Sharon Bonney
CEO
Sharon Bonney is the CEO of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), the leading national organization representing the field of adult education. Under her leadership, COABE has expanded from 1,300 members in 2009 to more than 100,000 members across 2,300 local programs, collectively serving 3.2 million learners nationwide.
Sharon has overseen the development of the world’s largest adult education conference and forged strategic partnerships with over 100 national, state, and workforce organizations. She has led numerous award-winning initiatives, including the Educate and Elevate public awareness campaign, which generated more than 250,000 contacts with policymakers and brought unprecedented visibility to the field. She also spearheaded the Move Ahead With Adult Ed campaign to help programs recover from pandemic-related enrollment declines, resulting in a significant increase in learner engagement across the country.
Through visionary leadership, coalition-building, and innovative programming, Sharon has helped position adult education as a vital component of the nation's talent pipeline and economic recovery.
She can be reached at sharonbonney@coabe.org.