Sharon Callahan

Professional Bio

As part of Sharon’s degree program, she studied with Penn State at the Institute Universitaire de Technologie in Nice, France. She moved to Washington, D.C., after graduation, and in 1985, began a thirty-four-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency, where she had a diverse career spanning several mission areas, including Counterterrorism; Counterintelligence; Africa; East Asia; and Cyber. She served overseas in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and represented the Agency for two years at the FBI’s National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. She retired at the end of 2019 as an Executive Manager, receiving the Agency’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. Sharon currently works part-time as an instructor and mentor with the Agency’s new hires. She also completed a certification in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) and works with students from other countries who are learning English. She maintains proficiency in French, Spanish, and Italian, and enjoys participating as a mentor in the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program as well as serving as an alumni admissions volunteer for Penn State’s Undergraduate Admissions Office. Sharon is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Herndon, Virginia. She has a daughter, Emily, who graduated from Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications in 2018.