Charmel McMillan
Founder / President / Executive Director
Charmel Y. McMillan is Founder, President & Executive Director of CTE Vision Foundation, Inc. a 501c3 nonprofit corporation for the educational and career development of exceptionally talented young people including disadvantaged and at-risk youth. The foundation is the culmination of Ms. McMillan’s desire to create a meaningful way incorporate the amazing number of relationships (she has developed over the past 20+ years as an Entertainment Executive--across music, comedy, entertainment, sports and politics) to educate, embrace & empower our youth especially those who are exceptionally talented who may not have the familial/financial means to excel or those who learn differently and may even be undeservedly classified as ADHD, Special Ed/SLRD, etc. who possess untapped GENIUS. Ms. McMillan has dedicated her life to the betterment, education, and welfare of children and youth. So, the establishment of CTE Vision Foundation is just a continuation of who she is and the fulfillment of her passion to extend beyond her years of personal philanthropic contributions and develop a lasting and far-reaching legacy.
As a classically trained pianist who eventually competed nationally, Ms. McMillan started playing the piano at 4 years old. When she was just 11 years old, Ms. McMillan was hired as the youth minister of music for a children’s choir and she held that position for 12 years. Even as a child herself, teaching and working with other young people came naturally to her and she LOVED IT! At age 21 upon graduation from college, she randomly decided to personally begin investing thousands of dollars of her personal money & for over 10 years began funding 3-4 events annually as well as school-wide activities for a disadvantaged special needs school (w/ mentally & physically disabled kids including ‘crack babies’) in Baltimore (located near her undergraduate alma mater Morgan State University), including purchasing every child in the entire school (over 100 kids) a gift for Christmas every year for over a decade and bringing “Santa Claus” to distribute the toys at the annual school Christmas Party (that she also paid for). Ms. McMillan not only donated money & gifts to the kids, but she would take off work to go spend time at the school, visit classes, check on the students’ progress, teach lessons, and read stories to classes. Ms. McMillan’s rapport with the students was as natural as the kids’ enthusiasm and excitement in response to her frequent visits. Even the visually impaired students began to know when she entered the building.
Ms. McMillan has received numerous awards from the Maryland State Board of Education for her extensive philanthropic contributions to the educational enrichment for children with mental and physical disabilities and for special activities sponsored by Char-Town Entertainment.
Beyond her philanthropic contributions, Ms. McMillan is President and CEO of Char-Town Entertainment (CTE--established in 1995—which is an entertainment, public relations, marketing, and special events company. Ms. McMillan is formerly the Co-Owner and Vice President of Marketing for the record label--410 MUSIC, a company born from the management company (EMG), which started the careers of multi-platinum music group Dru Hill. Ms. McMillan currently handles public relations & marketing for numerous national music artists, playwrights, authors & entertainers, and manages the careers of a few professional athletes, entertainers, and producers. Char-Town Entertainment has brought ground-breaking entertainment to venues nationwide for the past 20 years while developing success in artist management, media relations, marketing, advertising, special events, and promotions for a client roster that has included: Floyd Mayweather Sr, Paul Mooney, DL Hughley, Darius Brooks, Christian Keyes, Chris Thomas, Mike Epps, Michael Colyar, Joe Clair, Mo’Nique, Corey Holcomb, Tony Rock, Talent, Ernest Thomas, Arnez J, Teddy Carpenter, Tommy Ford, BernaNadette Stanis, Sheryl Underwood, Rodney Perry, Dash Poland (international face of Under Armour®), Mike Phillips, National Best-Selling authors OMAR TYREE & CARL WEBER, WHUR, Radio One, CBS Broadcasting, BET, BMG, Essence Music Festival, HYATT Regency Hotels (VA), Starwood Brand Hotels, and “Fashion, Comedy, Style” Tour in DC, Atlanta, & Los Angeles (as Talent Coordinator for the tour in conjunction with talent exec. Tina Graham of Def Comedy Jam) —to name a few. Char-Town Entertainment has produced several major events such as “The Behind the Music Workshop,” “Comedy Explosion” (Richmond Convention Center), and a multitude of comedy shows, movie premieres & special events with over 150 of the top names in comedy & music and several release parties/events for various entertainment entities, major fundraising events, and concerts/tours.
Ms. McMillan is a 15-year member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS--GRAMMY) and remains very active in the community with organizations such as The Children’s Cancer Foundation (25 years) and MusicCares (the non-profit arm of NARAS). In Spring 1995, she was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Ms. McMillan graduated Valedictorian from Crossland High School (Temple Hills, MD) and academically ranked #1 in the state of Maryland with a cumulative GPA of 4.33. Upon graduation, she was offered over $333,000 in full scholarships from over 23 colleges and universities. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with a double minor in Mathematics and Business Management from Morgan State University, and at age 23, she received a dual Master of Science degree in Engineering and Management with a concentration in Contract Law from George Washington University.
By age 25, Ms. McMillan had already written and secured a $20 million proposal for the Department of Justice, and was preparing to accept a position as a Chief for Department of Public Works over a $400 million BASOPS contract (with a span of control for 10 staffers and 122 contractors). During this stint, Ms. McMillan also served as special technical advisor to the Department of Defense New York District Legal Advisory Board on a $50 million protest. Before transitioning into ENTERTAINMENT full-time, Ms. McMillan was also a Senior-Level Associate for the firm of Booz-Allen & Hamilton and was instrumental in several contract awards ranging from $10-500 million (including the development of a new Federal Benefits portal (BENEFEDS).
Ms. McMillan strongly feels that her life is merely a blessing designed only by God’s grace. She believes that “to whom much is given, much is required.” She lives her life based on the premise: “If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain…”