From humble beginnings in the small-town South to climbing the Corporate Ladder, Charlene brings a warm, engaging, and authentic brand of leadership to her teams and her audiences. Charlene’s unique life experiences and background make her a natural champion for inclusion, representation, creativity, and excellence.
Since joining Nielsen's Inclusive Insights Team in 2020, Charlene has led research projects that leverage Nielsen data in first-of-its-kind ways. Charlene brings a creative mindset to market research and audience insights, including perspectives on representation in media across the Black Diaspora and gauging support of sports fans to end the appropriation of Native American culture as mascots. Her perspective helps drive innovative ways to center historically excluded audience segments and position solutions for clients. Whether it's women's sports or Rural America, Charlene is committed to uncovering the unexpected with insights that change the way we do business and make inclusive content and advertising the norm.
Diversity Woman Media named Charlene to their 2023 Power 100 List in recognition of leaders who "are changing minds by challenging preconceived notions of how a company can be both equitable and highly profitable." In addition to her research published in Nielsen's Diverse Intelligence Series, Charlene has also been featured on Good Morning America, Blackweek, AdWeek, Possible, Afro Tech, Essence, SXSW, Cannes Lions and more.
Charlene is most passionate about her family of four. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their two children.