Since August 2012, Shirley has been the Executive of the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education, Inc. In 2009, She was appointed as the first African American to serve as USDA Georgia State Director of Rural Development. For twenty-four year beginning in 1985, Sherrod served as Director of the Georgia Field Office for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund. She has also served as Georgia State Lead for the Southern Rural Black Women's' Initiative for Economic and Social Justice. From 1999-2000, Sherrod served as Executive Director for Community Alliances of Interdependent Agriculture, Inc., in Albany, Ga. Sherrod has more than 30 years experience working with agriculture-focused organizations. Sherrod received a B.A. in Sociology from Albany State University in Albany, Ga., and a M.A. in Community Development from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio.