Sharon James

Managing Director, Acquisition Policy Directorate

Sharon D. James currently serves as the Managing Director to the Office of Acquisition Policy Directorate, as a member of the Senior Executive Leadership team within the Office of Global Acquisition at the U.S. Department of State. Ms. James began her career at the U.S. Department of State in 1993 serving at the United States mission to Ankara Turkey. Under limited appointments, she has served at several United States Embassies abroad to include Myanmar, Turkey, Korea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Chad. From July 2005 to July 2007, she served as the Management Officer to the U.S. Mission to N’Djamena Chad. During her tenure with the Office of the Procurement Executive’s Office of Acquisition Management (AQM), she served in several leadership positions to include Facilities Design and Construction Division and stood up the Diplomatic Security Contracts Division, leading legislation proposals that resulted in State Authorization 2017. On June 7, 2018, she received the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) Government Achievement Award, which honors leaders in the government contracting community who exemplify the ISOA ideals of accountability, transparency, and ethics. On July 21, 2017, she completed the Graduate School USA’s Senior Executive Service Leadership program. She holds a master’s degree in management studies and graduate certificate in government contracting at the University of Maryland, University College, and a FAC C Professional certification and has unlimited contracting authority. She is a member of the University of Maryland Graduate School Alumni, U.S. Department of State Mentoring Program, National Contract Management Association (NCMA), Ladies of Justice, Xtreme Kids Operations & Management, and supports Kids ‘R People Too homeless shelter drives in the District of Columbia. Sharon is married to retired foreign service Officer, Anthony James and has a daughter (Ashley) and a son (Antonio).