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Charlene L. Aguilar
Senior Partner
South Bend IN USA
Get in TouchFollowing a rich and varied professional career at institutions that have community impact, Charlene L. Aguilar draws on her deep expertise in search practices bolstered by her career experiences to identify mission-driven, strategic, and resilient leaders who are prepared to meet the demands of today’s landscape for academic organizations across the higher education landscape as well as non-profits and Federally Qualified Health Centers. She has focused on search assignments for senior executives across the C-Suite for more than a decade and is adept at identifying transformational leaders for public and private institutions, including colleges, universities, and health systems. Her perspective is enriched by service on national and local nonprofit boards dedicated to advancing social impact with a lens of inclusion and excellence. Charlene has received multiple firmwide quality awards in recognition of her striving to meet clients’ needs, support for candidates, and standards of excellence while exemplifying firm values of honesty, integrity, and transparency.
Before joining WittKieffer in 2015, Charlene held numerous senior administrative leadership positions. As director of undergraduate education initiatives and special assistant to the executive vice provost at the University of Washington, she also served on the executive council of the Latina Faculty and Professional Staff Group for UW including associated Professional Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Law, and Dentistry. Previously at Stanford University, she served as associate director for an interdisciplinary research center focused on the intersections of public health, humanities, and social science research involving LatinX and broader communities. She supported and participated in fundraising initiatives for research and scholarships, garnering national and local grants from the National Science Foundation, Ford, Rockefeller, Irvine, and private family foundations. In addition, Charlene was director of undergraduate admissions at Santa Clara University; served on the dean’s leadership cabinet at the University of Chicago Law School; and was responsible for steering several initiatives to drive a culture and climate of belonging for students, staff, and faculty at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Charlene is a trusted advisor as she engages in collective partnership with others in the communities where she lives – an active advocate in public service locally and nationally. Across noteworthy volunteer roles, she has provided insights on strategic governance, policy, and programs as a trustee of diverse non-profits and community foundations. Currently, she is on the board for St. Joseph High School in South Bend, Indiana, and led their 2030 strategic planning process. She served more than ten years in varying capacities, including Board Chair, for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. In addition, she has completed Cornell University’s Dialogue for Change Certificate, a cohort-based professional program focused on human connection, social identity, intergroup dialogue, spheres of influence, allyship, and privilege.
Distinctions
Board Member, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
WittKieffer Quality Award Winner
WittKieffer Values Award Winner
Education
Ed.M., Administration, Planning and Social Policy, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA
B.A., Cultural Anthropology & Communication Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
eCornell Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion
Expertise
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Provosts, Deans and Academic Leadership
Vice Presidents and Officers