Children's foundation names new CEO

SARASOTA — A new all star has joined a local children’s foundation in the form of a CEO. 

Sharon Ghazarian was appointed by the All Star Children’s Foundation board to the position after serving as the foundation’s chief research officer since July 2020. 

“Ghazarian has brought a wealth of expertise, education and vision to All Star that has taken us to new levels,” says Graci McGillicuddy, All Star Children’s Foundation’s co-founder
and board chair, in a press release. “She offers valuable experience from a variety of perspectives, including behavioral health, public health, social sciences and hospital medicine. We feel lucky and grateful that she will be leading All Star into its bright future.”

Ghazarian was the former senior director for health informatics at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. 

“Answering the call to lead All Star is an honor and a privilege,” Ghazarian says. “I hope to build upon the incredible foundation that has been created here and help the organization become a true leader in addressing childhood trauma, not only for Sarasota, but across the state and country. I am truly humbled by this opportunity.”

Ghazarian’s background includes being a research methodologist and an expert in complex statistical analysis and research processes for medical, behavioral, and social sciences. Throughout her career, she’s pursued methodological advances in health care data, with a particular focus on pediatric development. 

The release also states that Ghazarian has contributed to the field of parenting behaviors, parent-child relationships and family dynamics by applying robust techniques to examine mechanisms by which parenting and family interactions affect child and adolescent outcomes. 

During her time at All Star, Ghazarian has provided leadership and oversight for the research department and served as the data security and privacy officer for all aspects of data entry, collection and storage, the release states. 

All Star has completed its five-acre Campus of Hope and Healing on 17th Street in Sarasota, which includes a clinical treatment center, six family foster homes, a playground, gardens and a clubhouse. The project has been partially funded under an agreement with the Florida Department of Children and Families.