Darlene Hamilton is a marketing and communications expert with over two decades of comprehensive experience in brand management, strategic planning, marketing campaigns, social media management, web content creation, project management, copywriting, and writing grants. She worked 10 years with her alma mater Georgia State University as Assistant Director of Development, later as Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications for the Rialto Center for the Arts. During her time there, she also reviewed grants for the Fulton County Arts Council over a period of five years and played a key role in branding Forsyth and Luckie Streets as Atlanta’s Arts Intersection.

Darlene put her writing skills to work as a guest blogger for the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s Audience Building Roundtable, on behalf of the Rialto Center. She is also a highly-skilled, successful grant writer ad served as as grant review panelist for the City of Atlanta and Fulton county for multiple years.

Before joining Georgia State, Darlene led the marketing efforts for the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) for eight years, gaining expertise as an arts marketer. Artists and nonprofit organizations, including the Hammonds House Museum and NBAF, seek her advice and guidance.

She began career in advertising sales with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and held valuable roles in the Office of the Mayor of Atlanta, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Georgia-Pacific.

In 2021, Darlene published “GODSPEED: Wisdom for Life’s Journey,” a collection of inspirational sayings aimed at motivating and uplifting readers.