Shari has served in a variety of jobs in Washington and overseas over the course of her Foreign Service career. Shari has served in a variety of jobs in Washington and overseas over the course of her Foreign Service career. Her other overseas assignments have been in Songkhla, Thailand; Brasilia, Brazil; Quito, Ecuador; and Bogota, Colombia. Her assignments at the State Department in Washington have been as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs; Deputy Director of the Office of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam Affairs; Singapore and Indonesia desk officer; and in the Office of Investment Affairs. In addition, she spent a year at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii as Diplomat-in-Residence.

Shari graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in International Studies. She also has a law degree from William and Mary. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian.