Charles is the Director of the Center for Youth Program Quality, created through a joint venture between the Forum and the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.

The Center’s mission is to position “point of service” quality as a powerful public idea that drives research, policy, practice and public opinion on what it takes to improve the quality of young people’s learning experiences across the settings where they spend their time. The Center builds directly on the research and projects of High/Scope’s Youth Development Division. The Center is managed by the Forum but housed in Ypsilanti, Michigan near the High/Scope campus.

Prior to becoming Director of the Center at the Forum, Charles directed the Youth Development division at High/Scope, where he managed the research studies that led to the development of the Youth Program Quality Assessment tools and training modules. Charles received his degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit with primary concentrations in welfare state history, urban planning, and education policy. While at Wayne State he co-founded and implemented the Youth Urban Agenda Civic Literacy Project, a civic learning initiative for secondary and undergraduate students.