Sharon is Director of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, a project of the Vermont Council on Rural Development which is working with more than 35 Vermont towns impacted by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene. Prior to her current role, she was a marketer for 18 years, including 13 in the U.S. telecommunications industry. Sharon has a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and two M.A.s, one in Applied Economics and one in East Asian Studies (China), from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. An avid volunteer and community leader, Sharon is a board member of the LPCTV Community Access Television Station in Ludlow, Vermont and presently serves as Secretary. Her parents, Bill and Ruth Combes, have operated the Combes Family Inn in Ludlow for more than 35 years. Sharon graduated as valedictorian of Black River High School in 1986 and lives in Ludlow with her husband, writer Bruce Farr. She is currently writing a memoir that is not yet titled.