About Charlie
Parent, Advocate, and Facilitator
Image description: White person with red eyeglasses wearing a pink button down long sleeve shirt sitting on a doorstep
Charlie Hirst (They/Them) is a nonbinary mother to 2 kids attending Saline Area Schools (SAS).
Their family moved to Saline in 2022. Since then, Charlie has been an active member of the Saline community. They served on SAS’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee for 4 years and was parent co-chair for 2 years. They also served on the City of Saline’s Arts and Culture Committee, has helped organize pride flag raisings, and has volunteered with the Friends of the Saline District Library since January 2023. Charlie also participated in the Saline Leadership Institute in 2025.
Charlie has been involved in school boards for a decade. They worked as a school board organizer for Michigan Education Justice Coalition. Currently, they work as a parent support partner with the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority.
Why I am running for school board?
Every child has the right to quality, free, public education. We need to support students and their individual needs to create a learning environment where they feel engaged, safe, and supported in achieving their educational goals. Students are socially aware, emotionally competent, and financially literate. We need to inspire students to become lifelong learners who are motivated to contribute to society and are engaged in their community.
My advocacy in the school board began in December 2016 when Loudoun County Public Schools considered including gender identity and sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy. Instead of giving up after LCPS voted against this policy change, I helped build a movement by relaunching Equality Loudoun, organizing people to give public comment at school board meetings, and educating the community about trans identities. It took two years for LCPS to protect LGBTQ+ people in their nondiscrimination policy, but we were able to create change, and we didn’t stop there. We created the #BigGayBookDrive to ensure school libraries had inclusive, affirming, and diverse books, pushed for policies that allow equal access to school facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms, and advocated for the creation of a diversity, equity, and inclusion advisory committee.
While working for Michigan Education Justice Coalition (MEJC) as a school board organizer, I built a network of school board members across Michigan, learned about Michigan’s complex school funding system, and connected with nonprofits supporting public schools. I also connected with organizations across the country working to improve public education for every student. I have a toolbox of resources that includes model policies, participatory budgeting, and guidance on engaging youth voices in the school board.
I want to serve on the Saline Area School board to build an inclusive, engaged, and collaborative community. My goal is to build trust, mutual respect, and a sense of shared purpose. Great public schools benefit everyone, including those without kids, those with kids who've graduated, and even families who choose private or homeschool. Strong schools attract new residents, boost property values, and serve as a community hub. As a school board member, I will ensure Saline remains an ideal destination to live, work, and pursue an education.
A school board works to create a shared vision for the community. I want to help expand that vision. Public schools are often a child’s first exposure to community and a democratic society. I want our schools to be the heart of our community where everyone feels included, engaged, and cared for. I am dedicated to engaging communities, facilitating conversations, and collaborating to find solutions. We can improve our schools through relationship building, curriculum, targeted supports, and policy improvements.
Engaging communities, facilitating conversations, and collaborating to find solutions
Photo from December 1985 issue of Reflections. Original caption reads. Students who transferred to Henry School in West Erie for desegregation purposes are shown arriving at the school. Frederick Donatucci, principal of Henry School, is shown with a group of students who look very happy about going to Henry School.
Image description: A school bus is next to a group of students ranging in age and the school’s Principal.
The Early Years
Charlie grew up in Philadelphia, PA with their mom, dad, and brother. They attended Philadelphia Public Schools through 4th grade. Their family was part of a reverse busing effort to help desegregate the Philadelphia Public Schools. Charlie's brother, who was 18 months older, struggled with learning disabilities that the Philadelphia School District was ill-equipped to handle. This was the deciding factor to move in 1990 to the Methacton School District in Collegeville, PA.
During high school, Charlie participated in the Pennsylvania Young Adult Roundtable, doing HIV prevention planning with the PA Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh. This community-based initiative began in 1995 and convened focus groups of youth who were at risk of contracting HIV, including LGBTQ youth, teen moms, and injection drug users. This was where Charlie fell in love with discussing issues, exchanging ideas, and working collaboratively to identify solutions.
After graduating from Methacton High School in 1998, Charlie attended Temple University. They studied communication, film, and radio. During this time, they attended school full-time, worked full-time, and maintained a robust social life. After the Winter 2000 semester, they left university because of the financial strain, the need to earn an income, and the desire to travel.
In the spring of 2004, Charlie met Mack, who was finishing his PhD in Criminal Justice at Temple University. Mack grew up in Ypsilanti and attended the University of Michigan before transferring to Eastern Michigan University. They married in October 2005 and then moved to Northern Virginia in 2008.
Personal life
Charlie has been living with Multiple Sclerosis, Hashimoto's, and Sjogren's Syndrome for 20 years. In 2021, Charlie was diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD, and Bipolar II. They advocate for people with disabilities and want to destigmatize psychiatric disabilities.
Charlie experienced the death of their mother in 2005, just 6 days after Charlie and Mack were married. In 2011, 6 weeks after Charlie’s first child was born, their father died after a short battle with cancer. At the age of 38, in 2017, Charlie’s older brother died suddenly in Okinawa. Their experience navigating grief inspired them to volunteer in hospice, get their dog certified as a therapy dog, and become an end-of-life doula.
After a 20-year hiatus, they earned their bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan University. Returning to university, Charlie was accepted into the TRIO program, which supports first generation students. Charlie studied communication, film, and political science. During their last semester at EMU, they took an intro to Japanese class. Charlie is continuing to learn Japanese, which is the first language of their niece and nephew.
Charlie's hobbies include birding, sewing, reading, seeing live music, and watching movies.
Professional life
Charlie got their first job at the age of 15. They worked full-time at an independent bookstore during their Senior year of high school. Charlie grew up in a household fraught with economic anxiety. Their mother was a nurse who worked long hours and their father was laid off from the banking industry numerous times during Charlie's life.
Charlie, and 60% of people living with bipolar disorder, experience employment instability. Charlie has worked at McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, movie theaters, a shoe store, various office jobs, and was a school portrait photographer. They also hosted an exposition of their photography in Philadelphia and participated in a ceramics show in Cape May, NJ.
Charlie was forced out of the workforce in 2011 when their first child was born. At that time, Charlie was working as a cheesemonger and the salary was insufficient to cover the cost of childcare. While raising children, Charlie also organized a charity sewing event to make pillowcases for children with cancer, founded a bookclub for moms, and trained to be an end-of-life doula.
Charlie returned to the workforce in 2024. As a school board organizer, Charlie worked to deepen relationships with school board members across the state in the drive to create an inclusive and equitable educational system that empowers all students to reach their full potential. This includes advocating for and implementing policies that prioritize the needs and well-being of students, families, and educators. They created trainings to inform school board members and the community about issues facing public education. They also organized voter outreach programs to inform people about upcoming elections, developed model policies and resolutions for school board members, and lobbied state legislators. Charlie is passionate about building bridges between policy, people, and real change.