She was the founder and executive director of the Marin Arts Council, 1979-82 and briefly worked for the city of San Rafael and county of Marin in the late 1970s. In 1980, she was a candidate for the 9th Assembly District in northern California. Among other community activities, Charles was the 1979 state president of the National Women's Political Caucus and a member of the board of directors of the Northern California Mediation Center. A magna cum laude graduate of Marymount College in New York, Charles was the recipient of an honorable mention from the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. The family has requested that memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society.
Services are pending.