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, imagination, technology, story-telling, 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 people and communities flourish. The Charlotte Center accomplishes its mission by bringing people together to explore challenges and opportunities through the lens of the humanities and civic imagining. 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.
our vision
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Our vision is communities in which all people live full and flourishing lives. The Charlotte Center exists to nurture communities informed by humane ideals. We seek to create a world 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 an educator & entrepreneur. He is a professor of leadership and ethics at Johnson & Wales University. He is founder of Charlotte Viewpoint magazine, host of the On Life and Meaning podcast, a novelist and essayist, with previous careers in financial planning, business, and law.
VALAIDA FULLWOOD
Team Member
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Valaida writes The Charlotte Center Brief and contributes to event planning and guest experiences. She is principal architect of The Soul of Philanthropy, a multimedia museum exhibit and platform for civic engagement. She works as an independent writer and project consultant, bringing ideas and innovation to the philanthropic/nonprofit sector. She also is a co-founder of Charlotte’s New Generation of African American Philanthropists.
LILLIAN PARKER
Team Member
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Lillian leads marketing and communications efforts for The Charlotte Center. She is a storyteller and problem solver with deep roots in the arts. She is a senior marketing strategist at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and a freelance writer and content marketer. She seeks to foster creative talent and build meaningful relationships through courage and curiosity.
ASHLEY RIVENBARK
Team Member
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Ashley faciliates events for The Charlotte Center. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion professional, TEDx speaker, and Lead Coach for the global behavioral change consultancy, MindGym. She leads virtual and in-person speaking engagements around inclusive leadership, facilitating open and supportive exchange with the goal of increasing awareness, generating dialogue, and expanding community.
MADDY STEVENS
Team Member
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Maddy is the graphic designer for events and marketing communications for The Charlotte Center. She is a freelance copywriter and communications strategist with over a decade of experience in the marketing and advertising industry. She's written ad campaigns and content for Fortune 500 companies, as well as small businesses, across a wide range of industries, from pharmaceuticals, food service, and finance, to software, sports, and social causes.
MEGHAN NANCE
Team Member
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Meghan is a local arts educator, program director, consultant and projects manager specializing in therapeutic arts who is passionate about creative brain play! Since 2008 she has worked with students, learners and artists of all ages and educational settings at the busy intersection of the arts, childhood development, brain science and diverse learning. She is a Blumenthal Arts Fellow and a regular contributor to the creative landscape at Charlotte SHOUT! through her business PopBridge Creative Arts.
“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 current board chair of The Charlotte Center. Deborah loves art, poetry, laughter, intelligence, and the occasional martini.
Meg Seitz, MBA
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Meg is the founder and CEO of toth shop, a thought partnership agency that brings artistry to business and business to artistry, helping humans, businesses, and brands all craft language around who they are and what they do. It's work that's a perfect combination of her education - a BA in English from Kenyon College and an MBA from Wake Forest University. A lifelong student of the liberal arts, she will never turn down the opportunity to talk about Peter Drucker, the NY Times Arts section, or David Foster Wallace.
Katie weeks
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Katie is a senior advisor at Armstrong McGuire & Associates, a full-service non-profit consulting firm. She brings 20 years of non-profit fund development experience focused primarily in the arts. Katie served as the Director of Development for First Stage, one of the nation’s largest professional theater companies for young audiences, and as the Vice President of Development for the United Performing Arts Fund in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
JONATHAN FISHER, M.D.
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Jonathan is a practicing cardiologist, certified mindfulness meditation teacher, and a Resilience & Well-Being Program leader for 30,000 healthcare team members at Novant Health. In 2020 he founded the Ending Physician Burnout Global Community and organized the world’s first global summit dedicated to ending physician burnout. His personal mission is to help others train the mind and heal the heart.
KRISTY TESKEY, MPA
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Kristy is the Innovation Catalyst at Faster Glass, where she engages in a human-centered approach to organizational change that cultivates alignment between mission, strategy, and people. Kristy served in leadership roles at MyFutureNC, The John M. Belk Endowment, and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. She loves biking on the Thread Trail, hiking on the Blueridge Parkway, and family time in Charlotte.