Linda Smith Charles ’74 is the deputy director and chief operations officer in the Office of Human Resources at the Ford Foundation. In this capacity, she is responsible for human resources departmental administration; management and coordination of departmental tactical needs; and the development, implementation and management of all human resources policies and technology needs. She is the principal liaison between New York and the foundation’s 12 globally deployed offices for all human resources matters. Additionally, she serves as the foundation’s chief employee relations contact and is responsible for the development and implementation of foundation-wide training and professional development, performance management, and consultant contract management. Charles joined the foundation in November 1998. Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, she was employed with AT&T in New Jersey. During her extensive career with AT&T, Charles held various management positions in human resources, billing operations, network services, marketing, finance, and tariff and regulatory support. At the time of her departure from AT&T, she was director of human resources for corporate professional services, which consisted of four organizations, including law and government affairs, public relations, corporate strategy, and the human resources organization. In this capacity, Charles was the senior human resources strategic business partner to the executive management of the four corporate professional services organizations and led human resources support teams responsible for the development and implementation of all human resources disciplines. Charles graduated from Smith with a degree in psychology and has pursued graduate studies at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. She has volunteered her services on a variety of Smith alumnae committees and currently serves as a member of the college’s board of trustees as well as an advisor to the board of the Black Alumnae of Smith College (BASC) affinity group. Charles also serves as a trustee of the board of Marylawn of the Oranges Academy in South Orange, New Jersey.