The Charlotte Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. We are supported by individual donors, grants, sponsorships, and revenue from our programs. We are as strong as the community that supports us. Our programming begins early 2021. Join us as a founding member and sponsor.
We are a NEW ORGANIZATION IN RESPONSE TO THE TIMES WE LIVE IN.
The Charlotte Center is a community forum and civic action catalyst that invites curious people into meaningful connection and problem-solving informed by deep consideration of the human experience.
It’s old school and new school. We follow an innovative theory of change based on personal connection and shared insight. The broader and deeper our social trust and integration, the greater the capacity for renewal and regeneration.
Our programs leverage the humanities, performative arts, technology, storytelling, and conversation to deepen human connection and inspire community so that we might live more flourishing and satisfying lives.
We care about the visible and invisible concerns of community life. From housing to healthcare. To the life of the mind and heart.
Why the owl? Wisdom of course.
our mission
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Our mission is to help our community flourish. We accomplish our mission by bringing people together to explore community life together through the lens of the humanities and civic imagination. The humanities pose deep questions, help address complex and imperfect information, and provide critical and creative tools for problem-solving and the invention of new visions. Civic imagination is envisioning a better tomorrow.
our vision
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Our vision is a community in which all people live full and flourishing lives. The Charlotte Center exists to nurture the social good informed by humane ideals. We seek to create a community in which we see ourselves in each other, where we live freely, where what is true and good is central to our concerns.
our values
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Our values guide our work (and remind us of the human journey we are on!).
Curiosity - Creativity - Connection - Integrity - Inclusion
It started with a presentation.
In May 2019, Mark Peres presented his vision of citizenship to Senior Scholars at Queens - a speaker series in Charlotte. Mark talked about his passions for city life, his love for the liberal arts, and what matters most. He challenged the audience to consider the highest ideal of what the city could become. He noted “we are served when ideas move and swirl and collide. Things get interesting and possibilities present.” He asked how we might act as a particle accelerator of ideas. Here are his written remarks and below is a recording of his presentation.
On-Demand Streaming Audio Presentation:
Charlotte, Citizenship and What Matters Most
A place that would convene doers making the future happen.
In November 2019, Mark Peres had lunch with a creative leader he admired. They considered what would be next for Charlotte. An answer quickly surfaced: a community think tank generating big ideas for the city. The venture would help meet the challenge he presented at Senior Scholars.
Over the course of 2020 Mark worked on launching The Charlotte Center for the Humanities & Civic Imagination. Supported by a talented team of experienced instructional designers and event managers, and guided by friends, mentors, board members, and contributors, The Charlotte Center took shape. The vision evolved from what is good for Charlotte to what Charlotte could offer the world. At the core of The Charlotte Center is a deep regard for the humanities: those disciplines that offer a boundless treasure trove and method of understanding of the human experience. The humanities invite us to our better selves. They offer a ‘critical and constructive spirit’ - a questioning of what is good and true as they call us to what is good and true.
We - The Charlotte Center team - recognize that we live in a time in which social trust and institutions are challenged. Our civic problem-solving mechanisms are being stressed just as core civic concerns are becoming more complex. We believe community flourishing is best realized through active civic agency and inclusive democratic government that must constantly work to perfect itself. Our programming seeks to strengthen civic bonds and spur innovation by connecting the spirit of the humanities with the civic enterprise. The Charlotte Center brings ‘critical and constructive’ consideration and people of goodwill together to further the common good.
we believe great communities are places of culture and commerce in service to humane ideals.
Our team
MARK PERES
Founder/Executive Director
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Mark is the founder and executive director of The Charlotte Center. He is a writer, educator, and entrepreneur. He is the author of 'The Accord,' a novel about the future of human-AI relations, and 'The Man Who Lived a Hundred Lives,' a memoir. He is an award-winning professor of leadership and ethics at Johnson & Wales University. He is founder of Charlotte Viewpoint magazine and the On Life and Meaning podcast. He has had previous careers in financial planning, business, and law.
Rebecca Tanner
Consultant
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Rebecca is community engagement, fundraising, and event management professional with nearly fifteen years of experience developing and implementing strategic, mission-aligned programs that drive engagement and support for organizations. She previous served as the Director of The Learning Society at Queens University of Charlotte and the Vice President of Development at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
Shelby Safi
Consultant
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Shelby Safi is a creative director and marketing strategist with over 15 years of experience. She helps organizations tell their story and reach their audience through creative strategy, marketing, and design.
“that’s about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another.”
– Margaret atwood
our board
Deborah Bosley, PH.D.
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Deborah is a professor emeritus of English from UNC Charlotte and the founder of The Plain Language Group. She has published three books and dozens of articles on the importance of clear communication and has won several awards both for her academic and her professional writing. Deborah is the outgoing board chair of The Charlotte Center. Deborah loves art, poetry, laughter, intelligence, and the occasional martini.
Laura Solitario
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Laura Solitario is a senior human capital leader with a track record of enabling business success through the building and implementation of transformational organizational effectiveness strategies and practices. She has led talent development, talent acquisition and human resource teams across a broad range of industries including, Finance, Manufacturing, Healthcare and IT and multiple organizational structures ranging from start-ups to large multinational corporations. In addition to her internal business perspective, Laura has been a consultant to boards and leadership teams on a broad range of strategic and operational issues.