Charisse Smith is the Partner Resources Director for Starbucks. In this role, she is responsible for leading a team and setting the HR strategy for the South Central Region. Charisse joined Starbucks after being an HR Director at 7-Eleven, where she provided support to the Chief Merchandising Officer, Fuels, Operations Support,  Total Rewards, and other various functions.  Prior to joining 7-Eleven, she spent over 10 years at Pfizer, where she held various roles that included HR support for Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe, US Sales, R&D, Payer/Channel Access, and Corporate Finance. 

 Throughout her career, she has supported several mergers and acquisitions and has been able to partner with businesses and various HR support functions to deliver programs and processes that are aligned with overall company goals. 

 Charisse has worked with organizations, such as, Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, Ramsey County Crisis Nursery, YMCA Black Achievers, A Better Chance Foundation, and was a founding member of Communiversity, where they partnered with Colleges and Universities to educate those in the community at locally owned businesses.  She is also a Board Member with Café Momentum.

 Charisse holds a BS in Sociology from Hamline University and a MA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR) from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.