Experienced Marketing and Communications professional with over 10 years of expertise in brand management, strategic planning, marketing and advertising campaigns, social media management, web content management, project management, copywriting, and grantwriting.

She served as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University, her alma mater, for nearly ten years, after starting as Assistant Director of Development. In addition, Darlene reviewed grants for the Fulton County Arts Council for five years. She also participated in branding Forsyth and Luckie Streets as Atlanta’s Arts Intersection and was a particpant and guest blogger for Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation's Audience Building Roundtable, a professional network of over 50 arts organizations, on behalf of the Rialto Center at Georgia State. Before Georgia State, she led marketing and brand development at the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) for eight years.

Artists and non-profit organizations often seek her advice. She freelanced for the Hammonds House Museum and NBAF. Earlier, Darlene worked in advertising sales at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and held roles with the Office of the Mayor of Atlanta, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Georgia-Pacific LLC.

In 2021, Darlene published “GODSPEED: Wisdom for Life’s Journey” as an inspirational guide for young teens and adults.