Dr. Sharen Ford is the program director for Focus on the Family’s adoption and orphan care efforts. In this role, she helps raise awareness of the need for adoptive families to provide loving and stable homes for the more than 100,000 waiting children in the U.S. foster care system.  Ford has spoken at a variety of conferences on adoption and orphan care issues including the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) annual conference, Bethany Christian Services’ annual conference, the White House Conference on Adoption and the Federal Children’s Bureau Child Welfare Conference. Ford has won a number of awards including the Paul Singer Award from the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute; the Adoption Activist Award from the North American Council for Adoptable Children; the Adoption Excellence Award from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services; and the Minority Adoption Leadership Development Institute Award. Ford received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Benedictine College, a Master of Education from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and holds a doctorate in counseling psychology from Cornerstone University. Married since 1991, Ford lives in Aurora, Colorado, with her husband.