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 focuses on stabilization, political transitions, democracy, governance, community policing and citizen security. Sharon joined Creative after serving as the Senior Global Democracy and Governance Practice Lead at Chemonics for 10 years.
Previously, she was a director of peace-building programs and advocacy expert for non-governmental organizations, chief of party for programs funded by USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corp. and a principal governance advisor 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.