Woman of Substance: Charlotte Mailliard Shultz

In 2014, Shultz dressed up as a sports referee— complete with a whistle in her mouth—for a San Francisco Chronicle photo shoot; the story topic was etiquette at galas. Shultz is not above menial tasks either, whether it’s returning to City Hall in the wee hours of the morning, armed with 409 and rags, to clean mud off the walls left behind after she brought in real grass for a 1985 pre-Super Bowl XIX party for Feinstein, then the San Francisco mayor, or staying up all night to cut the Chronicle into confetti to be used for a parade for the paper’s iconic columnist, Herb Caen, in 1996.

Despite all of the big and little things Shultz does, she says she receives too much credit.

“I surround myself with people who excel in what they do, like the very best caterers like McCalls, the very best people in the floral business and in décor like Stanlee Gatti and people who are creative,” she says. “Also, I love to gather people together and have a brainstorming [session] where one thing plays off of another.”

One of the aspects she appreciates most about heading up the mayor’s office of protocol, which works in conjunction with the city to host foreign dignitaries, attract commerce and tourism and promote diversity and cultural understanding, is facilitating diplomatic relations with the San Francisco Consular Corps. She relishes meeting the consular generals, many of whom are men, and helping their wives get settled in their new city with dentists, hairdressers and so forth.

“The best part of my job is that you’re put in a position to really meet and be with [people] and also help, like in fundraising for causes,” Shultz enthuses. “It’s a job that is very rewarding.”

One of her greatest honors came in 2007 at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., where Queen Elizabeth II bestowed Shultz the title of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for her long record of service in assisting royal visitors.

“I was overwhelmed,” says Shultz, who had received Her Majesty in San Francisco in 1983 and attended a party on her yacht. “She’s really lovely. I’ve met many of the Royal Family, entertained them and received them. It’s all part of the job, but it’s a great job. You’re not paid for it, but I get paid in many other ways.”

Although Shultz is often asked when she’s going to write a book, don’t hold your breath waiting.

“I don’t care about the past,” Shultz asserts. “I want to go forward.”