Sharon Lee is the founding Executive Director of the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), a non-profit organization based in Seattle founded in 1991. LIHI develops and operates housing for low-income and homeless people and provides supportive services to assist residents in maintaining stable housing and increasing self-sufficiency. Sharon oversees a staff of 250. LIHI staff has developed over 4,500 units of rental and homeownership housing for owns over 2,400 units for families, singles and those with special needs. She is an advocate for housing justice. LIHI has pioneered the creation of tiny houses villages to shelter over 1,000 homeless people per year.
Sharon holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of City Planning from M.I.T. and a B.A. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wilkes University for her work on ending homelessness. LIHI’s housing has won national and local awards for design excellence and environmental sustainability.