Sharon Snyder

Sharon currently serves as the Policy and Response Unit Chief at the ICE/Student and Exchange Visitor Program returning from a multi year detail at the DHS Office of Academic Engagement where she served as the Senior Advisor for International Education to the National Academic Advisory Council, a 22-member deliberative body selected by the Secretary of DHS.

Consisting of university presidents, chancellors, and presidents of national educational associations, the council considers issues in six broad areas and makes recommendations to the Department’s senior leadership. One of its subcommittees, charged to consider ways to enhance the resiliency of the country’s IHE, recommended a resiliency methodology for IHE. Sharon was the first National Program Manager for the Campus Resilience Initiative; its products included the launch of the first, online, interactive FEMA portal supporting >2M+ international students and 4700 IHEs (Institutions of Higher Education).

Her current portfolio includes the oversight of one of DHS’ largest and most prolific response centers that handles in in excess of two thousand calls per week with an above average satisfaction rating and a policy unit that develops guidance and regulations within a complex immigration environment that requires the collaboration with U.S. IHE.

“Highly articulate and persuasive: communication skills are exceptional, always crafted and flexible to suit the situation — a rare talent.” she has used that skill to build a network of communities and coalitions by focusing on inclusiveness and the building of long-term relationships that emphasize communities rather than silos. In the process she has focused on
communication and collaboration within inter-governmental partnerships and the non-governmental organization (NGO) community to drive shared vision, embrace common goals, develop scalable, imaginable, and creative solutions that deliver sustainable change.

Her efforts have been recognized by the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Interior that awarded her a scholarship to their premier Managing by Network Academy, and institutions of higher education, such as Yale University.

She is an ABD in Public Policy/National Security from the University of Southern California, has completed Strategic Foresight Training at the University of Houston, is a certified Whole Brain trainer and ombudsman and community activist.