Geralyn Sheehan has been a faculty member of the Asset Based Community Development Institute since 1994. Sheehan is bilingual in Spanish and has adapted community and leadership training for diverse communities and groups. Sheehan has worked in urban and rural settings in the United States and internationally. Sheehan’s belief is that community improvement only occurs when ideas and solutions are sustainable and born from community members’ own action.
As a faculty member, Sheehan has consulted, designed and delivered training and authored books for use by community & business leaders both in the USA and internationally. Sheehan authored the ABCD publication, “Building the Mercado Central: Asset Based Development & Community Entrepreneurship”. She also co-authored, “A Guide to Capacity Inventories: Mobilizing the Community Skills of Local Residents”. These books highlight examples of community members using asset-based approaches to lead change and improvements in their community. Sheehan taught asset-based community development at the Community Leadership Institute at the Center for Non-Profit Management, University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN.
Sheehan received her Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University. Sheehan also has a J.D. degree from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, MN. Sheehan was awarded a Fellowship in International Development through the Kellogg Foundation and Partners of the Americas in 1992 and was granted a Bush Leadership Fellowship in 1994 to further her studies in community and economic development at Harvard University.
Sheehan currently works with the United States Peace Corps as Country Director for Peace Corps - Guatemala. Before working for the Peace Corps, Sheehan worked for Opportunity International, a Christian microfinance organization, designing and directing their Community Economic Development (CED) model in Nicaragua. The CED approach combines business and community development strategies with a focus on local entrepreneurship as the asset to improve community outcomes.
Contact Information:
Cell: (612)438-5687
Work: (+502) 5203-8468