Charles Stephens
Founder + Executive Director
Email: charles.stephens@counternarrative.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfstephens/
Named as one of Out Georgia’s most influential LGBTQ+ Georgians, Charles Stephens, spent a decade as a nonprofit leader and consultant. Stephens found his calling leading social impact-driven narrative shift organizations, as the Founder and Executive Director of the Counter Narrative Project (CNP). Through his role at CNP, he has been able to merge his passion for social justice and his passion for storytelling through supporting emerging advocates, cultural workers, and the creation of original content. Under his leadership, CNP has become a widely recognized national leader in narrative change, racial justice, and HIV advocacy.
Stephens experience spans narrative shift, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and public health programming, community education, and advocacy. His work has been profiled in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Voice, Georgia Voice, and Project Q. Prior to founding CNP, Stephens organized the historic “Whose Beloved Community: Black Civil and LGBT Rights'' conference at Emory University. He is also the co-editor of Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call, an anthology of writings about Black gay writer and visionary Joseph Beam. Stephens has also been an independent consultant to many national social impact organizations, an advisory board member of the Alliance Theatre and Historic Atlanta, and most recently selected by the Atlanta Regional Commission to participate in the Arts Leaders of Metropolitan Atlanta (ALMA) program. His other professional and creative interests include creative writing, studying Black LGBTQ+ history, and researching all things Atlanta. Stephens received his B.A. degree from Georgia State University where he received the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award.
