Sharonne Salaam
Revson Fellow 2001-2002
Director
People United for Children
Sharonne Salaam, Director of People United for Children, received her B.A. from Empire State College and an A.A.S. from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Born in Alabama, Ms. Salaam had been working for fourteen years in the fashion design industry when her involvement in the Harlem community brought her to become a member of Mother Love, an organization dedicated to working with individuals and families from Harlem neighborhoods to raise awareness about the criminal justice system and to provide training in how to navigate the courts and legal system. Perceiving the need for a grassroots organization that could become a bridge between the community and incarcerated children, she founded People United for Children (PUC), which began the incorporation process in 1992. Elected chairperson, and later becoming executive director of PUC and working with volunteers from the Harlem community, Ms. Salaam focused the PUC’s efforts on children in prisons in the eastern region of New York State, over seventy percent of whom were legal residents of New York City. Serving seven hundred children in five facilities, PUC’s volunteers provided home-cooked meals, entertainment, and support in preparing children for life after prison. Galvanized by the organization, parents forged a campaign to fight against abusive prison conditions, including the practice of extended solitary confinement for children. By 1996, responding to the needs of community families, PUC had become one of the community’s best-informed advocates for foster care children, providing support for parents of children in foster care who were struggling in court to bring their families together again. In 1998, PUC initiated a class action lawsuit against the City of New York for the removal of children from their parents without investigation. A recipient of numerous awards for her work, Ms. Salaam has also been a member of Community Board 10 in Central Harlem for four years. During her Revson year, Ms. Salaam focused on marketing, management, and media in order to further develop PUC’s outreach programs and expand its capacity to serve the community. Ms. Salaam took courses at the School of Social Work and at Teachers College in photography.
(The Revson Fellow’s biography that appears above was last updated in 2001. Revson Fellows may update their biographies on this site by sending email to: revson@columbia.edu)
The Revson experience is as rejuvenating as it is enriching. It widens our individual networks considerably and allows each of us the opportunity to be both a teacher and a learner. For many of us, the Program restores balance in our lives and renews our sense of commitment for the long haul.
