Sharmain Matlock-Turner is the CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition. She began her tenure in March 1999 with the special distinction of being the first woman to lead the Coalition. The Urban Affairs Coalition, formerly GPUAC, unites government, business, neighborhoods, and individual initiative to improve the quality of life in the region, build wealth in urban communities, and solve emerging issues. In partnership with a diverse Board of Directors, made up of business, nonprofit and community leaders, Ms. Matlock-Turner and her team of managers and nearly 450 employees create partnerships and build consensus to help families reduce poverty and reach the middle class. The organization’s efforts are focused in four areas: improving life chances for youth and young adults; building wealth in low income communities; forging strategic partnerships and strengthening the nonprofit sector through fiscal sponsorship. The organization has successfully managed more than $1B in public and private funds over its 50+ year history.
Ms. Matlock-Turner is co-founder and chair emeritus of the 24-year-old West Oak Lane Charter School. In addition, she serves on the following boards and committees: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Board of Directors; Peirce College Board of Trustees; PECO Board of Directors; .Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Philadelphia Civil Service Commission Nominating Panel; Philadelphia Equity Alliance; Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia; Uplift Solutions; Philadelphia Council for College and Career Success; Street Soccer PHL; Read by 4th; Foundations Inc. National Advisory Board; United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Greater Philadelphia Mentoring Collaborative; Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia Regional Strategy and Leadership Committee; Public Citizens for Children and Youth Advisory Council; AmerisourceBergen Foundation External Advisory Committee; Philadelphia Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee; The Philadelphia Foundation’s On the Table Steering Committee; SEPTA Reimagining Regional Rail Stakeholder Advisory Committee; Thomas Jefferson Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) Committee; Pyramid Club Board of Governors; Cranaleith Spiritual Center President’s Council; Regional Advisory Board & Consumer and Business Affairs Committee; Mayor Kenney’s Workforce Development Steering Committee; Keystone Health Education Committee; and the Independence Health Group Advisory Board for Consumer and Business Affairs.. She was appointed by Gov. Wolf to serve on the PA Redistricting Reform Commission, and the Census 2020 Complete Count Commission. She was also appointed by Philadelphia City Council to co-chair its Special Commission on Poverty Reduction & Prevention. She is a founding member of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors. She co-chairs the Draw the Lines PA East Steering Committee.
Ms. Matlock-Turner has received numerous awards including the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Diversity and Inclusion Award and the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award. She is often asked to speak to local, regional, and national organizations.
Ms. Matlock-Turner holds a BS degree in Education from Temple University. In 2005, she was one of three Philadelphia nonprofit leaders selected to receive a scholarship to the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. In 2014 she received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Peirce College. She is a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute for Government.
She is a Philadelphia resident and is married to Anthony “Tony” Turner with two grown daughters, Ayanna Matlock and Naima Fleming, and is the grandmother of Joshua Matlock Hale.