Shala Carlson (NC '93)

Shala Carlson is Habitat for Humanity International’s senior director of storytelling and brand. She shapes Habitat’s global messaging, brand and creative guidelines, and her teams have the extraordinary privilege of portraying Habitat’s work in 1,100+ communities across the United States and more than 70 countries around the world. In 2015-2016, she co-led the organization’s most extensive brand work in its 45+ years; in 2023-2024, she has undertaken a refresh of Habitat’s messaging, based on extensive global polling and research.

Prior to her nearly 20 years of Habitat experience, she served as the managing editor of New Orleans’ Gambit Weekly and was awarded the Ashton Phelps Sr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Editorial Writing, the Press Club of New Orleans’ highest individual honor. She began her career working for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

She and her teams have been recognized by the Content Marketing Institute, the Public Relations Society of America, The Telly Awards, Engage for Good, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the National Newspaper Association, the Louisiana Press Association and the Press Club of New Orleans.

She has a BA in History and English from Newcomb College and served on her 30th Reunion Committee. She also currently serves as an advisory board member for Loyola University’s student-run Shawn M. Donnelley Center for Nonprofit Communications. The board’s emphasis is providing mentorship and expertise in strategic communications and leadership development to enhance the center’s service to the Greater New Orleans-area nonprofit community.

Her interests include travel, opera and comic books. She resides in Atlanta and enjoys the activities of the Tulane Alumni Club of Atlanta.