Gleason, Sharon L., 1957-

Sharon Louise Gleason (born October 24, 1957) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. She is the first female judge to serve in the District of Alaska.

Gleason earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979 from Washington University in St. Louis. She earned a Juris Doctor in 1983 from UC Davis School of Law. Gleason worked from 1983 until 1984 as a law clerk to then-Chief Justice Edmond Burke of the Alaska Supreme Court. She became a member of the Alaska state bar in 1984.

From 1979 to 1980 she was a waitress for a street restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1980 she was an intern for the Conservation Law Foundation. From 1981 to 1982 she was an intern at the Office of Energy Assessments within the California Department of General Services. In the summer and fall of 1982 she was an intern at the Graham & James LLP. From 1981 to 1983 she was a teaching assistant at the University of California, Davis.

From 1984 until 1995, Gleason worked at the law firm Reese, Rice and Volland in Alaska. She then served as a sole legal practitioner from 1995 until 2001, when she was appointed to the Alaska Superior Court. She then was retained by Alaska voters in 2004 and 2010. She is a former musician and member of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra.

On April 6, 2011, President Obama nominated Gleason to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska to a vacancy that had been created by Judge John W. Sedwick taking senior status in March 2011. The nomination occurred on the recommendation of U.S. Sen. Mark Begich. On September 8, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported her nomination to the Senate floor by voice vote. The United States Senate confirmed Gleason in an 87–8 vote on November 15, 2011. She received her commission on January 4, 2012.

Gleason, Sharon Louise,
Born 1957 in Rochester, NY.

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
Nominated by Barack Obama on April 6, 2011, to a seat vacated by John W. Sedwick. Confirmed by the Senate on November 15, 2011, and received commission on January 4, 2012.

Education:
Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., 1979.
University of California, Davis, School of Law, J.D., 1983.

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Edmond Wayne Burke, Alaska Supreme Court, 1983-1984.
Private practice, Anchorage, Alaska, 1984-2001.
Judge, Alaska Superior Court, 2001-2011; presiding judge, Third Judicial District, 2009-2011.