Charlie received his Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University in 2007, which included studying at Beijing University, and has a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University. He was a legislative aide for Seattle City Councilmember Judy Nicastro and has worked with NGOs in the Seattle area including the Children’s Alliance. Most recently, he worked with Human Rights in China, an international NGO based in New York City that works to institutionalize human rights protections and expand civil society in mainland China.