GETTING TO KNOW SHARON

Sharon Van Pelt is a development professional with more than 30 years of experience in political dialogue, policy reform, civic engagement and advocacy, local governance, and conflict prevention.  

She leads the Communities in Transition Division, which has four Practice Areas – Stabilization, Political Transitions, Democracy, Governance and Electoral Integrity, and Citizen Security – and counts on a diverse set of clients, including USAID and the U.S. State Department, as well as the German, Danish and Finnish governments.  Sharon joined Creative after serving as the Senior Global Democracy and Governance Practice Lead at Chemonics for 10 years.  

Previously, she worked as a director of peace-building programs and advocacy expert for non-governmental organizations, chief of party for USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and a principal governance adviser for the German GIZ and U.N. Development Programme, among others. While a Foreign Service Officer with USAID, Sharon earned the USAID Meritorious Honor Award for advancing policy dialogue on decentralization and transparency during the Guatemala peace process.  

Sharon is a Certified Performance Technologist for the International Society for Performance Improvement, and trains staff globally on local capacity development, including problem-driven iterative adaptation. She is also the co-chair of the D.C.-based Working Group of the Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice.  

Sharon holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in international development from the American University in Washington, D.C.  

To learn more about Sharon, please visit this page with a short video and Q&A.