thrive—and works every day to help Charlotte reach its full potential.