Dr. Sharon Gonzalez is the founder and CEO of Blacklining Inc Foundation. Dr. Gonzalez possess a Ph. D in Adult Education and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker.

The idea of Blacklining was forged in the mind of Dr. Gonzalez during the 80’s. First generation New York, from a family that migrated from Charleston South Carolina. Dr. Gonzalez grew up in a tenement building in Harlem. The conditions of this building were deplorable, no heat, no hot water, no lights in the hallway and infestation of rodents.

In the late 70s New York City initiated the Housing Development Fund Corporation, (HDFC) to convert derelict apartments into low-income co-ops. The first step to enter this program was through the Tenement Interim Lease. In 1980 the  tenants of Avondale Apartment Building entered the Tenant Interim Lease Program (TIL).  Through guidance from TIL, attending  numerous workshops, and setting up governance rules and regulation, Avondale Apartment Building successfully completed the program and became a HDFC, a low-income co-op.   

As a result of witnessing these events of tenants simply fighting for a decent quality of life and in order to accomplish, the tenant had to control their destiny and become landlords of their domain. Redlining had categorized Harlem as unworthy and the landlords of buildings in Harlem treated the tenants as if they were unworthy or decency. 

Dr Gonzalez pursued a career in teaching to educate and the second career as a Real Estate Broker to help people understand the importance of homeownership.  The combination of teaching and doing real estate, and working with people, manifested itself into the conception of Blacklining Foundation Inc.