Charity Reaves,
Director of Organizational Development
Mission: Organization
Charity is the director of Organizational Development for Smokey John’s, Inc. She manages, designs, and implements policies and procedures relating to organizational effectiveness and growth. Charity is also the director of People & Culture and serves as project manager for major initiatives. Mostly working behind-the-scenes, she enjoys creating solutions that increase efficiency and enhance culture.
New York State of Mind
Charity’s professional involvement with Smokey John’s kicked off when she began editing their marketing materials. She was freelancing as a writer and editor at that time. Everything changed after attending a Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses conference in New York with Brent. Through coaching sessions with Bloomberg executives, she began to see her family’s restaurant in a new light and how she could be a part of the vision.
Now, she uses her background in marketing, education, training, and communications to lead initiatives that challenge norms, prompt change, and shape culture. She analyzes the company’s infrastructure to identify gaps, then facilitates solutions to address those needs. She wants to ensure the business has a solid foundation to build on as it grows. At the heart of it all, her aim is to foster a nurturing environment where team members feel valued and seen.
Married to BBQ
Charity was born and raised in Houston, Texas. After graduating from John Foster Dulles High School, she left home to attend college, first at Wesleyan College (Macon, Georgia) her freshman year, then in Dallas at Southern Methodist University (pony up!). She graduated from SMU in 2003 with a BBA in marketing.
In 2000, she met Brent through her friend, Yulise. There was nothing romantic about their relationship initially; to her, he was just Yulise’s older brother who teased her (Charity) unnecessarily. But after a profound conversation between the two of them, something changed. They married in 2004 and have been living, laughing, and eating happily ever after.