In this episode of How I Got Here, Dreena welcomes Gina Charbonnet, an entertainment industry veteran. She’s the founder and owner of GeChar, an entertainment and production agency where she has produced events for ESSENCE, BET, NAACP, National Democratic Committee, Converse, among many others. Listen in as Gina shares her journey in the entertainment industry and especially as the executive producer of the ESSENCE festival’s Empowerment Experience Stage. Gina always imagined herself doing something creative with her life; she recalls when she first fell in love with the film industry and how it changed her perspective on what women can do as far as creative careers.  

She reflects on how she worked hard in the industry to earn the title of Executive Producer while having Susan Taylor as her mentor. She shares the challenges that tested her at the beginning of her career and how she learned to handle them. “I always think of situations that sometimes are challenging as a way to figure it out.” Gina explains why Oprah was her favorite guest at the Empowerment Experience Stage. 

After having worked with the ESSENCE Festival for many years, Gina is happy to hone her producer skills and contribute to the change in the community through empowerment. “No matter where you’re in life, you have power and you have value.” She also touches on how proud she is that she was a part of conversations that could make a difference in the black community. 

Gina shares with us how she ended up as the executive producer of the feature film Ma Belle, My Beauty after forming a mentor-mentee relationship with the director. She advises young creatives who want to break into the entertainment industry to intentionally own what they’re doing, be disciplined, and then look for a mentor to help them be experts. 

Connect with Gina: https://www.instagram.com/gechar.co/