:Sharon H. Abrams
{{short description|American nonprofit executive}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sharon H. Abrams
| image =
| alt =
| caption = circa 2013
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Waterville, Maine
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation =
| employer = Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers
| alma mater = University of Maine at Farmington
| years_active = 1973—present
| spouse = Don Abrams
| children = 2
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| awards = Maine Women's Hall of Fame, 2004
}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.watervillerotary.com/Stories/1-25-2009-classification-talks-from-sharon-abrams-and-tim-beals|title=1/25/2009 Classification Talks from Sharon Abrams and Tim Beals|first=Steve|last=Kelleher|date=25 January 2009|accessdate=26 January 2016|publisher=Rotary Club of Waterville, Maine}} She attended Waterville Senior High School and the University of Maine at Farmington. She is a certified teacher and licensed social worker.{{cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-abrams-23b37790|title=Sharon Abrams|publisher=LinkedIn|year=2016|accessdate=23 January 2016}}
Career
After graduation and marriage, Abrams worked as a substitute teacher in the home economics department of Waterville Senior High School. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/02/16/waterville-program-marks-40-years-of-helping-teen-parents/ |title=Waterville program marks 40 years of helping teen parents|first=Rachel|last=Ohm|date=16 February 2015|accessdate=23 January 2016|work=Morning Sentinel}}{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmecurrent.com/maine_women/features/the-real-unglamorous-lives-of-teen-moms/article_f3709ae2-9951-11e1-9a2d-001a4bcf887a.html|title=The real, unglamorous lives of teen moms|first=Joanne|last=Lannin|date=8 May 2012|accessdate=23 January 2016|work=Maine Women|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714105953/http://www.keepmecurrent.com/maine_women/features/the-real-unglamorous-lives-of-teen-moms/article_f3709ae2-9951-11e1-9a2d-001a4bcf887a.html|archivedate=14 July 2014}} Abrams taught in the program for eight years until becoming program head from 1982 to 1990. In 1990 she was promoted to assistant executive director of the Home and, in 1992, to executive director.
Abrams retired from the executive directorship on December 31, 2015.{{cite web|url= http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20160111/CURRENTEDITION/301069996/leadership-change-after-23-years-at-maine-children's-home|title=Leadership change after 23 years at Maine Children's Home|first=Laurie|last=Schreiber|date=11 January 2016|accessdate=29 January 2016|work=Maine Biz}} She plans to continue working at the Home as a volunteer and social worker.{{cite web |url= http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/11/10/richard-dorian-is-maine-childrens-home-new-executive-director/|title= Richard Dorian to become Maine Children's Home executive director|first=Rachel|last=Ohm|date=10 November 2015|accessdate=23 January 2016|work=Morning Sentinel}}
Other activities
In 1978 the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation invited Abrams to participate in a study of its new "curriculum of caring". In 1996 she was appointed as a member of the Committee to Study Poverty Among Working Parents in the 117th Maine Legislature.{{cite web |url=http://lldc.mainelegislature.org/Open/LegRec/117/House/LegRec_1996-01-30_HP_pH1580-1586.pdf|title=Legislative Record of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Legislature of the State Of Maine|volume=VI|year=1996|page=1580|publisher=Maine Legislature|accessdate=26 January 2016}}
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.{{cite web |url= http://rem1.org/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors|publisher=REM|accessdate=23 January 2016}}
Awards and honors
In 1979 she was voted one of America's Outstanding Young Women.{{cite web |url=http://www.mdf.org/events/Leadership-Unplugged-Spring-2015---Session-2-with-Sharon-Abrams/817/|title=Leadership Unplugged Spring 2015 - Session 2 with Sharon Abrams|publisher=Maine Development Foundation|year=2015|accessdate=26 January 2016}} She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.{{cite web |url= http://www.bates.edu/news/2004/02/10/isaacson-honored/|title= 'Seed of Sarah' author Judith Magyar Isaacson, former Bates dean, honored by Maine Women's Hall of Fame|date=10 February 2004|accessdate=23 January 2016|publisher=Bates College}}
Personal life
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-Qq8Mug2o “Sharon Abrams, Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers” (video)]
{{Maine Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Sharon H.}}
Category:University of Maine at Farmington alumni