Charlene F. Lake
Charlene Lake, senior vice president of public affairs and chief sustainability officer, is responsible for leading AT&T’s philanthropic and volunteerism endeavors, third-party advocacy program and public affairs functional support as well as coordinating signature initiatives that connect social needs with business objectives.
Ms. Lake began her career at Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1986 in Topeka, Kansas, and served in management roles in financial communications, media relations and employee communications in Kansas, Missouri and Texas. She assumed leadership over SBC’s corporate advertising and sports marketing department during the mid-1990s and managed the organization through the mergers with Pacific Bell, Southern New England Telephone and Ameritech. In 2003, Ms. Lake began developing a public affairs discipline within the SBC External Affairs Department, and in 2007, she launched the development of AT&T's centralized corporate citizenship and sustainability function. A mass communication graduate of Kansas State University (KSU), she also serves on the Advisory Council at KSU’s A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ms. Lake began her professional life as a journalist, working on daily newspapers in Kansas.
Ms. Lake serves on the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council, a leading international association designed to advance the field of public affairs, and on the board of directors of America’s Promise Alliance, an organization committed to preparing young people for college, work and life. Ms. Lake sits on the Corporate Advisory Board of Women Impacting Public Policy, a national bipartisan group of 500,000 women business owners who actively engage in the political process. She also serves on the Council of Advisors of the Institute for Economic Empowerment for Women, which, among other projects, partnered with the U.S. Department of State to teach women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda about free enterprise and market power. For her demonstration of sustained leadership and excellence in public service, she was honored with the Iron Jawed Angel award in 2008 by the Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series in Washington, DC. Ms. Lake also serves on the Collin College Foundation Board of Directors.
A Kansas native, she is a resident of the Dallas metroplex, where she lives with her husband, Rod.
Ms. Lake began her career at Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1986 in Topeka, Kansas, and served in management roles in financial communications, media relations and employee communications in Kansas, Missouri and Texas. She assumed leadership over SBC’s corporate advertising and sports marketing department during the mid-1990s and managed the organization through the mergers with Pacific Bell, Southern New England Telephone and Ameritech. In 2003, Ms. Lake began developing a public affairs discipline within the SBC External Affairs Department, and in 2007, she launched the development of AT&T's centralized corporate citizenship and sustainability function. A mass communication graduate of Kansas State University (KSU), she also serves on the Advisory Council at KSU’s A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ms. Lake began her professional life as a journalist, working on daily newspapers in Kansas.
Ms. Lake serves on the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council, a leading international association designed to advance the field of public affairs, and on the board of directors of America’s Promise Alliance, an organization committed to preparing young people for college, work and life. Ms. Lake sits on the Corporate Advisory Board of Women Impacting Public Policy, a national bipartisan group of 500,000 women business owners who actively engage in the political process. She also serves on the Council of Advisors of the Institute for Economic Empowerment for Women, which, among other projects, partnered with the U.S. Department of State to teach women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda about free enterprise and market power. For her demonstration of sustained leadership and excellence in public service, she was honored with the Iron Jawed Angel award in 2008 by the Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series in Washington, DC. Ms. Lake also serves on the Collin College Foundation Board of Directors.
A Kansas native, she is a resident of the Dallas metroplex, where she lives with her husband, Rod.
