Sharon Tracey Barrett is a retired Superior Court Judge and a former Buncombe County District Court Judge. She currently serves as an Associate Judge and Justice for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and as an Emergency Superior Court Judge.

She graduated cum laude from Boston College in 1983 and received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986. She practiced law in Asheville with the firm of Patla, Straus, Robinson & Moore for nineteen years, focusing primarily on civil litigation, until she became a judge in 2005.

Through a practice called Barrett Resolutions, Sharon currently works as a mediator and arbitrator. She is a member of the North Carolina Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN.org). She mediates civil cases that would otherwise be decided in Superior Court or federal court, including most types of civil cases other than family law.

She was President of the Buncombe County Bar from 2002-2003 and also served terms as Secretary-Treasurer and as a member of the Grievance Committee, Pro Bono Committee, and Executive Committee. She received the Buncombe County Bar’s Pro Bono Award in 1996 and the Centennial Award in 2020.