Deputy Director Sharp

CHRO Deputy Director Cheryl Sharp

Cheryl Sharp was appointed as the Deputy Director of the State of Connecticut, Commission on Human Rights on July 4, 2014, and serves as the second in command in the oldest governmental, civil rights agency in the nation. Prior to her appointment, she served as a litigation Attorney within the CHRO's legal department for over twenty years. She represents the state in the prosecution of complaints of discrimination before the CHRO's Office of Public Hearings and in state and federal court. She has argued before various Connecticut courts including appearances before the Connecticut Supreme Court and has negotiated millions of dollars in settlements between parties. She is a certified mediator. She represents the CHRO in the Connecticut Safe School's Coalition and the CT Racial Profiling Working Group. She is a member of the Commission on Racial & Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System. She was a sitting member on the legislative "Fair Housing Choice Impediments to Fair Housing" task force. She is responsible for organizing the agency's education and outreach programs and reporting the outreach efforts to a nine member Commission. She is a trainer for the CHRO's Business Training Institute. She authored an article "Sweet Land of Liberty: The treatment of Muslims in CT through the Lens of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities" which was published in 2012, by the University of Connecticut School of Law's Public Interest Law Journal. She has sat on various panels including: "One Nation Under the Law" and "The Disparate Impact" panel at the University of CT School of Law; and the ADA panel and antibullying panel at the Civil Rights Conference for the U.S. Department of Justice. For her expertise in political involvement and civic engagement, she was selected to give the keynote address for the UCONN Model United Nations 2024 opening ceremony. She is a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where she serves on the Diversity Working Group. Further, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Scandinavian School of Jersey City, a non-profit organization that focuses on the Emilia Reggio approach to education and enrichment and on the Board of the National Association of Multi-Cultural Education. She has also served as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She is a Board Member of the Ball and Socket Arts Place. She has also served on various panels for the CT Bar Association, including being a panelist for Attorneys practicing who are neurodivergent.

In 2017, she was named Woman of the Year by the Commission on Equity and Opportunity. In 2015, she was recognized by the International Association of Human Rights Agencies for her work to promote civil and human rights law and equality. She was recognized by the CT Law Tribune as one of the dozen who made a difference for her work raising public awareness about civil and human rights. Further, she was recognized by the CT Law Tribune as a "Lawyer of Color High Achiever". She was also named as one of the Connecticut NAACP's 100 most influential black people in Connecticut. She has developed several programs to increase students' awareness about civil and human rights laws including the statewide CT Kids' Court Competition and Kid's Speak; Kids Court Academy and a documentary "Inclusion: students looking beyond the ADA". She was an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University in the Political Science Department for six years.

She received her Business degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, attended Women's Campaign School at Yale University, received her law degree from UCONN School of Law, and her Bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University.

Her honors include membership to the Phi Delta Phi Honor Society, the Nutmeg Volunteerism Award, The National Sojourner Truth Award for the Advancement of Women, and The HUD's Best Practices Award for development of Kids Court.