Sharon Wilson
Executive Director
Sharon spent the first eighteen years of her life in Alabama but moved to Tennessee to attend college at Tennessee Wesleyan College (now University); she claims the beautiful east Tennessee region as her home. This is where she is raising her three sons. This is where she is working as a teaching assistant in the public school system. And this is where she is helping to open Foster Village East TN.
At Tennessee Wesleyan University, Sharon earned a degree in Human Services and was introduced to foster care through her course of study. After graduation, she accepted a position at Head Start, working with young children and their families. One of her first classroom experiences was to care for one of four siblings who lived together in a foster home. She saw firsthand the positive changes in children’s lives as they grew and thrived in a foster home. However, she also saw the lack of support for the foster parents as they tried to manage all the care for the four siblings. Although she did not fully understand it at the time, Sharon now realizes that her Head Start experiences launched the journey that would eventually lead her to Foster Village.
When Sharon became a mother to the first of her three sons, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom until her youngest was in school. All the while, she continued working with children through church, part-time jobs, and helping friends with their own children. Several of her friends were licensed foster parents, and she learned much about their struggles as she helped them with meals, school transportation, and childcare as she was able. She explored the possibility of foster care and adoption and saw that not everyone can foster or adopt children. However, everyone can do something to help.
Sharon was motivated to do more. She began researching ways to get the community involved, and she discovered Foster Village. She loved their mission and knew she wanted to help bring that to East Tennessee. After many prayers and conversations with friends and family, she began the application process to open an affiliate location in April 2021. She is very excited to begin serving families very soon.