Lessons Earned Podcast

Season 2: Episode 6

Ardine Williams

While many employers are laying people off during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon is expanding. The online retailer is hiring more people and helping employees upskill so they can advance either within or outside the company. Amazon’s Ardine Williams talks about how employer-based education programs fit into America’s postsecondary landscape.

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About Ardine Williams

Ardine Williams is vice president of workforce development for Amazon’s HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia. Her team delivers education programs including Career Choice, which has helped thousands of Amazonians retrain for careers in high demand fields.

Previously, Ardine was vice president of talent acquisition for Amazon Web Services, where she scaled the recruiting capability for Amazon’s rapidly growing cloud computing business–including strengthening AWS’ pipeline of military and veteran talent.

Ardine has more than 30 years of leadership experience across the tech industry. She has held roles in product and corporate business development, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Amazon, Ardine served as Intel’s vice president of HR enterprise services.

Ardine began her career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1983.

More about Ardine’s work:

The Amazon executive in charge of recruitment reveals what it takes to get a job at the e-commerce giant

Amazon will pay up to $12,000 for employees to study these 4 fields

What Role Should Employers Play in Postsecondary Education?

Season 2, Episode 6 Transcript: Download