a Lifetime of public service

Charlene Tarver has spent her life and career advocating for marginalized people. From her early years working with runaway and throwaway youth in New York City’s Covenant House Legal Services, assessing HIV/AIDS and homeless residents through NYU’s Health Research Project, and volunteering with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Volunteers in Probation (VIP), Tarver has been a tireless advocate for opportunity and upward mobility. That pathway led her through the NYS Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Public Defender’s Office, to the Women’s Economic Institute, which she founded in 2017.

Charlene has lived and worked in major metropolitan cities across the country (NYC, Washington, DC, San Diego, Oakland, and Phoenix/Scottsdale metro) for more than 33 years championing causes that support women, girls, and vulnerable populations.  Having spent close to 18 years in Phoenix Metro, Arizona Charlene was actively involved in the Democratic Party and served as a PCP (precinct committee person), a DNC Alt Delegate for Hilary Clinton, and worked on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. She also served on the Arizona List Board and formed and led the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc (Phoenix Metro) to advocate for health, education and economic development for women and girls. 

Charlene has been an advocate on legislation for body worn cameras, overturning the state’s lifetime cap on public assistance benefits, and hiring Phoenix’s 1st Black female police chief. And in 2020, during COVID-19, Charlene led a coalition lobbying former Governor Doug Ducey (R) to close the state and issue moratoriums on evictions and utility shut offs. Charlene held Mayoral appointments on the Parks and Rec Board, Industrial Development Authority’s Board, and the Pension Reform Task Force. And served on the Sheriff’s Advisory Board, the Governor’s African American Advisory Board, and the ASU President’s Advisory Board. She is a policy fellow of Leading for Change and the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy and an emeriti member of the Georgetown University African American Alumni Council. Charlene earned a BA in Sociology from NYU (1993), a JD from UB Law (1996), her LL.M. in Tax and CEBS from Georgetown Law (2003), and a certificate in executive management from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown (2023).