Anyone who has entered into the office space of North Dakota United’s headquarters in Bismarck — be they an employee, one of our members, or even just a random person off the streets, looking for guidance — in the past three decades has usually know who to go to, straightaway. If you need a helping hand, a clever solution to a vexing problem, or simply a friendly face who will always make you feel welcome, you simply must knock on the office door of Ellie Sharbono.
“That means a whole lot to me and makes me feel really good, if people feel that way, and they trust me,” Sharbono said, when told she had earned a sterling reputation for providing such steady, dependable service. “I always like to help …”
After 33 years of service, our longtime office manager is now retiring. Behind her, she is leaving a long legacy that has been built on trust, kindness and unwavering dedication to members of our union.
“Ellie is just going to be so hard to replace,” said NDU President Nick Archuleta. “Over the past 33 years, Ellie has woven herself into the tapestry of North Dakota United. Her innumerable contributions to the organization and her selfless dedication to our members stand as a testament to the seriousness with which she did her work.
Quote byNick Archuleta , ND United President
To properly tell Ellie’s story, we should start from the beginning. Sharbono’s journey with the organization began in the early 1990s, with the North Dakota Education Association, when she took a temporary job that quickly became something more.
“When I came to work here as a temp, it just kind of felt like it fit, to me,” she said. “I didn’t realize at the time, but I was pretty aligned with everything this way. This is what I believe, you know — in public education and our union.”
That initial fit turned into a career that spanned more than three decades, during which Ellie wore many hats, supported countless staff, and played a role in nearly every major event and project that our union undertook.
From stuffing envelopes in her early days with NDEA, to managing Delegate Assemblies, Teachers Conventions and board meetings, Sharbono has become known for her reliability and calm exterior when under pressure. She was the person who could connect the dots and keep things moving, no matter how chaotic things got.
“I just kind of feel like I can’t even say what I do sometimes because I do so many different things, and you never know who’s going to come through that door, next,” she said. “So, I’m just ready. I want to help people like that, and I want to make sure that we do the best that we can. Because we want to be our best for our people.”
“We’ve gone through good and bad, personal and professional, and it really did become like a family.”
Ellie Sharbono, NDU Office Manager who is retiring after 33 years
Her work ethic was not about recognition or titles. It was about finishing the job and doing it well. “My favorite [part was] finishing projects,” Sharbono said. “Some things were so hard, and then you finish it, and it’s really a nice rush when you finish the big project.”
But for Ellie, the work was never just about projects and deadlines. It was about people.
“I really did like the member connection,” she said. “I really like the staff, definitely all of the people that I’ve gotten to know. We’ve gone through good and bad, personal and professional, and it really did become like a family.”
Her compassion extended to members as well as colleagues. “If anything, I hope that I could have made things easier for them in what they’re doing,” Sharbono said. “Thank you for letting me do that.”
Ellie admits it feels surreal to finally close this chapter. “This has been so much of my life that this is just a really… I feel strange right now, just trying to clean all this stuff out,” she said. “It’s like something that I never thought would come. But it came.”
And so, North Dakota United members and staff must now bid farewell to not only our office manager, but to a friend, a colleague and the kind of person whose dedication can never be replaced — only remembered with supreme gratitude. Thank you, Ellie!
