Reach High: Stories of Leadership | Marshall Snively

For as long as he can remember, Marshall Snively has loved the things that make up a city. Originally from Hagerstown, Maryland, he and his family would frequent nearby Baltimore, watching as the bustling harbor took shape over the years.

When it came time to think about college and career, Marshall was drawn to architecture, but shortly into histime at the University of Maryland, he realized his passions extended beyond a singular building.

“As a kid, I remember drawing buildings and almost designing my own cities in my head,” he shared. “Then in architecture school, my urban design classes showed me that it’s not only about the building you’re designing, but how the design fits into the environment around it, and that’s what truly excited me.”

After graduation, Marshall began dreaming of an even bigger city as he set his sights on grad school for urban planning in New York City. In the meantime, he moved to Baltimore and noticed an organization called the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore that was working on investing in the central business district, which was on a decline as the waterfront developed.

A cold call and a few interviews later, Marshall found himself working on facade improvement programs, streetscape programs, and urban space redesign projects as their project coordinator. He stepped down 10 years later as the VP of Economic Development and Planning.

“I never made it to grad school or to New York, but I probably had the best hands-on education I could have found,” he shared.

Fast forward to 2005, Marshall was working for a real estate developer when he was approached by a former colleague, Lisa Riggs, about joining a new initiative in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, called the James Street Improvement District. Serendipitously, he was already familiar with the city after meeting his partner, Paul, who was a Lancaster native, just a year before. Finally, in 2007, he made the move. 

“Lisa asked, ‘Do you want to do another downtown?’” Marshall reminisced. “I thought it was just going to be for a couple of years, and now it’s been nearly 20.”

In those two decades, Marshall has fallen more and more in love with Lancaster and led what is now known as Lancaster City Alliance as president for the last 10 years—guiding a growing team of passionate Lancastrians through their Building on Strength strategic plan and staying focused on their mission to ensure a clean, safe, and vibrant city for all. 

“Being a part of the extraordinary growth that’s happened here is a feeling I can’t even describe,” Marshall shared. “Developing such a fantastic team and working with our many corporate, government, and community partners to foster continued city-wide advancement—it is super rewarding.”

To learn more about Lancaster City Alliance’s work in the city, visit lancastercityalliance.org.

Reach High is a series brought to you by High Foundation that introduces you to business and nonprofit leaders who are thoughtfully innovating with a spirit of servant leadership. Find out more about High Foundation’s mission to be a Bridge to Opportunity for the Lancaster community at highfoundation.org.

Want to discover more local? Follow Fig on Facebook and Instagram for inspiration.