Her Story
About Sharon
I've been working in the nonprofit sector since 2023, where my role as a Social Worker 1 allows me to focus on what has driven me throughout my entire career - ensuring fairness for children, especially those with disabilities and gifted children who don't have the means to be heard. I work with a team to help families develop and apply parenting skills through coaching when family issues arise. What I find most rewarding is connecting with the kids first, establishing that foundation with the children, which then helps guide how I speak with parents. Before moving into nonprofits, I was employed by schools starting in 2012, and prior to that, I spent 10 years in children's publishing with a company called Prentice Hall out of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, which later became Pearson. I earned my master's degree from Drew University while working full-time in corporate publishing and raising my first child - I even remember falling asleep in one night class and having a girlfriend elbow me awake. I hold teaching certifications for New Jersey, including eligibility for special needs teaching, and I also did developmental intervention work for children ages 0 to 3 for almost 2 years as a side hustle. My educational journey started at State University of New York, where I attended both the New Paltz and Albany campuses and learned communication and writing. After undergrad, I went to Europe for a year to do more writing and study international politics, and when I came back, I did ESL instruction at the college level during evenings before moving into publishing. I'm currently working on potentially acquiring a second master's degree to further specialize in my field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sharon
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say make every effort to listen, and really listen and hear. Sometimes we just get somebody who's a phenomenally, amazingly nice person as a mentor, and I've been lucky - hopefully they are lucky too, you know, it's kind of who you are with. Being able to hear them and listen really sweetens the entire relationship. It just sweetens it. I also think both being behind the scenes and growth and expanding your network are important, and it's gotta be in balance. My very first teaching position coming out of undergrad was because of a mentor instructor, somebody who was a co-teacher with me and who helped me and guided me in undergrad - she put me in touch, so it was networking, really. That kind of shows you that you have to start somewhere, so yes, it's so important to have growth, but at the same time, maybe reflecting a lot, doing the behind the scenes, doing a lot of reflecting.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think it's simple humility - not just when you see it in a child, because they can be, it's like a quiet humility, and it's so precious. That type of moment is everything. I think that we learn from children, and so then as adults, I hope that we learn to emulate that. That's really a key, you know, and it's so rare in the 21st century. What led me to this industry was finding and making sure the execution happens of fairness, mostly fairness for children. That's the area that I'm in - it's mostly been children my entire path. Making sure that many of the people with disabilities too, and those who are gifted, making sure that they're heard, because a lot of times, you know, they don't have the means to be heard. My accomplishment I'm most proud of is really just connecting with the kids - it's just the pure connection with kids. It's also connecting from the parenting perspective, and you only get there by establishing a foundation with the children first.
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