Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Abby Charles, MPH, joined The Well Project board of directors in 2012. She presently works as a program director at the Institute for Public Health Innovation, the Public Health Institute for Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Ms. Charles joined the Institute 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. Leveraging her knowledge and experience in sexual health and HIV, Ms. Charles provides leadership and coordination for two programs in DC and Northern Virginia that aim to 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. In this role she has been an advocate for including peers as integral members of the interdisciplinary care team and as essential members of the health system in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Ms. Charles is involved in various community HIV coalitions and community advisory boards (CABs), including the DC Community Coalition, the DC D–Center for AIDS Research CAB, and the George Washington University HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) CAB. Ms. Charles also volunteers on the board of directors for The Women's Collective and the alumnae association of her high school alma mater, Bishop Anstey High School, and serves as the language arts coordinator at the Cultural Academy for Excellence.
An alumna of George Washington University (GW), Ms. Charles earned a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science and a Master's of Public Health degree in global health. In 2006 Ms. Charles was awarded the GW 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 GW University Wall of Fame. A dancer and performing artist, Ms. Charles performs with the Taurus Broadhurst Dance company as well as with other dance and theater companies.
