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2016 DOT Civil Rights Virtual Symposium Speaker Bios - Session 10

Speaking with One Voice: Accelerating Access to Opportunity

LGBT Workplace Inclusion

Sharon Alexander

Sharon Alexander works in the Washington Field Office of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she has served as an investigator in EEOC’s private sector enforcement program and is currently assigned as an Administrative Judge in the federal sector hearings program.  Prior to joining the Field Office, Sharon was a Special Assistant and Attorney Advisor to EEOC Commissioner and Acting Chair Stuart Ishimaru, and thereafter to EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien.  During six years working with the Commission, Sharon played key roles in the development of regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; the development of the Commission’s Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues, and the Commission’s work on Title VII’s sex discrimination provision as it pertains to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.  Sharon also helped to lead EEOC’s outreach to veterans with disabilities, and coordinated EEOC’s participation in the interagency National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force. 

Before joining the EEOC, Sharon’s practice focused on LGBT civil rights for seven years, first at the Human Rights Campaign and then at Service members Legal Defense Network.  Sharon is a graduate magna cum laude of the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in anthropology and political science.  She holds a J.D. and an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Colorado. 

She is a veteran of the United States Army, and is married with two daughters.

Last updated: Thursday, March 17, 2016