George Sherman's body was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. His sense of adventure was born in Lewiston, Idaho. His mind was born in Spokane, Washington, at Gonzaga University, where he earned his BA with a major in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy and Theology. His professional life was born at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned a M.Ed. in Exceptional Education. George's soul was born in New Mexico at the insistence of a Pueblo Judge. After serving a year in VISTA, George worked in residential services for a wide variety of clients in many different states. He has spent over 30 years working with residential and direct service organizations constructing learning and ethical communities. He was a Behavior Specialist for Pinellas County Schools for 17 years before his retirement, where he helped develop the Character Education program Commitment to Character which recently won a national award. One aspect of this effort included working with nearly 50 schools to develop ethical environments. Mr. Sherman remains involved in the implementation of character education programs in Pinellas County Schools as a volunteer trainer. George has been an adjunct at USF St. Petersburg for several years. Presently he is an Adjunct in the Ethics Department at St. Petersburg College. He serves on the county wide Commitment to Character Resource Team, and the steering committee for the Ethics Bowl. George is a board member and communications coordinator for Earth Charter US, an ethical framework for a Global sustainable world. He is also a co director of the COPE Project, a cooperative effort between Earth Charter US and the Workers Education Association of Zambia that has the goal of eliminating rural poverty in Zambia in 20 years without having to go through the carbon economy.
email: gsherman2@tampabay.rr.com
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2009.