Charlene Stewart, MSW

Charlene L. Stewart was born and raised in the heart of Southeast, Washington, DC. Growing up, Charlene faced many life obstacles due to being raised in a broken home destroyed by drugs and alcohol; and neglect. She used education and extracurricular activities as her escape to success. In 1999, Charlene graduated from Frank W. Ballou Sr. High School. Charlene graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pedology, now known as Child Adolescents Studies from Bowie State University (BSU). At BSU, Charlene served as Vice President and President of the Pedology Club. She was also initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated-Eta Chapter where served as the Corresponding Secretary, Secretary, Vice President, and Program Chair. Upon graduating from BSU, Charlene moved to Baltimore, Maryland where she attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Social Work. While attending UMB, Charlene served as the SGA Recording Secretary, member of the Organization of African American Students in Social Work, and Social Work Christian Fellowship. In 2009, Charlene graduated with a Clinical and Management & Community Organization degree in Social Work with a specialization in Families & Children.

Charlene immediately obtained employment at Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS). After successfully serving in several positions, Charlene's last position was serving as the Ready by 21 Educational Specialist. She recruited and advised foster youth students, caregivers, and caseworkers on the college access and the financial aid process, as well as the importance of completion by facilitating workshops, life skills, and seminars. Charlene was responsible for developing programs and preparing educational resources for foster care youth ages 14-21 by fostering partnerships with local secondary and post-secondary institutions, and public and private community organizations. She also served as a Family Involvement Facilitator. In this role, Charlene assisted caseworkers, foster youth, and their families with planning and providing resources as they prepared for independence and transition out of the foster care system.

In 2011, Charlene was accepted into Morgan State University's Higher Education: Community College Leadership Doctoral Program. This program prepared students to become senior level leaders in an academic organization setting. Charlene served as the leader of her cohort (Cohort 26) in her graduate program and was the Vice