About — GeChar

individualists synergized
by community

“I always felt I was in my own lane. Even as a kid, I already knew I was different.”

— Gina Charbonnet, Founder of GeChar

GeChar is a community for those seeking to harness their individual potential, together.

After years of organizing high-spirited, unforgettable events, GeChar’s Founder and Principal Gina Charbonnet has learned that happiness comes from harnessing the various energies of life’s moving parts. So she built a community impassioned to do the same.

Focused on empowerment and enlightenment, everything we say and do at GeChar seeks to ingrain you with the skills you need to manage the unexpected. We’re a community seeking new ways and mindsets for restorative power, ones that serve you and your journey.

We believe that when we change ourselves – through emotional agility, spirituality, advocacy and community - we can change the world.

MEET GINA

Welcome, Advocateurs!

I’m Gina Charbonnet, Founder and Principal of GeChar. Over the last 20+ years, I’ve made not only a business but a mission surrounding women’s empowerment. I call it em-pow-her-ment.

When I first started working on the ESSENCE Festival’s Empowerment Experience I realized the privilege of working alongside powerful women and folks that have encouraged others to embrace their spirituality and love themselves. This had a huge impact on me. This was a turning point – my aha! moment – in how I saw myself and my potential moving forward.

It’s not just about working on projects that empower. It’s about finding inspiration. We have to start embracing the ideas we live, breathe and see in our everyday lives.

All of this is for you. For the open-hearted, spiritual seeker unsure how to harness her potential. I encourage you to start thinking bigger about who you are. I invite you to journey with me through enlightenment, purpose, wellness and fulfillment.

Let’s Consciously Move the Crowd.

- GINA CHARBONNET

FEEL THE Love

Testimonials

“I have had the great pleasure of working with GeChar to coordinate two high-profile Empowerment Experience panels at the ESSENCE Festival. Gina and the whole team are exceedingly professional, creative and passionate about what they do. I am so impressed at their ability to put together a top-notch program year after year. And while they are juggling many elements, they make you feel you are a priority. They are a delight to work with from start to finish!”

Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President, Director, Health Communication & Media Partnerships, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

“Working with Gina and the GeChar team has been an absolute pleasure. Gina took the time to understand the uniqueness of our organization and to help us leverage it. She's thoughtful and responsive, and knowing we can count on her team has allowed us to keep our eye on our mission rather than dropping everything to produce a major event. Gina and GeChar make it easy.”

Nick Stillman, Executive Director, Prospect New Orleans

"We've been so fortunate to have Gina on our team as we plan the Watermark Changemakers Conference. Her wide network combined with her wit and wisdom have made our programming vastly more compelling and our messaging sharper and more meaningful. We've gone through a number of changes as an organization this year, and I've always felt that Gina is right there with us — taking pains to understand our goals while spurring us on to a bigger vision. Plus we just have fun working together!"

Peggy Northrop, CEO, Watermark Conferences for Women

"After each Essence Festival, it's guaranteed I've learned another level of what it means to have grace-under-pressure from Gina Charbonnet. Collaborating with her for years as the executive producer of daytime programming at EF, Gina's professionalism never waivers as she's producing a multi-tiered live show in real time that includes wrangling personalities from politics, Hollywood, or the C-Suite. At the core of her work, Gina's a storyteller, which makes her connection to Essence a perfect fit."

Cori Murray, Deputy Editor, ESSENCE