Shane Garver

Shane Garver is Partners for Rural Impact’s Vice President for Strategic Impact.  PRI is working towards a bold vision of all rural youth on a path to economic mobility. At PRI he works to align large strategic initiatives, partner organizations, policy makers and funders in advancing this mission.

As part of this work Shane leads a team working to mobilize rural voices and organizations to move policy and unlock public dollars at the state and federal level that support this work.  In support of these efforts Shane serves on the steering committee of the National Coalition of Promise Neighborhoods, The Rural to Rural Collaborative, Voices for National Service and many other coalitions.

Prior to joining PRI, Shane spent 17 years at Save the Children, holding multiple roles, including overseeing the design and implementation teams for their U.S. programs Rural Education work.  Through this work he sought to move population level outcomes around kindergarten readiness and early grade reading/math for children across rural parts of the United States.  Having grown up in poverty in a small town in rural northeast Ohio himself, ensuring that rural kids and families have the critical resources needed to succeed has always been central to the energy Shane brings to the work.

Shane completed his teacher certification and Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Health at Berea College where he graduated top in his class.  He then earned his Master’s Degree in Physical Education Pedagogy from Western Kentucky University.  In his free time Shane and his wife, Sarah, run a small U-Pick Berry farm in Berea, KY. Together they are raising their two kids, Colton (age 12) and Caden (age 10) among the many goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, and geese that roam the farm.  If he’s not on the farm, then you will likely find him on a wrestling mat or soccer field where he spends a good bit of time coaching his kids teams.