Presidential Fellow

Charles M. (Chuck) Collins

Image

Chuck’s initial focus at the LTMC is deepening institutional commitment to educational learning outcomes through the systematic application of equitable principles and practices impacting scholars, their families, and communities. He is also the President Emeritus of and Special Advisor to the YMCA of San Francisco where he served for nearly two decades as President and Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1853, the YMCA of San Francisco is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to serving the diverse communities of the Bay Area with a focus on the development of children, youth, adults and families. He is the Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, Switzerland. As Special YMCA Advisor to COP26 (Glasgow, Scotland 2021), Chuck’s extensive knowledge of the global YMCA movement, private and corporate philanthropy and public resource mobilization are utilized to create networks that expand, empower and invest in youth as climate activists and agents of change.

From 1983 to 2002, Chuck was President and Chairman of WDG Ventures, Inc., and its affiliated companies which were engaged in the investment and development of commercial and residential real estate. Among the signature development projects completed during Collins’ tenure were The Metreon and the Four Seasons Hotel and Condominiums and several developments in the Western Addition of San Francisco. Chuck has practiced law and was a former Deputy Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for the State of California. He also has an extensive city planning background and directed a comprehensive study for the City and County of San Francisco incorporating economic and fiscal considerations, land use planning, transportation systems, and housing requirements resulting in the Downtown Plan for the City. Chuck serves on the San Francisco Arts Commission, The Community Council of the UCSF Center for Community Engagement, the board of the Commonwealth Club, Chair Emeritus of the ShapeUp SF Coalition, a board member (Vice Chair) of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and former trustee of Williams College, the San Francisco State University Foundation, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, the National Urban League and the Howard Thurman Educational Trust (Chair).

Chuck received his Bachelor of Arts with honors from Williams College with a double major in History and the History of Art; Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and, Juris Doctor from the Harvard Law School. Under a fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, he was awarded a Diploma from the Athens Center of Ekistics in Athens, Greece. Upon completion of M.I.T, he was named the outstanding graduate student in the Department Urban Studies and Planning. University of San Francisco awarded Chuck and honorary doctorate degree where he was the graduation speaker in 2018. He received the Bicentennial Medal from Williams College in 1999 and the Rogerson Prize in 2019 the highest award for outstanding loyalty, achievement and service in the name of Williams. Chuck is the 2019 recipient of the Silver Spur Award that recognizes outstanding individuals whose achievements exemplify the highest aspirations of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Collins is the author of The African Americans, Viking-Studio Books 1993 (paper 1995) and senior editor of A Day in the Life of Africa, The Tides Foundation and Penguin, 2002.