The Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services (MBVS) is pleased to announce Sarah Sherman, a native of Midcoast Maine, has been named the bureau’s director of strategic partnerships. Sherman has been serving in an interim capacity with the bureau since August of 2018.

Throughout her tenure with MBVS, Sherman has worked extensively on issues surrounding homeless and incarcerated veterans; has created numerous memorandums of understanding with our community partners; and has established relationships with populations of Maine veterans that have been previously under-served, including the Wabanaki tribes and LGBTQ veterans.  

“I believe that the bureau’s mission means that we have a duty to serve all veterans and I have worked very hard to improve the feeling of inclusiveness that MBVS offers to veterans and their families,” said Sherman. “Having the opportunity to continue this important work in a permanent capacity is an honor, and I’m looking forward to building off of the framework we have established.”

Sherman earned a B.A. in English with a minor in behavioral science, with honors, from the University of Maine at Augusta, and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University. She serves as a trustee for the Hendricks Hill Museum on Southport Island, is an Angel Volunteer for the Lincoln County Recovery Collaborative, and served as the scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 238 for ten years, where she mentored four Eagle Scouts.

“Sarah has been a tremendous asset to our agency,” said David Richmond, director of the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services. “Over the past year and a half, she’s shown a passion for serving Maine veterans and has developed many new partnerships in the community. We have highly skilled and dedicated people that work across the state, and she is certainly a valued member of the team.”

Like many Mainers, Sherman’s family has a long history of military service dating back to the Revolutionary War. Her father, Maurice A. Sherman, served as a forward observer for the U.S. Army during the Second World War, was wounded in Italy, and awarded the Purple Heart. Most recently, her nephew, Jack Sherman, served with the United States Marine Corps overseas.

To find the Veterans’ Services Office nearest to you, please visit maine.gov/veterans/veterans-services-offices

You can also call the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services at 207-430-6035 or visit their website www.maine.gov/veterans to learn more about available resources.