MedShare

A.B. Short has served as CEO of MedShare since 1998, when he co-founded the non-profit organization in Decatur, Georgia. Under his guidance, MedShare has evolved into one of the leading medical supply recovery organizations in the United States. To date, MedShare has donated over $60 million worth of medical supplies and equipment to economically developing countries around the world.

From 1981-1998, Short dedicated his time to addressing poverty issues in the Atlanta area as an educator, advocate and service provider. He served as the Marketing Director for the Atlanta Community Food Bank in the early 1980s, working with donors, local and national producers, and distributors of food and food-related products. During this time, Short also initiated the founding of a hospitality ministry through a local church, launching the Community of Hospitality (COH) which later became a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a focus on homelessness issues. COH continues to this day.

Short turned his attention to feeding the homeless. With the help of Bob Freeman and others, he opened Café 458 in the summer of 1988. It was, and still is, a “by reservation only” restaurant for homeless people. The additional need for an alcohol and drug treatment program became obvious, so a group of treatment professionals and homeless individuals were assembled to determine what opportunities might be offered. The result was the creation of a small, long-term residential alcohol and drug treatment program called Café 458’s Recovery Program, now known as the Oakhurst Recovery Program.

Short has a B.A. and a Master’s in Sociology from Mississippi College and a Master’s of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He resides in Decatur, Georgia, with his wife, Ann Connor (Assistant Professor of Nursing at Emory University) and their daughter, Egan.  His son, Justin, and daughter-in-law, Jessica, reside in Bozeman, Montana.