Sharon M. Duker was born and raised in Albany, New York. She attended Siena College,
where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1976, with a major in
Accounting. She obtained her New York State Certified Public Accounting (CPA) license in
1979, which she maintains to this day. Sharon spent her early professional career as an
accountant. She worked at several well-respected firms from Albany to Cambridge,
England, including Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG); Deloitte, Haskins & Sells (now
Deloitte); and J.L. JeTreys Chartered Accountancy. In 1985, Sharon left public accounting
to take a position in financial reporting at Norstar Bancorp.
Sharon and her husband, Bill (to whom she has now been married for 49 years) had their
first and only child, West, in 1987. While raising their son, Sharon was an active parent
volunteer at The Doane Stuart School and managed various family businesses from home.
Her time volunteering at Doane Stuart inspired her to further her involvement in the
community, specifically in the field of education. In 2009, Sharon began teaching an
introductory business and personal finance course to high school students at Doane
Stuart. This experience led Sharon to seek a formal teaching qualification, and she earned
her M.S. in Education, with a concentration in adolescence business and marketing, from
The College of Saint Rose in 2015. Sharon went on to become Interim Head of School at
Doane Stuart from 2018 to 2019. She also served as a Board member at the school from
2005 to 2022, including six years as President of the Board of Trustees.
Sharon has served on the Board of several other local institutions, including as a trustee for
The College of Saint Rose from 2017 until its closure in 2025. She and her family are also
supporters of the athletics program at UAlbany.
In addition to education, Sharon and her family are passionate advocates of healthcare,
especially for children. Since 2014, Sharon has served on the Board of the Albany Med
Health System, where she currently holds the role of Chair of the Finance Committee, as
well as one of the Vice Chairs of the Board.