Sharonlyn Harrison, PhD

CEO, Public Research and Evaluation Services
Former Associate Director of Research, Developmental Disabilities Institute
Wayne State University

Senior Project Consultant, Embedding Cultural Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence: A Guide for UCEDD Curricula and Training

Sharonlyn Harrison, Ph.D., is a former Associate Director of Research, Evaluation, and Information Dissemination for the Developmental Disabilities Institute (now known as the Center for Excellence in Disabilities), Wayne State University, Michigan’s UCEED, (10 years). At Wayne State, she developed comprehensive evaluation programs for a variety of organizations and initiatives (Minority Health Initiative, Early On Collaborative, State Improvement Grant). Dr. Harrison also developed a critical project, entitled, Building Cultural Competence in Michigan, Addressing the Unique Needs of Minorities with Disabilities. This project, which was funded by the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council, provided training and technical assistance to four sites in Michigan. Through her leadership, each site received extensive technical assistance for designing, implementing and evaluating efforts to improve culturally competent service delivery. A product of the project was a manual, authored by Dr. Harrison and entitled, Promising Approaches for Building Cultural Competence in Human Service and Advocacy Organizations. Part of Dr. Harrison’s information dissemination responsibilities included the development of the Developmental Disabilities Institute, first annual report. The report focused on empowering people with disabilities to initiate change and included findings from a university wide forum regarding cultural competence.