Read Sharon's blog on Seattlepi.com.

Sharon Osborne is President/CEO of Children's Home Society of Washington (CHSW). For over three decades, Sharon has committed her personal and professional life to making a positive impact on the lives of children. She is also a lifetime member of the CHSW Board of Trustees and a board director of the Society's asset management company.

Established in 1896, Children's Home Society is Washington's oldest and largest statewide children's service and advocacy organization. In the time since Sharon became President/CEO in 1989, CHSW has more than quadrupled the number of individuals it has served, to more than 40,000 a year. The number of CHSW service sites has also grown dramatically during Sharon's tenure, from under 10 to over 20 today. The agency's budget has taken a commensurate leap as well and is currently one of the largest full-service child welfare agencies in the United States.

With a professional career spanning more than 30 years, Sharon's commitment to service excellence is well known within the child welfare industry and among state and national legislators and policy makers at all levels. She has served in various leadership positions as a consultant, educator, researcher and practitioner. As a result, she is frequently tapped for her expertise, providing leadership regarding children's issues and her management acumen in both the public and private sector.

As a champion for children who believes that every child deserves quality service, Sharon has been a staunch promoter of best practice excellence and the process of accreditation as a means of proving that organizations and governments worldwide meet the highest standards of service and management excellence. Toward this end, she has partnered with and held leadership positions with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and other state, national and international organizations. She has served as past chair and executive committee member of the Council on Accreditation (COA) and treasurer for the International Forum for Child Welfare (IFCW). In 2006, she was appointed liaison to the United Nations representing IFCW, which holds consultative status to the U.N. Economic and Social Council in New York and Geneva. She is also a founding member and vice-chair of the board of trustees for Children's Home Society of America (CHSA). Composed of leading child welfare agencies across the United States, CHSA's mission is "to rekindle a collective passion in society to responsibly address the crucial needs of children and families in America."

Sharon holds a bachelor's degree in social welfare and master's degrees in management and social policy/planning from the University of Chicago. Prior to taking the helm at CHSW, she served in a number of progressive and responsible positions with public and private child and family agencies. Sharon is quick to note, however, that perhaps her best preparation for leading child and family service organizations comes from her experience as a mother. She and her husband, Sam, are the parents of two adult sons, Adam and Jamie.

A community volunteer, Sharon's dedication has always extended beyond the confines of work. Sharon continues to serve as a volunteer and founding board member of numerous state, national and community-based children's programs, schools and private foundations.