Ardine Williams
Ardine Williams received her B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University and completed the executive program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Her passion lies at the nexus of workforce and economic development, while her professional experience ranges from middle school teacher to corporate venture capital.
In 2014, Amazon recruited Williams out of retirement to scale talent acquisition for the rapidly growing Amazon Web Services cloud computing business. Her work as vice president of talent acquisition helped grow the organization from 4,400 to more than 28,000 employees in just over two years. She moved into a newly created role as vice president of people operations for Amazon’s logistics business in 2017. Two years later, Williams relocated to Washington, D.C., to serve as vice president for workforce development, focusing on Amazon’s HQ2 in Virginia.
As vice president, she advised businesses across Amazon on talent attraction and development. She focused on accelerating the company's initiative to re-train 350,000 employees by 2025 for careers in high-demand fields. She also worked closely with community and state leaders to grow a strong talent pipeline for the region and to ensure educational pathways include the digital skills necessary for the careers of today and tomorrow. Williams also served on the Washington Education Investment Oversight and Accountability Board and the Greater Washington, D.C., Partnership CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business) Advisory Board.
Before Amazon, Williams served from 1997 to 2014 at Intel Corporation in multiple executive roles ranging from product management to corporate venture capital to enterprise services. Most recently, she served as vice president of human resources enterprise services. Prior to her time at Intel, Williams worked in the NetServer Division of Hewlett Packard and in various positions for Behring Company.
A U.S. Army veteran, Williams is known for her work in recruiting military veterans and their spouses. She served as the executive sponsor for American Veterans at Intel and represented the company in meetings about veterans’ issues and immigration with multiple government agencies. Williams was also a member of the White House's Joining Forces Initiative industry working team and the President's Job Council working team. Among her many accolades is a Seven Seals Award from the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Ms. Williams currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Visitors.
Email: [[awilliams02]]
2023-2024 Committee Assignments
Executive Committee, Secretary
Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds, Chair
Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance
Richard Bland College Committee
Appointed
July 1, 2021 by Governor Ralph Northam
