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. She lives here with her children, and works as an instructional assistant at a local elementary school.
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. Sharon explored the possibility of fostering and adoption, but it was not the right time.
Sharon was motivated to do more. She researched ways to get the community involved and 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, in April 2021 she began the application process to open an affiliate location. Foster Village East TN officially launched in June of 2022 and has been growing ever since. Sharon became a licensed foster parent in July of 2023. Between her experience as a foster parent and working with families through Foster Village, Sharon is even more determined to continue the work of Foster Village East TN.