Sharon G. Ridley, MSW, LCSW is the Executive Director for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She is responsible for oversight of programs that promote small business participation in VA procurements, with special emphasis on Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.
Prior to her position with OSDBU, Ms. Ridley served as the Executive Director Network Support, leading initiatives to advance Secretary of Veterans Affairs priorities. Reporting directly to the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management/Chief Operating Officer of the largest integrated health care system in the nation ($70B budget, 1250 sites of care, and more than 300,000 employees). As Executive Director Network Support she provided health care operations guidance and information on strategic initiatives to regional leadership including 18 Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) directors and 172 medical center directors.
Ms. Ridley previously served for six years as Chief Operating Officer in the VHA Procurement and Logistics Office, providing primary support to the chief officer, whose responsibilities included leadership and oversight to approximately 2,800 contracting and logistics professionals. She supervised a staff of 27 and provided oversight for budget and fiscal responsibilities (in excess of $308M), human resources, the Chicago-based Data Collection and Extraction Program, and many other management functions.
Earlier, she was a Health System Specialist in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management. Past VA experiences included serving as the Administrative Officer for the Geriatric Rehabilitative and Extended Care Center at VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, where she provided a broad range of administrative functions including consultation, support, resolution of staffing issues, and oversight and approval of the budget. She also served as Business Operations Manager for the VHA Employee Education System. Earlier, she worked in VA’s National Cemetery Administration headquarters and as a psychiatric social worker at VA Loma Linda Healthcare System.
Before joining VA, Ms. Ridley served as Director, U.S. Navy Family Service Center, Sasebo, Japan. She provided a broad range of community services for a population of approximately 6,000 military service members and their families. Ms. Ridley directed programs for a multi-service organization, which included 13 core technical programs.
Ms. Ridley is a proven leader with a broad range of successful work experiences with Veterans, military members, civilians and contractors, across the country and internationally. She has over 22 years of experience leading clinical and administrative programs, both internal and external to the federal government, at the national level and in the field.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Tuskegee University and a Master of Science degree in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University. She is licensed by the Florida Clinical Board of Social Work Examiners and is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.
