Charlie received his MSc in Violence, Conflict, and Development from SOAS, where his thesis focused on social and gang violence in Brazil, and his BA in French and Spanish from Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), during which time in studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and La Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Mexico.

After graduating, he worked with NGOs in London, including Amnesty International, with a focus on human rights and Latin America, before undertaking roles with a research institute in Bethlehem writing geopolitical reports on final status issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and an award-winning think tank in Jerusalem, where he researched Israeli and Palestinian politics and conflict resolution as part of Track II diplomacy

He moved full-time to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) from 2011-2016 where he worked as a reporter, news editor, and then senior editor with Ma’an News Agency, the largest independent Palestinian news organisation.

During this time, he reported from across the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israel and edited and published news, in-depth, and feature stories covering Israeli and Palestinian politics, escalating tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israeli wars in Gaza, settler violence, prisoner releases, protests, and cultural events.