If you turn to page 147 of Hoot Gibson's book, SRI: The Founding Years, you will find a picture of Jane Goelet when she held the title of Office Manager in 1948. Jane came to SRI from the Armour Research Foundation in Chicago, as did Jesse Hobson, Tom Poulter, and other of her contemporaries.
Her first assignment was as a research assistant on an SRI project in Southern California. Then she moved to Menlo Park, where she "ran the office" and helped to recruit research assistants, secretaries, clerks, technicians, and other support personnel. She soon became their counselor and sometimes, when required, she arbitrated on their behalf. In short, she became SRI's first personnel management advisor.
When John Wagner joined SRI in 1954 as its chief human resources officer, Jane became the first member of his staff. She remained a member of SRI's personnel department all her remaining years, until she retired after 33 years of service.
Most of her service was as a recruiter, but in her later years she was transferred to the compensation staff where she was able to use her excellent sense of labor market conditions, especially during the period of nationwide double-digit inflation of both prices and labor rates.
Jane's legacy was the high quality of literally hundreds of support staff members who were hired by SRI only after they passed Jane's tough interviewing and testing process and after Jane appraised their skills as well as their character and integrity.
Behind her quiet demeanor, Jane had a keen sense for the genuine.