It is our pleasure to introduce to some and reacquaint others with our well-known community advocate Sharon McDonald Evans. Sharon McDonald Evans is a proud native of Fayetteville NC. She is Lumbee and African American and takes great pride in her heritage. Sharon is a graduate of the well-known historically black High School EE Smith (1984), has a BS in School & Community Health from East Carolina University, a MA Ed in Health Education from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. from Walden University in Education Leadership Policy and Change. She has two beautiful adult children Martina Evans Brooks and Myles Evans as well as three beautiful granddaughters Sophia, Madison, and Macey (all provided by her son Myles) along with one grandson (Hudson) on the way via her daughter Martina.
Sharon fell in love with the southern hospitality and charm of Eastern NC and decided to make Greenville home more than 37 years ago. Simply put she loved it here… she loves the people, she loves the community work, she loves the fellowship and connections, more importantly, she loves calling Eastern NC home and embracing the spirit of the East.
Sharon has a unique professional history through her work in school and public health. She has worked as a teacher at an at-risk school (Agnes Fullilove) where she coordinated the teenage pregnancy and health program for young moms; the mothers brought their children to school with them to on-site daycare, received check-ups at the school health clinic operated by the ECU School of Medicine and she taught health, childcare, as well as life skill classes. She has also spent time in the school system serving as an educational liaison for a special project with Florence Crittenton Maternity Home for pregnant adolescents and she was a special education teacher for Willie M students (most aggressive behaviors). As her career advanced, she spent most of her time as a public health program supervisor nurturing and creating infant mortality programs in 7 counties throughout the state while managing a 1.7-million-dollar budget yearly and supervising staff at local health departments. Her expertise with creating and implementing programs targeted at saving the lives of at-risk infants has aided NC with reducing the number of infants dying in the state yearly. Sharon has also had an affinity for Mental Health issues which coincided with community health problems and has worked as a Qualified Mental Health professional and owned a girls group home in Eastern NC. She has worked with HIV and Ryan White programs via making policy changes for HIV-positive patients and has worked with 3rd and 4th-year medical students as well as nurse-midwives through the Standardized Patient Program teaching Medical Students how to do patient education. Her charisma, leadership skills, advocacy, and connections lead her to become a Co-Principal Community Investigator with a 5 site National Study conducted by the NIH based at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine to study Poor Birth Outcomes for 5 years in NC. Although she has contributed a lot to the state of NC in the field of public health, she has still managed to give more through her work with the NC Justice Center coordinating their EPSDT Medicaid for Children program.
Sharon is politically involved on a national and local level. She is a well-known as a political strategist and consultant serving on numerous campaigns; to name a few she has worked for the Obama Campaign Organizing for America-OFA, served on the African American committee for the Biden campaign, served as a surrogate for Governor Roy Cooper, Political Advisor for Faris Dixon -current Pitt County District Attorney, still serving as the lead strategist and advisor for Representative Kandie Smith, worked with Senator Don Davis, worked with Hoke County commissioner Allen Thomas as well as the Former Mayor of Greenville Allen Thomas for a congressional seat, served as a local Democratic Party secretary for 8 years and her greatest political accomplishment consisted of serving as the campaign manager (past and current) for the 1st and only African American Female Sheriff In the State of NC for Pitt County Sheriff Paula Dance. Sharon enjoys making the impossible possible and has provided insight for many other campaigns in NC, VA, NJ, and FL. She enjoys the political arena and challenges. More importantly, she embraces her innate desire to promote and excel women with their political aspirations, leadership roles, and career paths. Sharon is also a racial diversity trainer and trains other trainers in the state.
She has several consulting projects and a team of comrades who make her execution flawless. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and enjoys it fully with her legacy Martina Evans Brooks. It’s no secret that Sharon supported, met, and collaborated with our Vice President Kamala Harris, her sorority sister which she is exuberantly proud of.