Sharon H. Abrams is an American nonprofit executive. She was the executive director of the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers, a nonprofit agency in Waterville, Maine, from 1992 to 2015. She began working at the Home as a teacher in 1973 and was subsequently promoted to program head, assistant executive director, and executive director. Since retiring from the latter position, she continues to work at the Home as a volunteer and social worker. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.
Sharon H. Abrams | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Maine at Farmington |
| Years active | 1973—present |
| Employer | Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers |
| Spouse | Don Abrams |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Maine Women's Hall of Fame, 2004 |
Early life and education
Sharon Abrams was born in Waterville, Maine. Her father was a shirt cutter at C. F. Hathaway Company for more than four decades.[1] She attended Waterville Senior High School and the University of Maine at Farmington. She is a certified teacher and licensed social worker.[2]
Career
After graduation and marriage, Abrams worked as a substitute teacher in the home economics department of Waterville Senior High School.[1] In 1973 she joined the staff of the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers as the first teacher in their Teen Parent School Program, which provides an "alternative" high-school education combined with classes in childcare and parenting for pregnant teens.[3][4] Abrams taught in the program for eight years until becoming program head from 1982 to 1990.[2] In 1990 she was promoted to assistant executive director of the Home and, in 1992, to executive director.[2]
Abrams retired from the executive directorship on December 31, 2015.[5] She plans to continue working at the Home as a volunteer and social worker.[6]
Other activities
In 1978 the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation invited Abrams to participate in a study of its new "curriculum of caring".[7] In 1996 she was appointed as a member of the Committee to Study Poverty Among Working Parents in the 117th Maine Legislature.[8]
In 2014 Abrams joined the board of the nonprofit REM (Revitalize the Energy in ME). She is also a member of that group's Youth Homelessness Planning Team.[9]
Awards and honors
In 1979 she was voted one of America's Outstanding Young Women.[7] She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.[10]
Personal life
Abrams is married and the mother of two.[3] She and her husband Don[6] reside in Winslow.[9]