Corinne Cannon ’99, 03: Washingtonian of the Year!
Trinity graduate Corinne Cannon ’99, 03, founder and CEO of the Greater DC Diaper Bank, is being honored as a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine. She is among eleven leaders in the community “who help make Washington a better place for everyone.” She is being honored at a special luncheon on January 15, 2020. She joins a distinguished list of Trinity graduates named Washingtonians of the Year, including Trinity President Pat McGuire ’74, Dr. Constance Battle ’63, Sharon Brady Raimo ’69 ’94, and the late Barbara Patterson ’84 ’93. Trinity Commencement speakers have also been honored as Washingtonians of the Year, including fromer Trinity Trustee Barbara Lang and Maria Gomez.
Corinne Cannon earned two degrees from Trinity, where her mother, Dr. Lori Shpunt ’69 taught English for decades and her father, Rick Cannon, taught as an adjunct faculty member. Her sister and brothers also earned degrees.
In 2016, Corinne Cannon inspired the Trinity campus community with her Sower’s Seed talk: Watch the video!
Washingtonian Magazine Profile of Corinne Cannon:
Diapers Are More Than Diapers
Where most people see diapers, Corinne Cannon sees “silver bullets” — surefire weapons to battle the problems of parenting in poverty. “They do an incredible amount beyond the diaper,” says Cannon, whose nonprofit works with more than 50 area organizations to provide 11,000 families with items such as baby food, car seats, and 2 million diapers a year. “If a social worker knocks on the door of an economically vulnerable mom and says, ‘I want to see how you’re doing,’ that’s a scary door to open. If the social worker brings diapers and formula, the mom feels seen. It opens up a line of dialogue.”
Cannon, a former health communications specialist and a mother of three, came to this calling in her own moment of crisis. Her first son was colicky, and one night she felt an urge to hurt him. Instead, frightened and exhausted, she lay in bed and cried. “I began thinking about someone who didn’t plan on having a baby, who doesn’t have the resources, what happens to the family when pressure is applied.”
The difference between the Corinne Cannons of the world and others: A flash of self-pity pivoted outward and, within a year, manifested in a crucial resource for others. She founded the diaper bank in 2010 out of her home and now operates a Silver Spring warehouse stuffed floor to ceiling with family products. And the operation is only getting bigger. “Parenting is universal in many ways,” she says. “If you have a lot of money or none, you’re still trying to find your two-year-old’s shoe.”
“Thanks to Ms. Cannon’s unique vision to provide parents with indispensable yet hard-to-afford baby basics such as diapers, 3,000 of our hardworking families at Mary’s Center benefit every year from her altruism and deep commitment to care for the well-being of our least resourced community members. Her partnership with Mary’s Center is essential to our programmatic success.”
Maria Gomez, President and CEO of Mary’s Center, 1994 Washingtonian of the Year
