Osner Charles

Osner J. Charles has 17 years of experience in the public and private sector, where he honed his political acumen in leadership positions at both the state and local level.  

Prior to joining MBI, Osner served as Assistant Director of Economic Development for the City of Paterson, New Jersey. In this capacity, he assisted in overseeing approximately $1 billion of real estate development. Osner was also responsible for business recruitment, retention, expansion, workforce development and the overall economic development strategy for New Jersey’s third largest city. In this role, Osner also helped to create pioneering legislation to approve the use and sale of recreational cannabis in the City of Paterson.

He previously served as Director of the Department of Recreation & Cultural Affairs for the City of East Orange, New Jersey, where he managed a multi-million-dollar budget and more than 300 full-time, part-time, and seasonal staff, as well as a cohort of community volunteers. Under his leadership, he created partnerships to significantly expand Autistic programming, including building the state’s first municipal-operated Autistic Aquatics Program. In 2017, the program was recognized by the New Jersey Recreation & Park Association (NRPA) with the Excellence & Interpretive Programming Award. 

Osner also was instrumental in locally implementing two national initiatives — President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” to increase mentorship opportunities and First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Campaign” to combat the issues of adult and childhood obesity.  

Osner served the 20^th legislative district as the Director of Community Outreach and Engagement. Osner developed and maintained a strategic community engagement plan, while representing the District on various working committees, task forces and boards. 

Osner earned his undergraduate from Bloomfield College and his master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University.