Carlos Singh
Executive Director
Carlos Singh is the oldest son of immigrant farm worker parents. As a young boy, he worked in California’s agricultural fields to help support his family. Fulfilling his parents’ dreams, Carlos was the first in his family to graduate from high school and college.
In addition to his role as the Foundation's first-ever Executive Director, Carlos also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in San José State University’s Lucas College and Graduate School of Business and Justice Studies Department. He has also taught at Lincoln Law School of San José and Stanford Law School’s Trial Advocacy Program.
Carlos began his professional career at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., having been hired from law school through the Department’s Honors Program. He first served as a trial, constitutional, and appellate attorney in the Civil Division before transferring to the Criminal Division to serve in the Organized Crime & Racketeering and Money Laundering Sections.
While in Washington, Carlos was a member of the team responsible for negotiating model legislation to combat money laundering, bank secrecy, and forfeiture with officials from Latin American countries at the Organization of American States. Additionally, he served in the Department of Justice community service program, mentoring young elementary and junior high school students.
Carlos later transferred to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where he was responsible for investigating and prosecuting white-collar, high tech, and violent crimes. Carlos prevailed in all felony trials and was widely recognized for his work, including, the Department of Justice Director’s Award for successful investigations and prosecutions of cutting-edge fraud, technology, and national security cases.
Upon leaving the DOJ, Carlos moved into to the business world, first serving at an international consulting firm where he specialized in guiding and advising global companies on corporate compliance, governance, and ethics, as well as building and enhancing their investigation and whistleblower programs. He went on to serve as Managing Director for a U.S. firm, Director of Compliance for a financial services startup, Global Senior Counsel for a technology company, and finally Dean of Academics and Faculty at Lincoln Law School of San José before joining San José State.
Dedicated to community service and mentoring youth, Carlos has served on numerous national and Silicon Valley-based nonprofit boards and professional organizations. He is a past President and Board Chair of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and his board and volunteer service includes, among others, the Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Commission, Silicon Valley Children’s Hospital, Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Mexican Heritage Corporation, and the Role Model and Portraits of Success Mentoring Programs in San José. He has also been a member of the San José Rotary Club.
Carlos received his bachelor’s degree from UCLA and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center before graduating from the Harvard Business School’s Corporate Governance Executive Program.