About Linda Clark-Santos
Linda Clark-Santos has devoted her life and her career to building for the future. She believes passionately in the power of continuous learning to transform lives and to realize dreams. Early in her career, Linda was a teacher in the public schools of Oregon and Idaho before moving to the faculty at Boise State University. She later served as the Dean of Continuing Education at Central Washington University. She earned an undergraduate degree from Oregon State University, a Master's degree from Boise State University, and Ph.D. from the University of Idaho.
Linda’s corporate career began in Boise, Idaho, at Ore-Ida Foods, an affiliate of HJ Heinz. At Ore-Ida she served as the General Manager of Organizational Development and Employment. In the early 90’s Linda and her family moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she worked as the Director of Human Resources Development at H-E-B Grocery Company. While at H-E-B, she built their leadership development capability and streamlined their company-wide training function with a sharp focus on ensuring return on investment and building for the future. In the late 1990’s, Linda joined Starbucks Coffee Company in the role of Vice President of Learning & Organizational Development. In 2000, she was recruited by Washington Mutual to build their Organizational Capability function from the ground up—which included leadership & executive development, organizational effectiveness, talent management, recruitment, human resources communication, performance management and employer branding. She was also responsible for the design and operation of a world-class residential leadership development center called Cedarbrook, which was built on an 18-acre campus just south of Seattle.
From 2000 to 2006, Linda served first as a member and then as the Chair of the Board of Advisors for the College of Business and Economics at Central Washington University. In 2005, Linda was invited to offer the keynote address at the commencement for CWU. In the address—which she describes as a “peak experience” that engaged her heart as a teacher and her mind as a business leader--Linda reflected on what a college degree truly stands for in terms of perseverance, sacrifice and vision for the future.
In 2006, Linda and her family returned to the Boise area where she bases her consulting practice.