Linda Carter-Lewis, born and raised in Des Moines, is a life-long, active Christian, raised in Kyles A.M.E. Zion Church.  In 1975, her husband, Larry Carter and three sons joined St. Paul A.M.E. Church.  Larry died in 2000, and in 2004, she married Rev. Irvin Lewis, Sr., Pastor at King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church, and moved her membership to King of Kings. She is still very actively involved in her church, in the Central District Baptist Association, Women’s Auxiliary President, member of the Prison Ministry Group with Corinthian Baptist Church and member/pianist with the Baptist Women’s Union.

 

Linda M. Carter-Lewis served as president of the Des Moines Branch NAACP from January 2002 until December 2010, and has been active in the Branch for over 30 years on the Executive Committee.  From 2011 through 2018 she has served as Branch Secretary.  She is an active member of the Iowa/Nebraska State Conference of Branches and has been for 25 years.

 

She has been serving on the Des Moines Civil Service Commission since 2008 and has recently been reappointed to continue serving through 2020.  Other boards, commissions, organizations and groups she is active with:  Community Ambassador Program (CAP) with the Des Moines Police Department; CAP Advisory Board; Mercy College of Health Sciences Board of Directors; Polk County District Court Magistrate Selection Commission, Commissioner; United Way Education Cabinet; Joshua Christian Academy Partner; and Building Bridges.

                         

In January, 2007, Linda retired from Communications Data Services, Inc. (now CDS Global) where she was Human Resources Employee Relations Manager and Trainer for over 21 years.  CDS is a company with over 3,000 employees throughout the country and abroad.  Prior to joining CDS, she was Employment Manager at Ardan, Inc.; before getting into human resources at Ardan, she spent 12 years in the transportation industry.

 

Linda Carter-Lewis was educated in the Des Moines Public School System.  She attended North High School and Des Moines Technical High School, graduating number 4 in the top three percent of her class, and she attended Drake University.  She earned the Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) distinction through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification program.

 

Linda was married to the late Reverend Irvin Lewis, Sr., Pastor of King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church until his untimely death on July 5, 2010.  She was married for over 30 years to the late Larry W. Carter, who retired in 1997 from Wells Fargo Financial as an Assistant Vice President.  He was also local NAACP President for 12 years and on the NAACP National Board of Directors for 12 years.  She has three grown sons, Bob, Steve and Rick, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.