Title: Research Associate Professor Emerita
Company: University of Illinois at Chicago
Location: Wilmette, Illinois, United States
Sharon Telleen, PhD, Research Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in public health and academia.
Desiring to work with children from a young age, Dr. Telleen often spent time with community groups in order to create a supportive environment. Deciding thereafter to delve into psychology, she attended Augustana College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in education and a minor in psychology in 1968. Receiving a Master of Education from the University of Maryland at College Park the following year, she worked for several years as a public school teacher in New York, Michigan and Illinois before joining the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1984.
Drawing upon a prior Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Maryland at College Park, Dr. Telleen served as a research associate professor from 1984 until attaining emerita status in 2011. Since 1982, she has also been a researcher and licensed psychologist in the State of Illinois. In 2026, she contributed as a panelist at the Inaugural Research Symposium at the Center on Aging in the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Dr. Telleen excelled on the board of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northwestern University as an officer from 2014 to 2020 and a member from 2022 to 2027.
Contributing more than 70 publications throughout her career, including collaborative research through the American Public Health Association, Dr. Telleen authored “Transition from Welfare to Work: Challenges and Outcomes.” She has maintained affiliation with the American Psychological Association, the Chicago Health Policy Research Council and Delta Omega, and sat on the board of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health between 1989 and 1993. A former resident co-chair in the Health and Well-being Partnership Advisory Committee for the Asbury Methodist Village Retirement Community between 2023 and 2026, Dr. Telleen has participated as both the chair for the Continuing Care Committee for the Asbury Chapter for Maryland Continuous Care Retirement Communities and an affiliate research associate faculty member for the Center on Aging in the University of Maryland School of Public Health since 2025.
Attributing her success to her supportive family, including her husband, children and parents, Dr. Telleen is especially proud of receiving many grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. As a testament to her stellar achievements, she was presented with a Distinguished Service Award from Northwestern University Lutheran Campus Ministry in 2022. Looking toward the future, she intends to continue mentoring others, conducting research and writing.
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