Sharon engaged in different practice areas of law, including general complex civil litigation, intellectual property law, and volunteering in children’s advocacy, as a counselor on a child abuse prevention crisis line, in family law, and in class action litigation on behalf of children in areas of health, education and juvenile justice reform.
Sharon subsequently attended UCSF medical school in San Francisco, where she met her husband, Fred (who was previously a professional musician). They did residency in Emergency Medicine together in Cincinnati, where their two children were born, and returned to the West Coast to raise their family. They live in Southwest Portland, and their children continue to attend Portland Public Schools. Sharon served as co-president of her children’s elementary school PTA board, and served additional years as board member.
Sharon practices emergency medicine in the Portland area, and has used her experience on the front line caring for those in crisis to inform her policy and advocacy work in mental health care, substance abuse prevention, police use of force, coordination of services for the most vulnerable, and reproductive healthcare, equity and justice.
In addition to being a practicing emergency physician, Sharon also served as Medical Director for the Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health. In this role she worked on issues of reproductive equity and justice, and advocated for implementation of the One Key Question pregnancy intention screening initiative, with a goal that all pregnancies be as wanted, planned and healthy as possible.
Sharon has served on boards and committees for a number of additional organizations, including:
- The Oregon Medical Association
- The Community Oversight Advisory Board (COAB) overseeing implementation of the Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with the City of Portland and Portland Police Bureau regarding Use of Force against individuals with mental health crises
- The Unity Behavioral Health Center Advisory Board
- The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Commission
- The Emergency Department Information Exchange (EDIE) Governance Committee and EDIE Operations Committee
- Governor’s Task Force regarding prescription opioid abuse
- The Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland
- Board of Trustees of Congregation Beth Israel
- Sharon has been named the OMA’s Oregon Doctor-Citizen of the Year, received the Oregon College of Emergency Physicians’ Oregon Emergency Physician of the Year award, and was awarded Kaiser Permanente's highest community service honor, the David Lawrence Community Service Award.
Sharon’s favorite quotes are: “Speak your mind, even when your voice shakes,” and “If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
On January 3, 2017, Sharon was sworn in as Multnomah County Commissioner representing District 1.