Dr. Sharp was born in Virginia, but raised in Syracuse, New York. He spent his youth exploring the countryside of rural upstate New York and developing a love of parks and protected areas. His father, an earth science teacher, would take him to National Parks and National Forests during the summer to hike and camp. These trips planted the seed for his ultimate choice of profession: to teach and conduct research related to parks and protected areas.

Dr. Sharp has held positions at Acadia National Park in Maine, and as a visitor use specialist with the National Park Service Denver Planning Division. These experiences have informed his research and teaching, and have allowed him to provide students with an inside look at parks and protected areas management.

Dr. Sharp strives to encourage students to expand their thought processes, and to help them develop critical thinking skills. Helping the student connect the importance of the material to their own lives and their own context is the ultimate goal.

He enjoys visiting parks with his wife and two children in his free time.

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

-Aldo Leopold