Bio

Meet Charlene

Charlene is driven, creative and determined to build a life she can be proud of. 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 DE&I Team in 2020, Charlene has led research and insights projects that leverage Nielsen data in first-of-its-kind ways. From the Viewing Power of Black audiences to gauging support of sports fans to end the appropriation of Native American culture as mascots, Charlene brings a creative mindset to market research and audience measurement. Her perspective helps drive innovative ways to center historically excluded communities and position solutions for clients. 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."

One of the most impactful ways Charlene continues to lead change in the media industry is through establishing relationships and collaborating with partners like IllumiNative and Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity (TTIE). Through mentoring and speaking engagements, Charlene is committed to inspiring the next generation of media leaders to make inclusive content and advertising the norm.

Not only has her research been published in Nielsen's Diverse Intelligence Series, Charlene has also been featured in M&E Journal and contributed her voice to projects like I’m Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace, One in A Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In, Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways to Build a More Inclusive World, NPR's In Black America and Be There in Five


Charlene is most passionate about her family of four. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their two children.