Meet Charles

Charles Mann is a Spartanburg native who returned to his hometown in 2015 after being away for some 45

years. Upon retiring, he saw things in his native city that had changed but a lot that had not. It was at that point,

he decided not to sit in a rocking chair, but step out and engage his community to be a better place.

More recently, Mann has become a Census and Redistricting advocate in the state of South Carolina working

with SC Counts and the Southern Coalition of Social Justice. In this advocacy role Mann has worked to increase

awareness and citizenry engagement as to why the Decennial Census is so vital to our representative

democracy. And how electoral districts are drawn and why the data is important to future elections. His unique

creation in this effort has been the Local Redistricting Advisory Committee in several communities.

In his capacity as Advisor to SC Counts, Mann keeps the organization abreast of Census policy and

developments leading to the census count in 2030. And participates in national outreach and strategy sessions

representing South Carolina.

In his redistricting efforts, Mann is recognized as a subject matter expert in South Carolina. He has testified at

Legislative hearings, city and county councils and to numerous civic organizations across the state. In October

of 2023, Mann was a speaker on the steps of the US Supreme Court during the Court’s hearing on South

Carolina’s Redistricting case.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT MATTERS!

Mann brings a vast background from an adventurous career to his role with SC Counts. He spent over 13 years

in television news. With roles range from a local TV reporter at WLOS TV in Asheville to an Assistant News

Director in Charlotte to a Satellite Coordinator in Boston, to a Managing Editor in Baltimore. Following that he

managed video production companies in Baltimore and Washington, DC. Then Charles went into Sports

broadcasting working with the Washington professional basketball and hockey teams. That then led to

management roles in event management with Fannie Mae and The World Bank. After consulting for a while,

Mann entered government contracting as a project manager and business development executive for nearly 30

years. During that time, He was a key member of the strategic planning process, focusing on how companies

grow their revenue in a contracting environment. This not only focused on revenue, but the requirements of

infrastructure to support growth.

Mann is married to his wonderful wife, Pamela. He has one adult son, Greyson. He and his wife live in

Spartanburg and Chicago.