Sharon Shelton

Sharon Shelton is Vice President of Empowerment Services for the YWCA Greater Los Angeles. She has held several positions in her eighteen years of service and in her current position for the past six years; she has expanded the Empowerment Services Department to 200 staff, interns and consultants serving more than 100,000 individuals and groups in four distinct program areas: Child Development, Violence Against Women, Senior Services, and Workforce/Youth Development. Under Sharon’s leadership, all program areas have been elevated to an exemplary compliance status as determined by government and private funders.

She has developed a strong foundation for programs: under her guidance the child development program has expanded its served population by 40%. In addition, as a result of her direction, the YWCA GLA now operates the largest Sexual Assault Crisis Services Program in Los Angeles County. The Workforce and Youth Development Programs, serving more than 500 community youth, has been recognized by Congresswoman Judy Chu who awarded the YWCA GLA the Congressional Recognition of Excellence; by Assemblymember Steven Bradford’s Certificate of Recognition; and the Certificate of Recognition from State Senator Ted Lieu. The programs have also been recognized by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board for contributions to Economic and Business Development in the greater Los Angeles area.

Throughout her involvement in the social empowerment movement, Sharon Shelton has been called upon to advocate at the federal and state level to secure resources and funding to address the social justice issues exemplified by the YWCA mission. She represents YWCA GLA in advocacy efforts with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce at Los Angeles City Hall, California State Capitol and with legislative policy makers in Washington D.C. Most recently she worked closely with the California State Coalition Against Sexual Assault to advocate for the reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act.

As a recognized expert in the field of Violence Against Women, encompassing domestic violence and sexual assault, Sharon is often called upon to deliver speeches on these topics. She has presented at: state conferences – California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Conference, “Men In the Movement”, YWCA Pacific Region conference, “Effective Advocacy”; and at university campuses, UCLA Student Orientation, “Sexual Violence on Campus”.

Sharon represents the YWCA GLA as mayoral appointee on the L.A. Community Action Board. She has written conference reports and video documents on the topic of violence against women; and articles for the YWCA GLA newsletter. Sharon holds a Master of Arts Degree in Behavioral Science and has a Certification in Mediation and Conflict Management issued by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.