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Jessica
Connor M. Martin
Aimee Moon
Bryan Kana

The Team

As a small firm we treasure our relationships with our clients. We are dedicated professionals with high-level government experience and particular expertise in congressional and federal processes.

Robert (Bobby) Charles, President

Bobby rejoined The Charles Group, LLC as President in April, 2005 after serving from 2003 to 2005 as Assistant Secretary of State, for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), under Secretaries Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. His tenure in the Bush Administration led to the development of strong international relationships, which reinforce his strong ties with many in Congress and the administration.

Charles founded The Charles Group, LLC in 1999 upon leaving service as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice Subcommittee (GRO) in the House of Representatives from 1995-1999. Charles also served Subcommittee Chairman J. Dennis Hastert, eventually Speaker of the House, as chief staffer to The Speaker’s Task Force on a Drug Free America from 1997-1999 and as top staffer to the Bi-Partisan Drug Policy Group from 1995-1999. Charles maintains strong ties with House leadership.

A former litigator in New York and Washington, Charles worked at Weil Gotshal & Manges and Kramer Levin between 1988 and 1995, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and taught both Government Oversight and Cyberlaw at Harvard University Extension School from 1998-2001. In 2000, he was awarded Harvard's prestigious Petra T. Shattuck Award for Excellence in Teaching by the University. In the first Bush administration, Charles served in the White House as Deputy Associate Director, Office of Domestic Policy and served as a temporary appointee in the first-term Reagan White House during three stretches of 1981, '82 and '83.

A regular writer and commentator in print and broadcast media, Charles remains close to many top decision makers in Washington, and formerly penned a column for the Washington Times. He authored Narcotics and Terrorism, a 2004 volume explaining national security and homeland security implications inherent in the worldwide illicit drug trade. He has also authored a number of academic studies and law review pieces. He was a Navy Intelligence Reservist for ten years, and served on active duty at the Pentagon immediately following the September 11th attacks.

Charles received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York, M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University in England, and A.B. from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Raised in Maine, he now lives in Maryland with his wife and two children.

 

Benjamin G. Bawden, Senior Vice President

Ben works with The Charles Group’s corporate and non-profit clients to advance important public policy initiatives in Congress and executive agencies, and market products, services, and programs to government customers. He also provides policy research and analysis for national security organizations in the public sector. Ben has helped non-profits and state governments win directed grants through federal appropriations. He has also managed coalitions of diverse organizations to successfully drive legislative change on public safety and homeland security issues. Prior to joining The Charles Group at its inception in 1999, Ben served as Staff Assistant on the Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ben earned a BA in Government (International Relations) from Dartmouth College, and an MBA (Strategy and Entrepreneurship) from the University of Maryland. He was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa.

 

Marina T. Charles, Senior Vice President, Operations

Marina Charles brings a depth of legal and administrative experience to the The Charles Group, LLC team. Having spent twelve years as a corporate transactional attorney, Marina has extensive experience in contracts and regulatory analysis as well as international business matters. Marina manages the company's operations and participates in the development of government and regulatory white papers and other company projects.

Marina received her BA, cum laude, in Government from Harvard University and her JD from Columbia University Law School, where she was a Stone Scholar. She is fluent in French and Russian and lives in Maryland with Bobby and their two children.

 

Jessica M. Davis, Office Director/
Government Affairs Associate

Jessica joined the Charles Group, LLC in 2006. From 2004-2005 she served as Robert Charles’s Executive Assistant while he was the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). In 2005 she went on to be the Special Assistant for Ambassador John R. Miller in the State Department’s Global Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

From 1998-2003 Jessica served in the United States Army as an Administrative Specialist. From 2001-2003 she was assigned to the 308th Military Intelligence Battalion in Fort Meade, Maryland. There, she was the manager of the Personnel Office and was also the Executive Assistant to the Battalion Commander. From 1999-2001 Jessica was stationed in Wackernheim, Germany where she was part of ¼ Air Defense Artillery Battalion.

Jessica is The Charles Group’s Office Director and assists in government affairs issues. She was born and raised in Barrington, RI and currently resides in Capitol Heights, MD with her husband Jahi and son Shawn.

 

Connor M. Martin, Policy Analyst

Connor recently graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls with a B.S. in History and a minor in Criminal Justice. Connor served four years of active service in the U.S. Marine Corps and honorably completed his service obligation as a non-commissioned officer in 2002. During the summer of 2007, Connor interned with The Charles Group, LLC and graduated from the Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University. He is a member of the academic honors fraternity Phi Kappa Phi and is currently a policy analyst at The Charles Group, LLC focusing on transnational crime and narcotics trafficking, counter-terrorism and related international security issues. Connor is originally from Wisconsin and currently lives in Arlington, Virginia.

 

Aimee Moon, Policy Analyst

Aimee Moon joined the Charles Group in May 2009 after earning her B.A. from Dartmouth College, with a wide-ranging concentration in Government and civic relations. Currently an active member of the Executive Committee for the Class of 2009, Aimee brings her strong civic commitment and sense of fresh connection to issues domestic and international. At Dartmouth College, Aimee served with distinction in the College's Office of Pluralism and Leadership under the Advisor to Asian and Asian American students, while also specializing in leadership development, women's issues and the intricacies of program coordination and policy. Also a dedicated member of the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir, she enjoyed a spot on the choir's Management Team and performed in a variety of venues, including the New Orleans Jazz Festival and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In 2008, Aimee got a running start on policy development, program coordination, authorizing and appropriating legislation and trend analysis interning at The Charles Group, where she wrote a variety of analyses on congressional hearings, international event coordination, counter-narcotics and law enforcement. Prior to this experience, she got a first-hand view of legal and policy issues while interning with Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in Washington D.C. At the Charles Group, she is developing specialties in domestic and international policy analysis, written reporting on leading edge issues affecting national decision-makers week-to-week, and selected community and national security issues. Originally from New York City, Aimee now resides in Washington, D.C.

 

Bryan Kana, Policy Analyst

Bryan Kana graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies in May 2009. With a focus on national security and foreign relations, Kana authored two theses on cutting edge issues, with extensive research into both "Justifying the Use of Torture in American Society: A Pragmatic Approach to Counter-Terrorism" and "Evaluating United Nations Peacekeeping Efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo." Balancing intensive academic engagement with sport, Bryan comes to The Charles Group, LLC with a depth in writing, as well as three varsity letters and two years in the role of starting right tackle for the Yale University varsity football team, where he helped Yale in 2006 to secure their first Ivy League Championship since 1999. Focusing on his community, he was involved in athletics outreach programs for the local New Haven community and was an active member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Prior to joining The Charles Group, LLC, Bryan spent time on domestic issues for the Republican National Committee in 2008, a role in which he also gained valuable coordinating experience. In 2009, Kana has deepened his work on national security issues, broadening his focus from peacekeeping, legal and humanitarian concerns to embrace also international counter narcotics and counter-terrorism trend analysis. Originally from New Hampshire, Kana now calls Washington D.C. home.

 

 

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