Our Team
Abby R. Charles, MPH
Program Manager – Washington, DC
"The tenets of human rights tell us that ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family...’ It is imperative that we use an equity framework to develop our policies and programs to ensure that this human right is realized. Through doing so, our communities will have access to the opportunities, supports and services to THRIVE."
(Abby Charles)
Ms. Charles joined CommonHealth ACTION as Program Manager after serving for five years at the Women's Collective, a nationally recognized organization providing care, prevention, and advocacy services for women, girls and their families living with and at risk for HIV in the Metropolitan DC area. Ms. Charles' primary role at CommonHealth ACTION has been to provide leadership and coordination for Positive Pathways, a major new effort in DC that will increase the participation of people living with HIV/AIDS in medical care using a network of peer Community Health Workers and by increasing connectedness among clinical and non-clinical service providers. Positive Pathways is an initiative of Washington AIDS Partnership, and CommonHealth ACTION's Institute for Public Health Innovation will be a leading partner assisting with program refinement, implementation, and evaluation.
Most recently, Ms. Charles coordinated the Women's Collective's Policy and Advocacy Program, where she managed the dissemination of their service delivery model and toolkit and worked to train the TWC peer advocacy group, Positive Leaders Uplifting Sisters, to ensure that women’s voices were heard at policy- making tables. Prior to this role, Ms. Charles spearheaded the intergenerational and youth focused HIV prevention projects, the female condom (FC2) outreach and education project, and the Prosper! Prevention with Positives program. For her work with the Women’s Collective, Abby was awarded the Tranquil Space Foundation award for creative expression and leadership development for women & girls in October 2009. Ms. Charles brings knowledge, experience and community relationships that will be critical to the CommonHealth ACTION team and to the success of Positive Pathways.
Outside of Positive Pathways, Ms. Charles is involved in various community HIV coalitions and advisory boards including the DC Community Coalition for AIDS 2012, the DC D – Center for AIDS Research (DC D-CFAR), and the George Washington University HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Community Advisory Board. Ms. Charles volunteers as an outreach volunteer with the organization Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS) and is the language arts coordinator at the Cultural Academy for Excellence- an arts and academic after school enrichment program for youth.
Ms. Charles is a graduate of the George Washington University where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science and a Masters of Public Health in Global Health. In 2006 Ms. Charles was awarded the George Washington University Martin Luther King Junior Award for Service and was honored with an Impact award from the GW Black Alumni Association. Ms. Charles is also an inductee of the George Washington University ‘Wall of Fame.’
