Shea Post, who has served as the Executive Director of the Athens Area Homeless Shelter (AAHS) for more than 12 years, will resign effective May 31, 2024. Post’s tenure was lauded by the organization’s board, noting that she 

• led the organization through a dramatic increase in services, budget, and staff 

• guided AAHS through the pandemic with commitment and dedication

• increased the number of families served more than tenfold

• deepened and broadened the AAHS financial base, and 

• formed partnerships with other non-profit organizations in an effort to serve clients more effectively. (A complete list of her accomplishments is attached.)

The Athens Area Homeless Shelter provides collaborative, comprehensive services to homeless individuals and families working toward sustainable independence. The organization primarily serves families and children seeking permanent housing solutions.

“Shea is an exceptional leader and she will be greatly missed,” said Cullen Timmons, chair of the AAHS board. “More than anything else, she instilled a deep spirit of caring and compassion in how we carried out our mission. She set the tone and example for the board, the staff, and the volunteers. While we are sad to see her go, the legacy she leaves is an organization firmly established as a leader in serving the most vulnerable people in our community.”

In her letter of resignation to the board, Post wrote that AAHS had become as much a home for her as its for the clients it serves.

“AAHS and its community of staff, Board and clients have enriched my life beyond compare. Personally, I have colleagues – fellow staff, board members, directors of agency partners -- who have become deep-seated friends, some the sort of deep friendship that is family,” she wrote. “Professionally, I have grown with AAHS and leave fully confident in my skills, knowledge, and ability to nurture, grow, and lead an impactful nonprofit organization. In short, I cannot ever adequately qualify my time with Athens Area Homeless Shelter. Indeed, it has been a home for me as well as for our clients and staff.”

Johnathan McGinty served as chair of the AAHS board and was a member of the search committee that hired Post, who was then serving as a Victim Services Advocate with the International Institute of Buffalo. 

“It was clear from the first time we met Shea that she was the right person at the right time for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter,” McGinty recalled. “Her disciplined yet compassionate approach to building a sustainable infrastructure for the organization so it could better serve the Athens community enabled the shelter to touch, and transform, hundreds of lives throughout her tenure. I'm grateful for her leadership, her service and, most importantly, her friendship.”

In addition to leading AAHS, Post served in numerous community leadership roles, including chairing the Homeless Coalition for several years and chairing the county DFCS board. She has been a consistent voice for the humanity and dignity of the clients the organization serves.

Julianne Geddis, the AAHS Program Director, will serve as Interim Executive Director. The board is conducting a national search for the next Executive Director of the Athens Area Homeless Shelter.