With more than 28 years of experience in consulting, lobbying, government relations, communications and media relations in the public and private sector, John Charlson runs the Albany, New York office for TBA.

John’s career began in 1988 working for NYS Governor Mario M. Cuomo, holding a number of senior positions in the Executive Chamber from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, primarily on his communications and public relations team. After Governor Cuomo’s third term concluded, John joined the National Education Association of New York, where as Director of Communications, he promoted education and labor issues for the state affiliate of the teachers’ union. He later spent many years working as a spokesperson and media relations professional at International Business Machines’ worldwide headquarters. He was charged with promoting business earnings, product offerings and some acquisitions for IBM’s multi-billion dollar software and systems divisions and emerging wireless and Linux businesses. John left the company when he was appointed by NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer to serve as the number two executive on the Senior Management Team of the New York Lottery, the most profitable in North America with some $7.5 billion in annual revenues at the time. At the Lottery, he managed the communications and government relations functions together with its multi-million programs promoting the agency and its commitment to education funding.