Charo Bates serves as the Director of Civic Engagement for Veterans Education Success, where she focuses on helping people share their voice to make positive change within higher education. She has over a decade of experience in advocacy for veterans and their families, inclusion campaigns, future initiatives, policy development, and coalition building.

Prior to her current role, Charo served as the Policy and Social Impact Fellow with Blue Star Families, working toward empowering military families to thrive by connecting them with their civilian neighbors to create strong communities of support. Previously, she managed several successful active duty and veteran-driven programs and campaigns, while seeking to implement equitable program and process efficiencies.

A longtime champion for veterans and their families, Charo’s greatest desire is to empower others to use their personal passion and talents to affect positive change in our society. She has a bachelor's degree in political science, master’s degrees in business administration and marketing, and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. Charo is currently a doctoral candidate of Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University.

When Charo is not working or volunteering her time, she can be found spending quality time at the beach with her husband who serves on active duty in the Marine Corps, and their two amazing children in Camp Lejeune, N.C.