Sharon Bonney leads the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) as the Chief Executive Officer of the largest adult education association in the world. Celebrating her 26th year in the field of adult education, her accomplishments include implementing strategic and innovative strategies that led to exponential organizational growth from 1,300 members in 2009 to nearly 100,000 active members in 2025. She was the guiding force behind designing and implementing a state-of-the-art national conference model that delivers nearly 500 concurrent sessions and brings together thousands of educators, business leaders, and learners annually as well as developing new state, national, and workforce partnerships with more than 100 organizations, refocusing the organization’s research agenda, and designing all new membership offerings, including webinars that have engaged more than 50,000 participants. Bonney spearheaded the development of the internationally acclaimed, six-time award-winning Educate and Elevate public awareness campaign, which brought much-needed visibility to the value of adult education and prompted nearly 500,000 contacts with legislators at the local, state, and federal levels. These efforts staved off $200 million in funding cuts and added a $108 million increase in funding for adult education and led to the Salute to Association Excellence Award in 2025. In addition, Bonney successfully led a national two-time award-winning campaign, Move Ahead with Adult Ed, to increase enrollments in local adult education programs that were suffering enrollment declines due to the pandemic.

Mrs. Bonney currently serves on the board of the National Work Readiness Council and serves on the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association. She also serves on the US Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Board, and serves on numerous adult education boards and committees. She is a recipient of the Stevie Award which recognizes women in business, The Ladies of Literacy Award, and is a recipient of the prestigious 2025 Marquis Who’s Who Award.