Biography

Charley Sumner has over 25 years of experience helping staff at Harvard University increase their engagement, improve their performance, navigate change, and deepen their understanding of their work environment.

A member of the Employee Learning & Development team in Harvard’s Center for Workplace Development, Charley manages the University’s New Employee Welcome & Orientation program and LinkedIn Learning use by staff, faculty, and students.  He develops and delivers classes on productivity & engagement, diversity & equity, HR & financial policy, Dynamic Work, enterprise systems, and more.  

Charley came to Harvard in 1996 as a Capital Campaign Assistant for the Harvard Art Museums, later joining Harvard University Information Technology as a Training Specialist.  From there, he continued his work in learning and development, first as an Assistant Director in Financial Administration and now in his current position as a Sr. Program Manager in Harvard Human Resources.  He has been involved in the University’s rollout of Oracle Financial systems, PeopleSoft HR systems, contingent workforce management and procurement systems, the Harvard Training Portal, travel & reimbursement tools, and more.

Prior to joining Harvard, he worked in public relations with arts organizations in Boston and NYC.  He holds a Professional of Human Resources certification from the Society of HR Management and a B.A. in History from Brandeis University.