Humboldt Area Foundation + Wild Rivers Community Foundation announced that Sharrone Blanck is the newest member of its board of directors. Blanck joins the board during a time of renewed focus and dedication to serving the local community. In its most recent fiscal year, the Foundation awarded $13.5 million in grants, including $967,000 in scholarships.
Blanck has lived in Humboldt County since 2015. For the first 15 years of her career, she worked in early intervention, supporting families with infants and toddlers — birth to age 3 — who have special needs.
She currently serves as the learning specialist for equity and inclusion at the Humboldt County Office of Education. Before joining HCOE in this role, Blanck worked with more than 600 educators throughout Humboldt County. Together with Meridith Oram, she co-facilitated an eight-hour training, Implicit Bias and the Four Dimensions of Racism, providing foundational learning for the region’s largely white-identifying educator workforce.
In addition to her work in education, Blanck said she is honored to serve as president of the Eureka NAACP and is a founding member of B-Black, a Black-led community collaborative dedicated to advocacy, cultural connection and empowerment.
Blanck, a Black Jewish woman, is the proud mother of two adult sons. In her free time, she has recently begun singing and drumming — creative practices she says bring joy, healing and connection. She also loves dancing and cooking, often at the same time. “I am deeply grateful for the friendships and community I’ve found here in Humboldt,” she said.