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.
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]
References
- ^ a b Kelleher, Steve (25 January 2009). "1/25/2009 Classification Talks from Sharon Abrams and Tim Beals". Rotary Club of Waterville, Maine. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ a b c "Sharon Abrams". LinkedIn. 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ a b Ohm, Rachel (16 February 2015). "Waterville program marks 40 years of helping teen parents". Morning Sentinel. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Lannin, Joanne (8 May 2012). "The real, unglamorous lives of teen moms". Maine Women. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Schreiber, Laurie (11 January 2016). "Leadership change after 23 years at Maine Children's Home". Maine Biz. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ a b Ohm, Rachel (10 November 2015). "Richard Dorian to become Maine Children's Home executive director". Morning Sentinel. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Leadership Unplugged Spring 2015 - Session 2 with Sharon Abrams". Maine Development Foundation. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Legislative Record of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Legislature of the State Of Maine" (PDF). Maine Legislature. 1996. p. 1580. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Board of Directors". REM. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "'Seed of Sarah' author Judith Magyar Isaacson, former Bates dean, honored by Maine Women's Hall of Fame". Bates College. 10 February 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2016.