One might say that the role of Director of Community Engagement for the Times Union was custom created for Charmaine. In fact, when you google this job, Charmaine is at the top of the search results. She started in this position in 2010 after making the rounds in the advertising department at the Times Union.  Obviously, she couldn’t hold a job. Until this one. For the past 8 years, she has been the face of the Times Union at numerous events. The inside joke is that she and George Hearst are really one person and that you never see them both in the same place at the same time. Sort of like Michael and Janet Jackson.

Helping nonprofits do better is at the core of her mission and she learns from them every day.  Prior to the Times Union, her career was in television and cable advertising sales management. One shocking fact that she had to quickly learn at the Times Union is that the pictures don’t move and color is extra. To balance the pressure of her job, she can often be found pouring New York State wines at various festivals and retail locations on the weekend, in between functions and galas. A past president of the Albany Advertising Club, the Alliance for Women in Media, the New York State Newspaper Advertising and Marketing Executives, she is now happy to report that she is the President of nothing. She can be found as part of the Funders Alliance and on the Corporate Committee at the University at Albany. 

This is the first award that Charmaine has ever received, and she had us double check to make sure we had the right person.