Board Spotlight: Charmaine Riley

Charmaine Riley, Communications Director at American Beverage, WWPR VP/Incoming 2026 President 

Charmaine Riley is a public relations and communications director with 10+ years of experience in media relations, advocacy and strategic communications. She has a track record of securing media coverage and managing social impact initiatives. Dedicated, creative and highly collaborative, she brings diverse experience at the intersection of community building, earned media and effective communication. Charmaine currently serves as Communications Director at American Beverage, the trade association representing the nonalcoholic beverage industry. She also serves on the Washington Women in Public Relations Board as Vice President and incoming 2026 President and is a recipient of the WWPR Emerging Leaders Award for her nonprofit and civil rights communications work. Riley graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations and a minor in American history.

Tell me about your background and what drew you to your current position. 

I’ve always had a love for storytelling. Whether it was fiction or nonfiction, describing a scene and setting the stage got my gears turning. Combining my love for storytelling with my natural gravitation toward social impact was a no-brainer when entering public relations. This field allows me to tell stories that often go untold, especially when it comes to underrepresented communities.

I was drawn to my current position at American Beverage because of the opportunity to highlight stories that go beyond the companies. There’s a lot of great work being done in communities across the country–from efforts to increase access to nutrition and education to improving recycling infrastructure for millions–that really showcases how invested the industries are in the communities they live and work in.

What is the most exciting or rewarding project you’ve done recently or in your overall career? 

There have been countless rewarding projects I have worked on. One that will always stand out is a 2020 campaign, Black History is American History, that was launched while I was at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Not only was it the height of COVID, but the campaign stemmed from the constant attacks nationwide and specifically on Virginia schools and teachers for teaching truthful history, including slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. It was not only an earned media and strategic partnership success story, but it also allowed our team to focus on storytelling by giving students, families and teachers the space to share their experiences, as well as inequity head-on at a time when democracy was on the line.

What do you love about being a WWPR Board Member? 

I applied for the WWPR Board not long after attending my first WWPR event. Now in my fourth year on the board, I love seeing it grow each year under the leadership of successful and impactful women in D.C. The events, professional development opportunities and even the content have grown year over year, and that’s because women come to WWPR not only seeking a membership but a place to support other women. As a Board Member, that’s beautiful to see.

Is there any book you would recommend? 

Anything written by Brit Bennett. I became obsessed with her books over COVID and am impatiently waiting for her to release her next novel. They make you think while also finding ways, big and small, to relate to the reader, making them great for getting away from work and the news. While there are only two so far, she has a fan for life.

What do you do outside of work? 

I work every day so that outside of work I can support my six-year-old pit bull/lab mix, Oly, named after my hometown, Olympia. I’m also a proud pop culture enthusiast, auntie, traveler and self-proclaimed affordable red wine connoisseur.