ACRED Committee Member List
| Louis Patalano IV ’95 – Cary, NC | |
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Lou Patalano [Pat-ah-lan-Oh] is the Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. He received a Bachelor’s in English and Political Science from UNC in 1995. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2000. Patalano supports the University Development Office, the Asian American Center, Scholarships and Student Aid, and the Educational Foundation. In addition to serving as vice chair of ACRED and as a member of the ACRED Asian-American Subcommittee, Patalano has served on the UNC Board of Visitors and currently sits on the GAA Board of Directors. Also, he was on the Campaign for Carolina diversity strategy committee. As a student, he was a member of the Carolina Athletic Association, a search committee member of the Student Recreational Center board of directors, the Chapel Hill Town Council liaison for Student Government and a walk-on member of the football team. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana , Patalano served as of counsel for K&L Gates; chief legal officer, senior corporate vice president, and corporate secretary for Sentara Healthcare and Optima Health in Virginia. Previously, he was employed with Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, the ninth largest health system in North Carolina, where he served as its first General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal Services. Before Sentara, Patalano was formerly deputy general counsel and vice president with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where he served as the organization’s leader of the day-to-day legal function. Earlier in his career, he also served as an Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office in Raleigh, and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, prosecuting health care fraud and abuse cases in state and federal courts. Patalano has served on the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of North Carolina and previously served on the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of Cumberland County. Additionally, he was on the Board of Directors and in leadership roles with the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys and the North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Section Council. In 2021, Patalano was recognized by Virginia Business as one of the commonwealth’s Legal Elite (Corporate Counsel). In 2011, Patalano was recognized by The Fayetteville Observer as one of its top 40 Under Forty – an honor awarded to the region’s rising leaders based on both their business success and community impact. He lives in Cary. |
The member list is grouped alphabetically by last name. Click any letter below to view the members in that group.
| Elizabeth M. Adkins ’18 – Washington, DC | |
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Elizabeth Adkins works in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Legislative Director for Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) where she leads the legislative team and serves as the chief policy advisor. Elizabeth’s career began in the office of former Congressman David Price where she held various roles including Senior Legislative Assistant. During her time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Elizabeth has led various successful legislative efforts including the passage of the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act which was signed into law in October 2022. She has also helped to secure over $15 billion in funding for community projects in the 4th District. In DC, she serves as an Executive Board Member of the North Carolina Democratic Club of Washington, DC, and as the Secretary and a Board of Governors Member of the North Carolina State Society of Washington, DC. In 2017, Elizabeth was elected as the University’s Student Body President, making her the first Asian-American to hold the role. She served as the only student member of the UNC Board of Trustees and represented over 29,000 students to the Board, University administrators, faculty, and the UNC System. She was also selected as a key speaker for the $5 billion Campaign for Carolina where she traveled around the country to various launch events to advocate for University diversity programs and first-generation college students. Elizabeth is a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She graduated from UNC in 2018 with dual degrees in Political Science and Media & Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations. Elizabeth is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. |
| Katrina Avery ’82, ’91 – Durham, NC | |
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Dr. Katrina H. Avery demonstrated by her many educational pursuits and accomplishments, professional accolades, and involvement in medical societies and community boards has impacted the field of medicine in a very personal way. Her tireless work as a servant leader giving back to her community has been done while at the same time forging a remarkable professional career and being devoted to her family. She believes in being an excellent physician who sincerely cares about patients and their families as well as her fellow physicians, nurses, and staff. Avery also believes in paying it forward and continues to mentor and encourage those who aspire to become physicians or pursue other health-related careers. She retired as the division chief at Harris & Smith OB-GYN, where she specializes in obstetrics and gynecology and for more than 20 years had been taking care of women in the Durham community. Avery received her bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1982. She attended North Carolina Central University, where she received her master’s of science degree in biology. She received her medical degree and completed graduate studies in maternal and child health at Carolina. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical College of Georgia and is board-certified with the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Professionally, Avery wears many hats with numerous boards and committees, including the former OB-GYN Residency Directory at Duke Regional Hospital, and as former OB-GYN department chair at Duke Regional Hospital. Avery has held leadership positions on several boards and committees at the UNC School of Medicine, including secretary, treasurer, vice president and currently president of the Medical Alumni Association and currently president of the UNC School of Medicine Medical Alumni Association, the first African-American to serve in this role. |
| Leslie Bauknight Nixon ’02 – Plantation, FL | |
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A native of New Jersey, Dr. Leslie Bauknight Nixon attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earning a dual degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations and Economics in 2002. Following graduation and determined to start a career in sports, Nixon immediately enrolled at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, FL graduating cum laude with her Juris Doctorate and Masters in Sports Administration in 2005. After passing the Florida Bar, Nixon practiced law at the St. Thomas University Human Rights Institute providing free legal services to lower-income residents in Miami-Dade County. In 2006, Nixon started as the Community Outreach/Communications Coordinator but quickly moved into the role of Director of Administration for Super Bowl XLI. Nixon stayed with the Super Bowl Host Committee and served as the Director of Volunteer Services for Super Bowl XLIV and Pro Bowl 2010. After the conclusion of Super Bowl in 2010, Nixon brought her expertise in volunteering to the Miami Dolphins and started the Miami Dolphins Special Teams powered by AARP Foundation volunteer program, the first of its kind in the NFL. In 2015, Nixon completed her Doctorate of Education in Sport Management at the United States Sports Academy. She has served as an adjunct professor at Barry University. Currently, Nixon serves as the Senior Director Community Affairs overseeing charitable giving programs and community relations platforms for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium. |
| Danny Bell – Chapel Hill, NC | |
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A member of the Coharie and Lumbee Tribes of North Carolina, Danny Bell is the program coordinator for American Indian Studies. He has been very involved in supporting and establishing the curriculum for the American Indian Studies major and minor in the Department of American Studies. Danny was appointed to the Provost Committee on Native American Issues in 1997 as it developed both plans and proposals to increase Carolina’s awareness of the American Indian presence, and proposals that led to establish the American Indian Center. Danny has served as an advisor for many Native American student organizations. The UNC student Magazine Blue & White selected Bell as its 2005 “Person of the Year”. In 2014 he received the C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award from Chancellor Folt, one of the most coveted distinctions the University gives faculty and staff. Danny serves on various UNC committees including the Pogue Scholarship Committee, the Minority Health Videoconference Committee, the American Indian Center Community Engagement & Research Committee, and the EEO Advisory Committee. In addition, he serves on state committees including The State Advisory Council on Indian Education to the NC State Board of Education, the NC Commission of Indian Affairs Committee on Education, Religion and Culture, and the NC Museum of History Indian Heritage Month planning committee. Before coming to UNC Danny worked with the NC Commission of Indian Affairs for 14 years. Danny attended East Carolina Indian High School and East Carolina College. He served for 30 years in the US Army and the NC 440th Army Band. |
| Joseph Bell ’82, ’86 – Castle Hayne, NC | |
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Joseph Bell, MD (Lumbee) is the son of Sarah Sampson Bell and the late James (Buddy) Bell and the grandson of the late Furman and Maggie Bell and the late Stanley and Eunice Sampson. Dr. Bell is the brother of Judge James Gregory Bell and Dr. Ronny A. Bell. He grew up in Pembroke, NC and graduated from Pembroke Senior High School in 1977. He then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and became the first Lumbee to play on the UNC junior varsity basketball team. As an undergraduate, he served as President of the Carolina Indian Circle and graduated from the UNC School of Pharmacy in 1982 and the UNC School of Medicine in 1986. After Dr. Bell finished his pediatric residency at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC, he became the first Lumbee Pediatrician and first Native American Pediatrician in North Carolina. He would for four years at the Carl Albert Indian Hospital and Choctaw Nation Indian Hospital in Oklahoma before returning to Roberson County to work as a Pediatrician and Medical Director at Robeson Health Care Corporation. Dr. Bell also worked as a contract Pediatrician on the Catawba Indian Reservation for 24 years. He helped open Pembroke Pediatrics, a clinic of Children’s Health of Carolina, in 1998. He served as medical director for 23 years. Presently, he works as a staff Pediatrician at Children’s Health Pembroke (formerly Pembroke Pediatrics) and managing partner for Children’s Health for Carolina. Dr. Bell has served on the North Carolina Pediatric Society’s Executive Board. He is a member and past President of the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP), founding board member of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board and the AAIP Liaison to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Native American Child Health (CONACH). His awards include the AAIP Indian Physician of the Year Award, the AAP Native American Child Advocacy Award, the Physician Assistant Educational Association’s Teacher of the Year Award and the North Carolina Pediatric Society’s Dave Tayloe Sr. Award. He has been married to Vicki Bell for the past 34 years. They have two children, Tori Alvarado (husband David) and Isaac Bell (wife Peyton) and three grandchildren, Elena, Rosa, and Luca. |
| Kerry D. Bird ’86 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Kerry D. Bird is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota and has heritage from the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He was formerly employed as a Development Officer in the Office of Development at UNC Chapel Hill. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a Master’s of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Kerry served as a diversity consultant with ProGroup, Inc. for several years. He was previously employed as the interim executive director for Native Americans in Philanthropy and the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center and as project director for the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs. Kerry is currently a member of the Board of Visitors for UNC, the President of Triangle Native American Society, a former board member of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, and a past President of United Tribes of North Carolina. Kerry and his husband live in Raleigh. |
| Matthew Bradley ’94 – Charlotte, NC | |
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Matt Bradley is a native of Fayetteville, NC currently resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Nikki and daughter, Nina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill. He continued his education by taking post-baccalaureate courses in Business Administration at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. As a dedicated logistician, he attended The Logistics Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology and completed two certifications as a Lean Supply Chain Professional and in Supply Chain & Logistics. As a freshman at UNC, Matt challenged himself and walked onto the Men’s Soccer Team and earned a monogram letter that same semester. His sophomore year he joined the Theta Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. In his senior year he served as the Chapter’s Vice Polemarch and Membership Intake Chair. Matt currently works at Deloitte Consulting LLP where he is a leader within the Supply Chain and Network Operations market offering. He brings more than two decades of industry and consulting experience with a focus on logistics and distribution in 3PL and 4PL, life sciences, healthcare, retail and consumer products, telecom, and wholesale distribution industries. He helps clients optimize their supply chains by defining business fulfillment strategies, redesigning operational processes, implementing technologies, in an effort to increase growth, improve productivities, enhance service, and grow margins. An established trusted advisor to the C-suite and operations leadership, Matt’s deep industry supply chain experience sits at the intersection of process improvement and operational execution with a proven track record of delivering high impact solutions. Prior to joining Deloitte Consulting, Matt held many progressively responsible leadership roles throughout his career. Most recently, he served as President of TH Logistics, a start-up Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), where he led Business Development, Operations and Personnel. He held an Executive Management role at DSC Logistics – now CJ Logistics – as a Group General Manager responsible for the operational performance and customer relationship management for Fortune 500 tobacco and consumer packaged goods accounts. Matt is also active in his local community serving as Chair of the Board of Charlotte Works (the workforce development board of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County), is active member of the Charlotte Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and serves his local church, Open Arms CLT as the audio/visual coordinator. |
| John Brooks ’96 – Lumberton, N.C. | |
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Dr. John Brooks is a Cardiologist with FirstHealth Cardiology in Raeford, North Carolina. He graduated from UNC in 1996 with a bachelor of science in Pharmacy. He completed his medical training at East Carolina University and residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. |
| Kimberley Brown ’03 – Philadelphia, PA | |
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Kimberley joined Janssen, The Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnsonin 2007 as a medical science liaison from the Rainbow Center for Women, Children and Families in Jacksonville, Florida where she served as HIV Clinical Specialist, and clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida School of Pharmacy. Kimberley holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from UNC- Chapel Hill and completed a Pharmacy Practice and an Infectious Diseases Specialty Residency. Since joining Janssen, she has also served as Associate Director, Training with responsibilities for the virology MSL team. She also served as Associate Medical Director of US Medical Affairs, Infectious Diseases, where she was responsible for working as part of both the HCV and HIV clinical teams to lead efforts on research trials and launch team activities, as well as participate in business partner collaborations. She was also responsible for acting as the company’s pharmacovigilance officer. From2015- early 2018, she served as the US Medical Director for the HIV franchise (PREZISTA, PREZCOBIX, EDURANT, INTELENCE, ODEFSEY, COMPLERA). Now she serves as Scientific Director for Janssen Research and Development. |
| ToNola Brown-Bland ’84 – Burlington, NC | |
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Brown-Bland began her professional career as federal Law Clerk to the Honorable Alexander B. Denson, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and thereafter entered private practice in Greensboro, N.C. She later became in-house attorney for AT&T Corp. (subsequently Lucent Technologies), where she was promoted to Senior Attorney and primarily supported the company’s federal contracting and related commercial technology licensing business lines in Greensboro. She joined the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State in 2001, serving as Director of the Business License Information Office and of the Charitable Solicitations Licensing Section. Brown-Bland’s experience in utility regulation began in 2002, when she accepted a position with the North Carolina Utilities Commission as an attorney in the Legal Division. From 2005 until her appointment to the Commission, she served as Associate General Counsel with the City of Greensboro. Commissioner Brown-Bland has a history of community and civic service, having served on several boards including the Greensboro Bar Association, the Alamance County Historical Museum, and Western Piedmont Residential Services, a non-profit organization that provided residential service to autistic adults. She and her husband André make their home in her native Alamance County. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Juris Doctorate from Duke University School of Law. |
| Maxine Brown-Davis ’74 – Cedar Point, NC | |
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Maxine Brown-Davis retired as the Chief Diversity Officer; Vice President: Human Resources for Global Diversity and General Manager for the Corporate Organization Performance Group for The Procter & Gamble Company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Maxine was responsible to the 140,000 employees for leading the Global Human Resources organizations for Diversity and Inclusion; Employee Relations; Labor Relations; Organization Performance; Employee/Organization Research/Sensing; Employee Communications and Business Ethics & Compliance. Maxine started her career with Procter and Gamble in manufacturing, sales, finance, corporate human resources, commercial retail teams and global business units. Maxine received awards and acclaim from diverse groups, including the United States Postal Service, American Red Cross, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs, the Governor of North Carolina for work with The Future Focus Committee, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Harvey E. Beech Distinguished Alumni Award and Black Health Magazine’s 2010 “25 Most Influential African Americans in Healthcare.” Maxine is currently an associate with several Executive Coaching and Management Consulting companies in the United States. She lives on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. |
| Rashonda Burkett ’02 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Rashonda Burkett is the Regional Scientific Associate Director at Novartis. Rashonda received her Doctor of Pharmacy from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002. She began her career with Hefner VA Medical Center as an Intermittent Pharmacist after completing her residency with them. Rashonda later became a primary care clinical pharmacist and then began working in pharmaceuticals which led her to be the Director at Novartis. Rashonda serves on other UNC committees including the Pharmacy Alumni Association Board of Directors as well as the Residence Hall Association. |
| Rolanda C. Burney ’93 – Amherst, MA | |
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Rolanda C Burney currently serves as chief of staff to Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Burney manages the Chancellor’s Office and coordinates with the senior campus leadership team and a variety of constituents to pursue the university’s strategic goals, tracking and advancing priority projects. Burney has extensive experience in higher education, especially in governance, board leadership, crisis management, strategic planning and implementation, and development of policies, programs and services that support institutional mission. She worked as a consultant for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, leading the Frontier Set Initiative, a partnership of 31 public and private colleges, universities, community colleges and university systems created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help colleges increase the number of graduates among minority, first-generation, low-income and non-traditional students. Prior to that, Burney served for three years as chief of staff at Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., a private, historically black women’s college, where she worked closely with the president on enacting college-wide strategic and leadership initiatives and also with the college’s board of trustees on its operational and administrative functions. Burney served as special assistant to the president at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for seven years, where she worked with the president and senior staff to shape and manage the strategic agenda for the president and university. She also worked at Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C., a private, not-for-profit historically black college, as dean and then later as associate vice president of enrollment management and strategic planning; at the University of Virginia as assistant dean of admission and at the University of North Carolina Wilmington as an admission counselor. A Life Member of the General Alumni Association her previous service to the University includes membership on the Student Affairs Advisory Board. Burney earned her Ph.D. in organizational leadership from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; her M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina Wilmington; and her B.A. in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Susan Hunt Briggs ’91- Charlotte, NC | |
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Susan Hunt Briggs is a shareholder of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. As a Board-Certified Specialist in workers’ compensation law and a trial lawyer, she concentrates her practice in the areas of workers’ compensation litigation and appellate practice. Ms. Briggs is also a certified mediator and has significant experience in mediation negotiations and advises clients on business risk management and strategy issues. Furthermore, Ms. Briggs regularly teaches seminars regarding workers’ compensation law in North Carolina and claims investigation. Her work with Workers’ Compensation Law has earned her the distinction of many awards including being named to The Best Lawyers in America in 2012 and she has been named Best of the Best Attorneys Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. She has been named Business Leader Media’s 2009 “Women Extraordinaire” Honoree, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly 2022 Power List for Workers’ Compensation attorneys, and a 2022 P.O.W.E.R. (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized) honoree. Ms. Briggs earned her Juris Doctor at The University of North Carolina School of Law after completing her undergraduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was a member of the Carolina Indian Circle while attending UNC-Chapel Hill. Ms. Briggs is active in many diverse groups and is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of Native American Indians. |
| Cassandra Caldwell ’93- Fort Lauderdale, FL | |
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Dr. Cassandra Caldwell is an internationally renowned diversity and inclusion thought leader, author, faculty member, consultant, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and scholar. Numerous publications featured her, including Black Enterprise Magazine, Profiles in Diversity Journal, HBCU Connect Magazine, INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine, and The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. She has over 24 years of experience in several leadership roles with Visa, General Electric, Sodexo, the International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals, GlaxoSmithKline, North Carolina State University, and the US Department of Agriculture. In addition to being a leader in the corporate world, Dr. Caldwell was an instructor in the Cornell University Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program. She served as an appointed advisor to the US Census on the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. She has also held academic appointments as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, Nova Southeastern University, Walden University, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, Seton Hall University, and the University of Houston. Dr. Caldwell earned a B.A. in Speech Communication from UNC in 1993, a M.P.A.in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Human and Community Resource Development. Her international education includes being a visiting scholar in Ghana, South Africa, and Swaziland. Her latest international academic appointment was as a visiting scholar at The Oxford Round Table for Women’s Leadership at the University of Oxford in England. In addition to these international academic appointments, Dr. Caldwell has presented on leadership and diversity topics in Japan, Morocco, South Africa, Taiwan, Hong Kong, England, Canada, Austria, and France. Dr. Caldwell has received numerous honors including: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award, Profiles in Diversity Journal CEO Leadership in Action Award, Profiles in Diversity Journal Excellence in Innovation Award, Profiles in Diversity Journal Diversity Leader Award, Wake County Chapter of the National Congress of Black Women 21st Century African-American Trailblazer /Sojourner Truth Legacy Award, Sodexo Champion of Diversity Award, The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Keeper of the Dream Award, North Carolina Central University College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, Marquis Who’s Who of American Women Executives, Empire Who’s Who of Women in Education, Leadership America North Carolina, The American Association for Higher Education Patricia K. Cross Future Leader Award, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. |
| Maribel Carrion ’77, ’86 – Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Maribel Carrion is the Executive Director of Student Administration and Enterprise Reporting in the Information Technology Services (ITS) organization at UNC Chapel Hill. She has more than 30 years of experience working in technology, including roles based in Mexico and Singapore, as well as managing teams in Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. She returned to the Chapel Hill area in 2000 and joined UNC-Chapel Hill in 2009. Maribel holds a BS in Mathematics and an MBA, both from UNC-Chapel Hill. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Maribel began her travels as an “Army brat” when she was less than a year old. Her family would go on to live in North Carolina, Germany, Florida, Panama, Puerto Rico and then back to North Carolina. She credits this background for creating a lasting curiosity for the cultures, languages and arts in different parts of the world. In today’s environment, she feels it is important for all young people to have some type of experience that exposes them to the global environment – especially those under-represented students that can least afford it. As a result, she has worked with the Center for Global Initiatives to create opportunities through the Global Take Off: Puerto Rico program. She also supports the Carolina Performing Arts’ Student Angel Fund, which ensures that students have access to artists and performances from around the world here at UNC, regardless of their ability to pay. In addition to serving on ACRED for the past 9 years, Maribel currently serves on the Carolina Performing Arts International Advisory Board and the Chancellor’s Global Leadership Council. |
| Warren J. Carson ’74, – Tryon, NC | |
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Dr. Warren J. Carson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, SC. In addition to teaching classes in English and African American Studies, he served USC Upstate in a number of capacities for 34 years, including Chair of the Department of Languages, Literature, and Composition; Interim Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences; Vice-Chancellor for the Greenville Campus; Chief Diversity Officer; and Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Nationally, he served as Chief Reader for the College Board’s Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition exams. He is a past president of the College Language Association and Managing Editor of the CLA Journal, a scholarly journal devoted to the study language and literature. Carson is an award-winning teacher, having been awarded the University’s highest teaching awards, including being named the Carolina Trustees Professor of English in 2017. Likewise, he has been cited numerous times for his service contributions locally, regionally, and nationally. In 2014, he was awarded USC Upstate’s Distinguished Service Award that recognized his numerous contributions. In 2015, he was named “Outstanding Black Alumnus” by UNC Chapel Hill. He holds life memberships in the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Alumni Association, the College Language Association, Pi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, the Tryon Town Council, the Board of Trustees of St. Luke’s Hospital, the Polk County Board of Social Services, the Roseland Community Center Board of Directors, the Polk County Board of Elections, the Thermal Belt Outreach Ministries Board of Directors, Tryon Fine Arts Center, the Isothermal Community College Board of Trustees, the Polk County NAACP, the Eastside Citizens Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Garrison Chapel Baptist Church in Tryon, NC, where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Deacons. Carson received the bachelor’s degree in English from UNC Chapel Hill, the M.A. in Afro-American Studies from Atlanta University, and the Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina Columbia. He is a native of Tryon, NC, where since his retirement in 2017 he has continued to be active in a number of church and civic affairs, many of them devoted to his beloved Eastside Community. |
| Pamela Brewington Cashwell ’89, ’92 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Pamela Cashwell is the chief deputy secretary of Professional Standards, Policy and Planning for the N.C. Department of Public Safety. In this role, Pamela oversees the Office of Special Investigations, Internal Audit, Private Protective Services, Policy and Strategic Planning. Pamela had been at the State Ethics Commission since 2008 before moving to Public Safety in April 2017. She most recently served as assistant director supervising staff attorneys and administrative staff; providing legal representation; strategic and budget planning; legislative outreach; handling policy and legal questions; and many other duties. The North Carolina native also has held many legal positions to include senior staff attorney, NC Institute for Constitutional Law; trial attorney and attorney advisor in the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice; and special assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District, Virginia. Pamela holds a juris doctor from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and a bachelor’s in economics also from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has long been an advocate for American Indian and women’s issues and currently serves on the university’s Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Women’s Leadership Council. |
| Gabriel Catala ’07- New York, NY | |
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Gabe is the Head Trader at Samlyn Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund with over $6 billion of assets under management. Joining the firm in 2010, Gabe is responsible for trading and managing sell-side relationships in domestic and international equities and equity derivatives. Prior to joining Samlyn Capital, Gabe worked at Bank of America in the equity derivatives group. Gabe graduated with a BSBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007. He is from Wellington, FL, and resides in New York City with his wife, Mary Elizabeth (UNC BSBA 2007), and their three children. |
| Alexander Chu ’07, ’13- Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Alex Chu is counsel with K&L Gates in its Research Triangle Park office. He is a member of the Health Care and FDA practice group. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Alex served in various legal and compliance roles for regional health system and a North Carolina health insurer. He received both his JD and MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Mathematical Economics degree from Wake Forest University. Alex and his family reside in Chapel Hill, NC and are proud supporters of UNC’s Asian American Center. They also have an endowed scholarship at Kentucky Christian University. |
| Veronica Clemons ’92 -Charlotte, NC | |
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Veronica Clemons is a communications senior advisor in Public Affairs at Wells Fargo. Veronica leads media relations, manages issues, and has been a campaign manager for numerous initiatives and product launches. She has managed communications for a senior executive focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion and has been a consultant for the African American and LGBTQ segments. Veronica led a campaign to launch Wells Fargo’s $60 billion commitment to increasing African American homeownership, which won a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award of Excellence. A communicator with more than 25 years of experience, Veronica has held leadership roles at several companies including Walt Disney World and Hill and Knowlton, which was one of the largest PR firms in the country. She also served as a communications consultant for the National Urban League, supporting its CEO and key programs. A former journalist, she was an editor for Jet magazine in Chicago where she covered sports and entertainment. She earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a master’s degree in Communications from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Veronica is a member of PRSA Charlotte and its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is on the board of Mosaic Development Group, which focuses on the development of affordable housing in North Carolina, and is the immediate past president of the Charlotte Chapter of Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Amateurs. |
| Monica Cloud ’96 – Washington, D.C. | |
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Monica Cloud was raised in Raleigh, N.C., and devoted her life to public service. Her first foray into politics was as Speaker of Congress at UNC. She earned a bachelor’s degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, then worked in public policy in Washington, D.C, before heading to law school at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kan. She returned to North Carolina to accept a position with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice, LLP. She has served as deputy executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party. During the 2008 primaries, Monica served as deputy political director for the Hillary for President campaign in North Carolina. During the 2008 general election, she served as chief financial officer for the Hagan Senate Committee. Monica served as the chief financial officer for Kendrick Meek for Florida senate campaign in Miami, Fla. Currently, she is Director of Federal Government Relations at GSK Pharmaceuticals. |
| Kenneth Cox ’99 – Hoover, AL | |
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Kenneth Cox is recognized locally and nationally as a man of integrity, discipline, and influence. He currently holds and has held several leadership positions personally and professionally. He completed the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute in July 2023; received his Executive MBA from Faulkner University in May 2021; was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in December 2020 from Trinity International University of Ambassadors; a 2020 graduate of Leadership Hoover, a civic organization committed to cultivating strong community leaders; and the 2017 recipient of the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the Associate Athletic Director and Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach at Birmingham-Southern College; he is a deacon in his church, The Worship Center Christian Church; he is a member of Phi Beta Sigma, Fraternity, Inc. and the 100 Black Men of America; he has been serving as Vice Chair for Leadership Hoover since July 2023; and he is President of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). As a student at Carolina, he was a member of the Men’s Track and Field Team, a Project Uplift counselor, and a member of the Xi Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. A native of North Carolina along with his wife of 20 years, Leesha Ellis-Cox, M.D., M.P.H. (BS ’98, MD ’02), the couple have three children, two daughters, Bailey Madison and Khloe Emerson, and a son, Evan Miles. |
| Anthony Cummings ’84 ,’87 – Centreville, VA | |
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Mr. Anthony W. Cummings is the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Civil Rights. As Deputy Assistant Administrator, Mr. Cummings is responsible for assuring full, affirmative implementation of equity, inclusion, diversity, civil rights, equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity by recipients of FAA sponsored federal assistance. He manages and directs the diversity and civil rights programs consistent with Department of Transportation policy and functions and within the framework of civil rights laws and regulations. Prior to coming to the FAA, Mr. Cummings was a career Senior Executive Service (SES) member at the U.S. Department of Education where he served as the Director and Chief Administrative Judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) overseeing all OHA operations and internal controls. He also served in several senior leadership positions with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). At HUD, he served as the Associate General Counsel for the Office of Ethics, Appeals and Personnel Law where he managed and directed the agency’s ethics and employment law operations for nearly two years. From 2016 – 2018, he served as the Assistant General Counsel for Personnel Law, HUD’s top labor and employment lawyer. His specialty, federal sector employment law was honed, however, via his service as an Administrative Judge with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, where he served for nearly 25 years (1992 – 2016), receiving the Chairman’s Award of Excellence in 2015. From 1991 – 1992, he served as an Attorney-Advisor for the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, and from 1988-1991, he served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps as a Defense Counsel, Staff Judge Advocate and Special Assistant United States Attorney. Mr. Cummings holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He and his wife, Terri, are the parents of two wonderful young adults. |
| Kim Drumgo ’94 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Kim Drumgo is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Geisinger, an integrated health services organization that serves more than 3 million residents through 45 counties in central, south-central, and northeast Pennsylvania with over 24,000 employees. In her role at Geisinger, Kim provides strategic leadership and support of DEI programs across the health system. Her current focus areas include fostering inclusive cultures, talent attraction and growth, community health equity, and supplier diversity. With over 25 years of experience, Kim is recognized as a thought leader with demonstrated experience leading change initiatives in large matrixed organizations such as Anthem, AICPA, and BCBS. In the last 15 years, Kim has established multiple inaugural DEI offices and revitalized a fortune 30 DEI program to align the accountability of DEI with its 70,000 employees strategically. As an expert in the field of diversity management, Kim has been cited or featured in Becker’s Hospital Review, Chief Healthcare Executive, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Diversity Network Journal, Diversity Manager, The Journal of Accountancy, and many other publications and conferences. Kim is the past chairman of the PhD Project board and member of the Conference Board Diversity Council. She continues to serve as an advisor to many other entities focused on diversity and inclusion. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. |
| Catayah Angelia Duncan ’07 – Atlanta GA | |
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Angelia Duncan is a commercial litigator whose practice focuses on business disputes, employment matters, and unfair competition. Ms. Duncan also litigates and advises on matters involving real estate and construction disputes. Ms. Duncan frequently litigates claims arising out of employment relationships, including discrimination claims, the enforceability of noncompetition and nonsolicitation covenants, and trade secret disputes. Ms. Duncan has also handled all manners of property related disputes throughout the state of Georgia. She has represented lenders, investors, property owners, and contractors in loan default, eminent domain, foreclosure, and other property-based disputes. Ms. Duncan’s construction dispute experience includes resolving issues related to nonpayment, defective construction and defective design for contractors, design-builders, subcontractors and lenders through mediation, arbitration and state and federal litigation throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Ms. Duncan regularly volunteers with the Cobb Justice Foundation assisting victims of domestic violence in obtaining protective orders. |
| Janet N. Edwards ’95 – Washington, DC | |
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Janet Edwards is a native of Siler City, NC, and currently lives and works in Washington, DC. While at UNC she majored in pharmacy and was a member of Order of the Bell Tower, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Theta Pi Chapter, and Chapter President of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. Janet has a career in pharmaceutical sales & works for GlaxoSmithKline. She loves the interaction with an array of healthcare professionals that change patient lives. Outside of work, Janet volunteers with Capital Partners for Education (cpfe.org) where she has mentored two students through high school & college. She serves on CPE’s Mentor Leadership Council. Also, she is active in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Xi Zeta Omega Graduate Chapter where she is on their health committee. She has spent six years on the Pharmacy Alumni Association Board of Directors where she spent one year as Secretary. Most recently she was elected to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation Board. |
| Sidney H. Evans ’77 – Towson, MD | |
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Sidney Evans is the Vice President for Finance and Management at Morgan State University, Baltimore MD. He is the founder and CEO of Madisan Mackenzie, LLC, a management consulting firm founded in 2009. The firm’s primary focus is the Higher Education and Not for Profit markets. The firm’s capabilities are financial organizational development, corporate finance and asset management, endowment management and financial strategic planning. Previously, He served as the Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer for Howard University from 2005-2009. Prior to Howard University, He served as the Vice President for Finance at Dillard University (LA). He brings with him more than 30 years as a financial management professional in the Corporate, Banking, Government, Not-for-Profit and Higher Education industries. Additionally, he served as a director for a portfolio company of a Private Equity firm. He has issued and managed debt and equity transactions totaling more than $1 billion, including both corporate and municipal debt instruments. Prior to becoming a Chief Financial Officer, he served as a Manager and Assistant Controller with Unisys Corporation, working on the Corporate CFO’s staff. He started his career as a commercial banking officer with Citibank and Wachovia (Wells Fargo) bank. |
| Tawana D. Feimster ’95 – Huntersville, NC | |
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Dr. Tawana D. Feimster became board certified in endodontics in 2014. Before obtaining her dream of becoming a specialist, she obtained a BS degree in Dental Hygiene at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After completing the first two years of dental school at Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, she was granted a research position at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD and transferred to Howard University College of Dentistry to complete her dental degree. After graduating at the top of her class, with a research publication, Dr. Feimster decided to further her dental education and completed a General Practice Residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, NY, then obtained a Master’s of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a certificate in Endodontics from the University of Maryland-Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in Baltimore, MD. After completing the Endodontic residency, Dr. Feimster returned to Howard University as an Assistant Professor. She maintained a Deans Faculty position at the University of Maryland and opened an Endodontic specialty practice. She was named Top Dentist in the Northern Virginia Magazine while in private practice in 2014 and 2015. Dr. Feimster is a Board-Certified member of the American Board of Endodontics, an active member of the American Association of Endodontist, and the American Dental Association. She has been active in the Edward C. Penick Study Club, and the National Dental Association. After realizing that she wanted to expand her reach on a population level, she obtained a Master’s in Public Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed a Fellowship in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. While completing the Practicum with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Feimster played a pivotal role in developing a sustainable policy for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and integrating the policy into the Strategic Plan at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She also co-authored, “Perspectives on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI): A call for oral health care policy” in the Journal of Dental Education which is believed to serve as a valuable resource for years to come. With a targeted interest in assessing how the social determinants of health impact dental school applicants and dental students, Dr. Feimster organized and facilitates a dental mentoring group to off-set the barriers that marginalized students may face while preparing and applying for dental school. She is a director of a non-profit organization that works to reduce barriers for at-risk youth, volunteers as an American Board of Endodontics mock board interviewer, and serve as the Vice President of Membership for the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels Charlotte. Dr. Feimster continues her clinical practice to help off-set dental and educational disparities in the areas surrounding her hometown and on the island of Bermuda. Dr. Feimster enjoys traveling, experiencing new cultures, cycling, painting, mentoring, spending time with family and friends and volunteering with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. |
| Veronica Mora Flaspoehler ’08 – Huntersville, NC | |
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Veronica has eleven years of financial services industry experience and is currently a Vice President and the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer for Wells Fargo’s Latin America and Caribbean regions. Her prior experience includes leading efforts to build Wells Fargo’s Wholesale Testing & Validation Program covering regulatory compliance and financial crimes and supporting the creation of compliance oversight programs to address deficiencies identified as a result of the housing market crisis. Additionally, Veronica has been a Compliance Officer for Wells Fargo Securities supporting the origination, underwriting, and syndication of investment-grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, and real estate loan syndication. She started her career with Wachovia/Wells Fargo in the Internal Audit Associate Program covering Corporate and Investment Banking. Veronica graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Public Policy and a minor in Entrepreneurship Studies. Veronica was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Veronica and her family moved to the United States when she was four years old. She grew up in Lincolnton, NC. While at UNC, she was Vice President of the Class of 2008 and was involved in the Carolina Hispanics Association (CHispA), now known as Mi Pueblo, Campus Crusade, and was President of the Public Policy Majors Club. |
| Dr. Roy D. Flood ‘86 – Savannah, GA | |
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A native of Murfreesboro, N.C., Roy Flood came to Carolina as a Morehead Scholar and earned bachelor’s and medical degrees. As a student, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the North Carolina Fellows program, and vice-chairman of the Undergraduate Honor Court. Roy completed his postgraduate training at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology. He has a special interest in the management of Acute Coronary Syndromes and has research experience in interventional cardiology and the epidemiology of coronary artery disease in the African-American community. During his tenure in Washington, he was an active member of the teaching faculty at Washington Hospital Center and Providence Hospital, where he was the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award in 2001. In 2004, he and his wife, Jeri, also a Tar Heel, moved to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to initiate an interventional cardiology program at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital. He aimed to provide education, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in St. Thomas and neighboring St. John by combining grassroots efforts with recent advances in the management of cardiac disorders. He had been commended by Partners for Health for his contributions to health care in St. Thomas and St. John and was named Physician of the Year of Schneider Regional Medical Center in 2006. Roy is a member of the Association of Black Cardiologists and has served on its Board of Directors. He is also active in the American College of Cardiology, the Society of Coronary Angiography and Intervention and the American Society of Echocardiography. Roy and his wife now reside in Savannah, GA. The Floods have two daughters Erin, and Jade. |
| Dr. Devin Flowers ’02 – Woodstock, GA | |
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Dr. Devin Flowers is the founder and CEO of Devin Flowers, Inc. a holding company which purchases small science, technology, and engineering companies. Prior to starting his own company, Dr. Flowers worked for nearly 18 yrs. as a research and development director and scientist for PolyOne, Sealed Air, and DuPont. Over his career, he has become an expert in increasing the pace of R&D and understanding customer needs. This has led him to leading global teams of scientists and engineers to develop over 150 commercial products in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Dr. Flowers started his career by completing his bachelor’s in chemistry & mathematics at Alabama State University an HBCU and his Ph.D. in chemistry at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He now resides in Woodstock, GA in suburban Atlanta. |
| Vicki Gardin ’03 – Gastonia, NC | |
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Vicki Gardin is a native of Whitakers, NC. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. After which, she completed a specialty residency in Drug Informatics/Ambulatory Care with St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Express Scripts, Inc. Vicki is a Clinical Pharmacist with Community Care Partners of Greater Mecklenburg, part of Community Care of North Carolina’s (CCNC) public healthcare initiative. She serves as a preceptor for Doctor of Pharmacy students from NC and SC schools of pharmacy. In addition to ACRED, Vicki serves on the UNCESOP Pharmacy Alumni Association Board. She is an active member of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, UNC General Alumni Association Life Member, NC Association of Pharmacists, National Pharmaceutical Association, and a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc Life Member. She is a former board member of Tri It For Life, Inc. Vicki currently resides in Gastonia NC with her husband, William, and their 2 children. |
| Melvin D. Green, III ’97- Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Melvin Green III is the Agent/Owner of Melvin Green’s State Farm Agency in Raleigh, NC. Prior to his entrepreneurial endeavors in the insurance industry he was the Associate Director for Education at the Louisiana Tech Research Institute (LTRI), a non-profit partnership that connects Louisiana Tech University with the Department of Defense where he specialized in U.S. national policy and strategy, nuclear force direction, and cyber-threats to nuclear command, control and communications. Previously, Melvin served as the Deputy Chief of Air Force Global Strike Command’s Current Operations Division (COD) where he helped lead a team comprised of 50 officers, enlisted and civilians within the areas of policy and program oversight of Air Expeditionary Force Operations, Airfield Management, Weather Support Operations, Aircrew Flight Equipment, and Nuclear Launch Enable Codes while providing continuous readiness data and Command and Control capability to the Air Force Global Strike Commander. Melvin graduated and received his commission from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was initiated as member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated in 1997. On his primary platform, the B-52 Bomber jet, he has more than 2700 flight hours and over 500 combat hours in support of multiple Operation ENDURING FREEDOM tours. He has a Master of Aeronautical Science degree, a Master of Business Administration degree and is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. He resides in Chapel Hill with Cissy, his wife of over 20 years and their three children. |
| Calvin S. Hall II ’88 – Williamsburg, VA | |
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Calvin S. Hall II is the Director of Logistics for the United States Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Maryland. He leads a team of logistics and engineering professionals providing facilities, transportation, and supply chain management solutions in support of national defense activities. Cal entered federal civilian service after 25 years as an US Air Force officer, where he served as an Air Force logistics plans officer and missile system operator. He served tours of duty in Australia, Germany, Guam, Diego Garcia, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, New Mexico, and Montana, and completed his military career in the rank of Colonel. Cal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from UNC, and Master of Science degrees in Aeronautical Science and Logistics Management. Cal is a UNC Alumni Association Life Member, and an Alumni Advisor Network volunteer. He and his family live in Williamsburg, Virginia. |
| August Hammonds ’99 – Atlanta, GA | |
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August Hammonds obtained her BSBA from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1999 and her master’s in accounting from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2001. Upon graduating with her Master’s, she joined Ernst & Young LLP audit firm as a staff auditor. She is now a Partner with Ernst & Young in Atlanta, Georgia. August is a certified public accountant licensed in Georgia and has 16 years of experience with global, multi-national audits, including financial statement auditing, SOX 404 consultations, SEC filings, and technical consultations. She also completed a two-year international rotation in the EY Brussels office where she managed global multi-national accounts. She is originally from Lumberton, NC and is a member of the Lumbee Indian tribe. August enjoys running, cycling, traveling and spending time with family and friends. |
| Candace Harke ’05 – Lumberton, NC | |
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Candace Harke is a native of Fayetteville, N.C. She earned her BA in Communications and JD in Law from UNC. She currently works as a Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. (Pembroke Office). Candace is a member of ACRED, the UNC School of Law Pro Bono Alumni Board and the Beta Pi Professional Chapter of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority. She is also a member of the Lumbee Tribe of NC. Candace stays actively involved in the Robeson County Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors for Southeastern Family Violence Center and the United Way of Robeson County. She lives in Lumberton, NC. |
| Lori Ann Harris ’84 – Greensboro, NC | |
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When Lori Ann Harris ’84 was a senior at UNC, she chaired the Carolina Union’s social committee, a position she thoroughly enjoyed because it let her interact with a wide range of students. Her impulse to connect people with one another is one of the consistent themes of her life. Another is community service. As an undergraduate and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she helped organize and plan health fairs. On the Pan-Hellenic Council, she forged deeper bonds among all the sisterhoods on campus, black and white. She took part in a panel of students, faculty and staff who met regularly to discuss campus race relations. For her exemplary undergraduate service, she was inducted into the Order of the Old Well. And when she graduated with a degree in public policy, she kept right on serving. Grateful for the world-class education she had received and eager to stay connected with the college friends she cherished, she immediately got involved in the Black Alumni Reunion.She kept up that involvement even as she pursued certification in policy skills at Harvard and a master’s in public policy at the University of Michigan. She remained involved even as she embarked on a demanding career in public policy and politics. Over the years, as she served the BAR and UNC in numerous ways, Lori Ann’s professionalism, positive attitude and pride in being an alumna have been inspiring, says Bernadine Cobb ’84. And her involvement with BAR committees has helped attract other volunteers, community support and the involvement of several legislative dignitaries. Lori Ann has also long served with a group of alumni who advance the University’s agenda with the state legislature. |
| Felecia C. Harris ’87 – Charlotte, NC | |
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Felecia Harris is Founder and President of Educational Enhancement, Inc., which provides training and consulting to organizations and individuals in the areas of leadership, team and professional development and diversity. She is a diversity coach in the McColl Executive MBA program at Queens University. A partial list of clients she has worked with include: Duke Energy, Spectra Gas, Girl Scouts, UNC-Charlotte, City of Charlotte, City of Durham, Charlotte Housing Authority, Citizens Schools, Foundation for the Carolinas, U.S. Probation Office, Charlotte & Washington, D.C. 4th Circuit and Carolinas Healthcare System. She is a sought-after speaker in the areas of Diversity and Professional Development and author of “What Color Are Your Jellybeans? Intersections of Generation, Race, Sex, Culture and Gender” Felecia was an NCAA Student-Athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill in Track & Field and ACC Long Jump Champion. She received the prestigious Jim Tatum Memorial Award given annually to the most outstanding graduating student-athlete at the university. She is also a graduate of UNC-Charlotte and North Carolina State University. Felecia teaches in the Africana Studies Department and Women’s and Gender Studies Program at UNC-Charlotte and was named one of the 200 Most Influential African Americans in Charlotte by the Urban League. She lives in Charlotte with her husband Attorney Ken Harris and her children Sydney and Christian. |
| Angela C. Hatton ’89 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Angela is the current Project Management Associate Director for PPD Inc. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1989 at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Leon Herndon ’87, ’91 – Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Leon Herndon, MD, has earned international acclaim as an educator, a physician, and a leader in the fields of clinical ophthalmology and glaucoma research. He can now add a UNC School of Medicine Distinguished Medical Alumni award to his already outstanding list of accomplishments. Leon (’91) serves as associate professor of ophthalmology at Duke University Medical Center. The Raleigh native has been on the faculty at Duke since 1996 after completing his medical school and residency training at UNC. Over the course of his career, Leon has earned numerous accolades, both as a teacher and as a glaucoma researcher. He has received the Golden Globe Award from the Duke Eye Center, which recognizes outstanding teaching faculty. Leon’s research activities center on the development of innovative surgical and non-surgical options for the treatment of glaucoma and cataracts. His goal is the development of less invasive surgeries, which can lead to improved recovery for patients. His work has taken him across the globe as a speaker. He is also a leader in his medical field and in civic life, serving on the International Education Subcommittee for the American Glaucoma Society, the Program Committee of the World Glaucoma Association, the Chandler-Grant Glaucoma Society, and the International Congress of Glaucoma Surgeons. |
| Gerald V. Holmes ’85 – Greensboro, NC | |
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Gerald Holmes is the Reference Librarian and Diversity Coordinator at the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). As a member of the Libraries’ administrative faculty, Gerald led the creation of the Libraries’ Post MLS Diversity Residency Program and its Diversity Committee. As the Diversity Coordinator, he took on the additional responsibility as a Co-Principal Investigator for three Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants designed to recruit and prepare minority librarians for serving their communities in the 21st Century. As a credit to his work, 55 librarians from underrepresented populations are now working. Gerald serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UNCG. He is an active member of the American Library Association (ALA), Association of College and Research Libraries, the Black Caucus of ALA, and the North Carolina Library Association. Gerald was named the American Library Association 2014 Achievement in Library Diversity Research Honoree for his contributions to the library profession and his promotion of diversity within it. In 2015, he received the Black Caucus of ALA Distinguished Service to the Library Profession Award and the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award from the UNC General Alumni Association. Gerald earned his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) and his Master of Science in Library Science from the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS). He serves as a co-chair of the SILS Alumni Inclusion and Diversity (SAID) Committee. His research interests include diversity issues, reference desk services, and the promotion of librarianship as a career. Gerald is a Life Member of both Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the UNC General Alumni Association. He and his wife, Sharon, also a UNCC 49er and a Tar Heel, have a daughter, Veronica, and a son, Aaron. |
| Hans H. Huang ’94, ’98 – Raleigh, NC | |
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An experienced in-house attorney and legal professional with over twenty-five years of legal, senior, and executive management experience currently serving as the General Counsel for Rivercrest Realty Investors since 2020 after serving as the Chief Legal Officer for a regional construction company headquartered in Florida. His legal career includes representing and working with companies in various stages and their executives, from publicly traded e-commerce companies to technology and pharmaceutical organizations; from local restaurants to national specialty food and franchise organizations; from utility companies to financial institutions. In additional to serving on various boards and advisory boards, Hans has also supported and lead various Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Solution organizations and has received a Certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Solutions issued by Opportunity Hub supported by affiliated faculty at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. Hans also caught the entrepreneurial bug in 2004 with his first restaurant venture and has developed and operated several hospitality concepts since.
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| Raquel Marlene Hudson ’92 – Douglasville, GA | |
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Ms. Hudson graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1992 with a Bachelors Degree in Speech Communication. She is currently employed as an Independent Consultant with RMH Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia.
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| Dwight L. Jacobs ’87 – Waxhaw, NC | |
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As senior vice president, chief accounting officer, tax and controller for Duke Energy, Dwight Jacobs oversees the accounting, tax, financial reporting and internal controls for the corporation Before assuming his current position in June 2018, Jacobs served as senior vice president of financial planning and analysis for Duke Energy. In this role, he was responsible for the business and financial planning functions of the enterprise, including oversight of the company’s financial forecast. He also managed the design of policies, processes and systems that support the finance function. Jacobs joined the company in 2002 and served in several leadership roles. He has served as Duke Energy’s chief risk officer and led a revamping of the company’s enterprise risk management practices and policies. Jacobs has served as vice president of rates and regulatory strategy for Duke Energy, where he led the regulatory activity, including rate cases, in the six states and 11 jurisdictions served by the company. He has also served as utility controller and held leadership roles in corporate accounting and reporting. Before joining the company, Jacobs was an audit and business advisory partner with Arthur Andersen in Washington, D.C., where he started his career in 1988.The Orangeburg, S.C., native earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed the Advanced Risk Management Program at Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business. He is also a certified public accountant. Jacobs serves as a business school adjunct professor at Queens University. He is a board member and former president of Communities in Schools. He serves on the board of visitors for UNC’s Children’s Hospital, and he is a founding member of the university’s Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity. He has been a youth basketball coach, a teacher at Weddington United Methodist Church and a youth mentor. He is married to the former Moira Farrell of Charlotte, N.C., and they have a daughter and a son. |
| Eric Lamont Johnson ’96 – Braselton, GA | |
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Eric Johnson is a native of Winston-Salem, NC and received his bachelor’s degree in Sport Science and Marketing in 1996 where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He received his master’s degree in Sport Management and Marketing from the United States Sports Academy in 1998. He currently is employed by Sanden Vendo America a leading manufacturer in vending and foodservice equipment as a Regional Sales Manager. He, his wife Andrea, and two kids Kylie and Kellen live in Braselton, GA. |
| Anita Jotwani ’05- Durham, NC | |
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Anita Jotwani is a technology and product executive with over 15 years of data and analytics experience across finance, retail, HR, and healthcare. She currently works at ModMed, a health tech company focused on building solutions for specialty practices as the Senior Director, Product Management for Data & Analytics. Previously she worked at Walmart, Inc where she was the head of product for their global people analytics team and worked on data commercialization strategy across healthcare and merchandising. Prior to that, she led engineering transformation and product development across several areas of finance and risk with a specific focus on analytics transformation, regulation adoption, reducing technology friction and elevating end user usability across both Thomson Reuters and Goldman Sachs. Anita is a certified professional coach and holds her MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business. She is UNC-CH alum, with a BS in Information Science from SILS with a second major in Economics. She resides in Durham, NC with her husband and 2 kids. In her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking with modern and inventive twists, and spending time with her family. |
| Rhesa Kallam ’87 – Pittsboro, NC | |
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Rhesa Versola earned her BA in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is actively involved with the UNC Diversity Program for Minority Journalists, as well as ACRED. Rhesa, a former newspaper journalist turned clinical research director, is taking a sabbatical from her career to experience life first hand as a breast cancer warrior. She resides in Pittsboro, NC. |
| Johanna Hunt Karas ’91 – Atlanta, GA | |
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Johanna Karas is the Senior Clinical Supplies Program Manager at PRA Health Sciences. She is a resident of Atlanta, Georgia and received her Bachelor of Science from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1991. Her expertise is in management of clinical supplies for global investigational studies. |
| Michael D. Kennedy ’79 – Atlanta, GA | |
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Michael Kennedy is a senior client partner with Korn/Ferry International. Prior to joining Korn/Ferry, Michael owned a venture capital consulting firm where he advised a Southeast-based private equity fund. Before founding his own firm, he was a vice president in the corporate finance group at GE Capital Corporation. Earlier, he was a vice president at the Wachovia Corporation in the U.S. corporate group. Michael started his financial services career in investment management at J.P. Morgan & Company in New York. Michael earned a B.A. in History and Political Science with highest honors in 1979 from UNC-Chapel Hill, and he earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1985. Michael is a member of the Campaign Steering Committee, Center for the Study of the American South External Advisory Board, and the Chancellor’s Philanthropic Council. For more than 20 years, Michael has been a dynamic supporter of Carolina, turning his passion for the University into stellar volunteer leadership and organization around diversity initiatives. During the Bicentennial Campaign for Carolina, he stepped forward as a regional volunteer, and since, has been counted on for his vision and skill in guiding new projects. He has helped to increase diversity membership on boards across campus, created the Carolina American Indian Center and established the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, which he has chaired. |
| Patricia Kornegay-Timmons ’84 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Patricia Kornegay-Timmons holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Economics from Carolina and a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law. She began her legal career with a law firm in Charlotte, NC where she handled corporate, tax, and estate planning matters. She then worked as an Associate General Counsel at Progress Energy, Inc. in Raleigh, NC for more than 21 years. There, she handled securities, finance and corporate governance matters. At Carolina, Patricia was a Joseph E. Pogue Scholarship recipient and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She was also a member of the North Carolina Fellows Program, the Student Attorney General’s Staff, the Carolina Union Board of Directors and the Chancellor’s Committee on Student Conduct. Patricia is a former member of the Wake County Bar Association’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of The Fountain of Raleigh Fellowship. She and her husband, Dr. Phillip Z. Timmons, a fellow Tar Heel, have two sons. |
| Richard Kwok ’97,’99,’03 – Carrboro, NC | |
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Dr. Richard Kwok is a Program Director for the Population Studies and Genetics Branch of the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Kwok is an environmental epidemiologist with experience in multi-site epidemiologic studies of chronic disease outcomes across the life span. His interests span the environmental health sciences from exposure assessment and personal dosimetry to biomonitoring and the exposome as it applies to Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and its precursors across the life course. He is involved in number of trans-NIH and interagency working groups on a range of topics including: large data harmonization and common data elements efforts; climate change; disasters and wildfires; and the All of Us Research Program. Prior to joining NIA, Dr. Kwok served in a variety of roles at NIEHS including staff scientist, program director, and acting Chief-of-Staff of the institute. His work has included research into disasters and climate change, air and water pollution, including heavy metals like arsenic, oil spill chemicals, particulate matter, and non-ionizing UV radiation exposures with outcomes including cancer, cardiovascular, mental health, neurologic, reproductive and respiratory health outcomes. Dr. Kwok received his B.S.P.H. in environmental science, and his M.S.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Eugene Y. Lao ’91 – Burlingame, CA | |
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Eugene Y. Lao earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Global Studies, and East Asian Studies from Carolina, and a Juris Doctor and LL.M. degree in International and Comparative Legal Studies from Duke University School of Law. He began his legal career as an associate with the Hong Kong office of Hunton & Williams, where he worked in the Project Development and Finance team. He then went on to in-house roles as Asia-Pacific Regional General Counsel at Yahoo!, and subsequently Deputy General Counsel at Zynga, Ten-X (fka Auction.com), and DocuSign, respectively. Eugene currently serves as the General Counsel for Reltio, Inc. and lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. While at Carolina, Eugene was one of the founders of the Asian Students Association, and was the recipient of the Chancellor’s International Leadership Award. He was also a member of the UNC Honor Court, and the Order of the Grail-Valkyries. Eugene is a Life Member of the General Alumni Association, and previously served on the UNC Global Advisory Board. |
| Joseph K.T. Lee, MD, FACR – Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Joseph K. T. Lee, MD, is a professor emeritus of radiology who served as chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) from 1991 to 2006. From 2014 to 2016, Lee was a visiting professor and senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and Hong Kong University. He continued his part-time practice at both UNC and the National University Hospital of Singapore until March 2022. Globally recognized as a pioneer in the field of body CT and MRI, Lee has authored and edited 7 books, including the landmark “Computed Body Tomography with MRI Correlation,” which brought the techniques and findings of body CT/MRI to practicing radiologists around the globe. Lee was the first Asian American to serve as president of the American Roentgen Ray Society and has received the Gold Medal from the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society and Society of Computed Body Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He received his M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1973 and was the recipient of its Alumni Achievement Award in 2013. Dr. Lee is the proud father of three grown up children; two with an undergraduate degree and one with a medical degree from Carolina. |
| Jeremy D. Locklear ’15 – Durham, NC | |
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Jeremy D. Locklear is a native of Pembroke, N.C., and a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He currently resides in Durham, NC with his wife, Kadija Lewis Locklear, another Tar Heel (B.A. English ’13). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UNC and went on to earn his J.D. degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law. Jeremy began his professional career as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Cheri L. Beasley at the Supreme Court of North Carolina and thereafter entered private practice in Charlotte, NC. He has spent his career as a litigator whose practice focuses on representing businesses. He currently focuses his practice on representing employers on a wide range of labor and employment matters, including litigation defense, internal and administrative investigations, contract disputes, class action matters, and a wide range of other personnel issues, including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He has handled cases including wrongful termination, negligence, breach of contract, and alleged violations of Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, NCWHA, and REDA in both federal and North Carolina state courts. Jeremy volunteers with the Indigenous Pathways to Law Mentorship Program for NC’s Tribal Communities, and other programs throughout the triangle. In addition, he is actively involved in the North Carolina Bar Association. |
| Lisi Martinez Lotz ’08- Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Lisi Martinez Lotz, PhD is the Director of Planning and Innovation at the NC AHEC Program Office. She provides leadership to support the systemwide and strategic work of NC AHEC to recruit, train, and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina. She has over 20 years of professional experience in public health, academic, and nonprofit sectors with a focus on advocacy, strategic initiatives, and coalition building. Prior to NC AHEC, she was at Duke Cancer Network, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Vaccine Ambassadors. Lisi currently serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Boomerang, an Orange County organization whose mission it is to provide youth with the support they need to manage their challenges, cope with adversity, and become resilient, independent young people. She is on the Steering Committee of Carolina Across 100, an initiative of the The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to collaborate with local leaders across the state to address longstanding challenges exacerbated by COVID-19. Lisi is passionate about social justice issues, including health equity, gender and racial equality, and immigrant rights. A native of Miami, Florida and longtime resident of Chapel Hill, Lisi received her doctorate in Latin American History and Gender from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008. |
| Tarnya Deloatch-McPhatter ’94, – Clinton, MD | |
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| LaMar O. Mack ’01, ’06 – Visalia, CA | |
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| Jennifer Manning ’89, ’91 – Washington, DC | |
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Jennifer Manning is a Senior Research Librarian at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies and a master’s degree in library science, both from UNC-Chapel Hill. Of Cherokee heritage, Jennifer’s interests include promoting diversity in the library and information science professions as well as the expansion of international study and career opportunities for minority students. At UNC, Jennifer was a charter resident of the UNITAS multicultural residential learning program and was active in the Carolina Indian Circle and the Association of International Students. Jennifer is a Life Member of both the American Library Association and the UNC General Alumni Association and chairs the student financial aid committee of the District of Columbia Library Association. She is active in the American Indian Library Association and serves as liaison between the Congressional Research Service and its European parliamentary counterparts. |
| Uma Maheswari Mantravadi ’93 – Brooklyn, NY | |
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Uma Mantravadi is a strategy consultant with over 20 years of expertise in marketing, advertising, and market research. Her most recent experience has been working with start-ups, creative and digital agencies on brands such as Google, Georgia-Pacific, P&G, Diageo, Accenture, Indeed.com, Gap, Nike, New Balance, Pepsi, Trident, and Colgate. Throughout her career, Uma has worked in the US and globally at BBDO NY, Saatchi & Saatchi and co: Collective. Outside of work, Uma actively volunteers and participates in her community including Breast Cancer Awareness, voter registration programs, environmental protection charities and the Poly Prep Diversity Council. |
| Dr. Monique May ’92 – Harrisburg, NC | |
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Monique May, MD, MHA (’92, BS) is a board-certified licensed Family Physician with over twenty years of clinical experience. A native New Yorker, she has called Charlotte, NC home for most of the past twenty-three years. Monique graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel in 1992, where she was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship, with a degree in psychology. While at UNC, Monique was a member of the Black Student Union, volunteered at the Campus Y, and worked at Lenoir Dining Hall and the Student Union box office. She is proud to say that she was one of the members of the Black Cultural Center committee in its early days and was fortunate to work very closely with the late Dr. Sonya H. Stone. Monique is a regular contributor to the Project Uplift Endowment and Recruitment Programs, and the Carolina Covenant Endowment as well. She obtained her medical degree with honors from Temple University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency in Family Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center (now Atrium) in Charlotte, NC, where she was named Resident of the Year. Most recently she completed a Master of Healthcare Administration at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Monique’s commitment to her community as a physician was recently recognized with a Physician of the Year award. With over twenty years of clinical experience, in her role as a physician Monique has cared for entire families, from newborns to the elderly. She has practiced in a variety of settings, from her own clinic, to hospitals, worksites, patient homes, urgent care centers, and via telemedicine. She now enjoys an administrative and consulting career. In her spare time Monique enjoys cooking and experimenting in her kitchen (also known as her “lab”), and enjoys sharing her food and helpful/healthy cooking tips with others. Also known as The Physician in the Kitchen, Monique is well-known for her delicious food and cooking skills. She enjoys preparing healthy meals and looks forward to teaching others how to meal plan and prep efficiently. Monique enjoys spending time with her teenage son, cheering on her beloved North Carolina Tarheels, watching cooking shows on television, trying out new recipes, traveling, exercising, reading, performing community service, and shopping for the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets. |
| Priscilla Maynor ’11 – Holly Springs, NC | |
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A native of Lumberton, NC, Priscilla Maynor earned her Doctor in Education degree in Educational Leadership from UNC-Chapel Hill. Priscilla is a member of the American Indian Center External Advisory Board. She is also with the School of Education’s Educational Leadership program, as an adjunct professor. Priscilla is the founder and principal of imaginEd Partners, LLC. She is also a systems-focused education strategist, facilitator and collaborator, who is recognized in national circles for her broad knowledge base and progressive leadership in public education spanning from early childhood through K-12 and higher education. As an American Indian female who was educated in mainstream schools, she has an affinity for indigenous and underserved youth who are not faring well in the current educational system. Priscilla views her work as an opportunity to serve and offer her diverse and unique set of perspectives to equipping educators and leaders to innovate and make social change happen. She started imaginED Partners to serve as the catalyst for innovation to transform the educational and economic future of indigenous and underserved children, families and communities. Priscilla lives in Holly Springs, N.C. |
| Rosa McAfee ’75 – Charlotte, NC | |
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Ms. McAfee graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1975 with a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics. She went on to receive her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 1979. She is a financial service professional based in Charlotte, NC. |
| Charles McMillan ’15 – Chapel Hill, NC | |
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Charles is from Fayetteville NC and currently resides in Chapel Hill NC. Charles enlisted in the United States Army serving as a Cavalry Scout with the 82nd Airborne Division. After being honorably discharged he pursued his education earning a B.A. in Peace, War, and Defense from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a M.A. in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University. In addition to ACRED, Charles has served as co-chair of the Young Alumni Leadership Council from 2020-2022. |
| Ali A. Mehfar ’01- New York, NY | |
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Alex is a Partner on AEA’s Middle Market Private Equity team. In his role, he focuses on investment opportunities in the consumer, retail and related services sectors. Alex currently sits on the boards of AmeriVet, BMS Enterprises, Chemical Guys, Jack’s Family Restaurants, Melissa & Doug and ThreeSixty Group. He also served on the boards of former AEA portfolio companies 1-800 Contacts and 24 Hour Fitness. Prior to joining AEA, Alex was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company in San Francisco, advising both private equity and corporate clients. During his time there, he developed various strategies for clients focused primarily in the technology and telecommunication sectors. Prior to Bain, Alex served as a Henry Luce Scholar working as a consultant to Datacom, the first Internet Service Provider in Mongolia. Alex earned a B.A. in economics and a minor in information systems from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated with highest distinction and as a Morehead-Cain Scholar. |
| Melinda Gonzalez Mehfar ’99 -Rye, NY | |
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Melinda is currently serving as Membership Director of the Junior League of Greenwich. A member since 2005, she has volunteered in a variety of leadership roles including co-chair, vice chair, treasurer, and board secretary. Melinda earned her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Marketing Research from Baruch College. In addition to her home and volunteer efforts, Melinda loves reading, traveling, and learning about history. |
| Nikhil Mittal ’93 – New York, NY | |
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| Lucrecia Moore ’92 – Charlotte, NC | |
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Lucrecia Moore is the former Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Bank of America Merchant Services. She holds a BA degree in English from UNC-Chapel Hill and a JD from Marquette University Law School. In addition to serving as vice chair of the African-American subcommittee for ACRED, Lucrecia is also a member of the General Alumni Association. She is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Shalom Project in her hometown of Winston-Salem, NC. In addition, she was recognized as the first attorney at BB&T to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows Program. Also, Lucrecia is a Certified Long Distance Running Coach and a triathlete. She lives in Charlotte, N.C. |
| Lynette Mooring ’03 – Washington, DC | |
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Lynette Is the International Tax Governance Manager at the Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy in 2003 at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Teresa Artis Neal ’83 – Cary, NC | |
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Teresa Artis Neal is an attorney at Trans World Radio in Cary a global Christian media organization and an adjunct professor at UNC and Campbell Law Schools. Previously, she was vice president of business affairs at a Turner Broadcasting subsidiary in Atlanta, Georgia, and general counsel of Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in economics and public policy from UNC-Chapel Hill and her MBA and J.D. from Harvard University. As a student at Carolina, she was a Pogue Scholar, resident advisor, Carolina Union Activities Board member, N.C. Fellow and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. As a UNC alumna, she has served on the Board of Visitors, the General Alumni Association Board and has chaired the Alumni Committee for Racial and Ethnic Diversity. A former board member of UNC Rex Healthcare, Artis Neal chaired the Quality, Patient Safety and HR Committee and served on the Audit Committee. In 2016, the UNC Board of Trustees (BOT) awarded Artis Neal a William Richardson Davie Award for her service. She is a current board member of the UNC BOT, the UNC Foundation, WUNC-FM and the PBS NC Foundation. |
| Ngoc Nguyen ’94 – Raleigh, NC | |
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Ngoc is a Greensboro, N.C. native and the oldest of three to graduate from UNC. As an undergraduate, she was an active member of the Asian Students Association and served as vice president and president of the Vietnamese Students Association. Ngoc earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy analysis in 1994 from UNC-Chapel Hill, then obtained a master’s degree in public administration from N.C. State University in 1996 and a juris doctor from North Carolina Central University in 1999. Ngoc worked with the Land Loss Prevention Project, a non-profit legal organization in Durham, NC, before joining State government in 2000. She currently works with the Statewide IT Procurement Office at the NC Department of Information Technology. Ngoc has served as a member of the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity since its inception in 1999. She resides in Raleigh with her husband and two sons. |
| John Noble ’20 – Atlanta, GA | |
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John (Jack) Noble is a native of Wake Forest, NC, and currently resides in Atlanta, GA. He holds a B.S. with Honors in Business Administration and Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Jack was a Kenan Scholar and an active member of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Jack currently works as a Product Development Manager for CVS Health. Outside of work, Jack volunteers with English-Language-Learning K-5 students and supports their families. Jack also serves on the Young Alumni Leadership Council as the Member Selection Co-Chair, on the Luther Hodges Scholars Advisory Council, and is actively involved in the Carolina Pride Alumni Network. |
| Wendy B. Oxendine ’11, ’13 – Wilmington, NC | |
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Wendy obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 2011 and a Masters in Speech and Hearing Sciences in 2013 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Kendall B. Oxendine ’95-Pembroke, NC | |
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| Lisa R. Oxendine ’94 – Wendell, NC | |
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Lisa R. Oxendine is a native of Pembroke, NC, and currently resides in Wendell, NC. She is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of NC. Lisa earned a Bachelor’s in Biology from UNC-CH in 1994 and has worked in the BioPharma / Biotech industry for 28 years. She is currently a Quality Assurance professional for a major medical imaging company. At UNC, Lisa was a member of the Carolina Indian Circle (CIC) and the Carolina Athletic Association (CAA). She is a life member of UNC’s General Alumni Association and also a member of the Triangle Native American Society (TNAS). Being the social butterfly that she is she also serves as the Social Committee chair for UNC’s Black Alumni Reunion and loves ALL things CAROLINA!! |
| Latonya Brown-Puryear ’93, ’99 – West Chester, OH | |
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Latonya Brown-Puryear is a native of Whiteville, NC. She is a 1989 graduate of Whiteville High School. She graduated from UNC-CH with a BS degree in Radiologic Science in 1993. She worked for 2 years in the radiology department at UNC Hospitals before entering medical school. She graduated with a medical degree from UNC School of Medicine in 1999. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine from the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital. She has endowed 2 scholarships- one in 2014 for minority candidates applying to UNC-CH Division of Radiologic Science and a second one in 2023 for candidates applying to the Summer Bridge program. These scholarships are earmarked for minority recipients. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and was initiated in the Kappa Omicron Chapter in the spring of 1991. She currently works for St Elizabeth Physicians in Northern KY where she serves as the Physician Assistant Vice President for Medical Specialties and maintains a busy clinical practice. She is completing coursework for her master’s in health services administration through Xavier University and is scheduled to graduate in May 2025. She is the proud mother of 4 children- the oldest of which is a junior at UNC-CH. |
| Cheryl C. Parquet ’97 -Mebane, NC | |
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| Dr. Gwenevere Parker ’83 – Monroe, NC | |
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Gwenevere works as an Anesthesiologist at ProHealth Ambulatory Center which is associated with North Shore University Hospital in New York. Gwenevere received her Bachelor of Science in 1983 and her Doctor of Medicine in 1995 from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has been practicing for 23 years. |
| Louis Patalano IV ’95 – Cary, NC | |
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Lou Patalano [Pat-ah-lan-Oh] is the Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. He received a Bachelor’s in English and Political Science from UNC in 1995. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2000. Patalano supports the University Development Office, the Asian American Center, Scholarships and Student Aid, and the Educational Foundation. In addition to serving as vice chair of ACRED and as a member of the ACRED Asian-American Subcommittee, Patalano has served on the UNC Board of Visitors and currently sits on the GAA Board of Directors. Also, he was on the Campaign for Carolina diversity strategy committee. As a student, he was a member of the Carolina Athletic Association, a search committee member of the Student Recreational Center board of directors, the Chapel Hill Town Council liaison for Student Government and a walk-on member of the football team. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana , Patalano served as of counsel for K&L Gates; chief legal officer, senior corporate vice president, and corporate secretary for Sentara Healthcare and Optima Health in Virginia. Previously, he was employed with Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, the ninth largest health system in North Carolina, where he served as its first General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal Services. Before Sentara, Patalano was formerly deputy general counsel and vice president with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where he served as the organization’s leader of the day-to-day legal function. Earlier in his career, he also served as an Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office in Raleigh, and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, prosecuting health care fraud and abuse cases in state and federal courts. Patalano has served on the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of North Carolina and previously served on the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of Cumberland County. Additionally, he was on the Board of Directors and in leadership roles with the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys and the North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Section Council. In 2021, Patalano was recognized by Virginia Business as one of the commonwealth’s Legal Elite (Corporate Counsel). In 2011, Patalano was recognized by The Fayetteville Observer as one of its top 40 Under Forty – an honor awarded to the region’s rising leaders based on both their business success and community impact. He lives in Cary. |
| Oliver Pau ’92, ’98, ’06 – Cary, NC | |
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Oliver is a three-time graduate earning his BS in Business Administration in 1992, Masters in 1998, and MBA in 2006 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently works as a Regional Program Manager, Engineering and Environmental Management with Cherokee. Mr. Pau directs environmental due diligence, manages site assessments and remediation, and analyzes financial risks associated with brownfield real estate transactions. He is also responsible for maintaining Cherokee’s ISO 14001:2004-certified environmental management system. Prior to joining Cherokee, Mr. Pau was a Program Manager with URS Corporation, where he managed multi-media environmental engineering and design contracts. |
| Almer Reddick ’92 – Zebulon, NC | |
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Almer Reddick is a native of Williamston, NC and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication (Concentration – Advertising/Marketing). He is currently a Regional Sales Director for Sanofi’s Gastroenterology Division. He is certified as a Master Trainer and Facilitator by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB). Almer is active in his community having previously served as the Vice President of the Norcross Youth Athletic Association, Vice-President of the Norcross Dugout Club, Youth Baseball, Football and Basketball Coach. Almer currently serves on the UNC Board of Visitors, National Research Institute Advisory Board and the Sonya Stone National Advisory Board. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Almer lives in Zebulon, NC with his wife (Rosalind) and son (Elijah). |
| Christopher Riddick ’00 – Washington, D.C. | |
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Christopher Riddick works as a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton where he focuses on change management and human capital engagements for a variety of federal government agencies. Also, he serves as a grant reviewer for the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Christopher is a founding member of the board of directors of the Grassroots Education Project, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization focused on strengthening relationships between neighborhood schools and their surrounding communities. He also served as the vice chair of the founding board of directors of Somerset Prep DC Public Charter School. Christopher is a proud alumnus of Education Pioneers, serving as a summer 2009 fellow in Washington, DC, an inaugural member of the EP DC Metro alumni board in 2011, and chair of the board in 2012. Christopher received both his B.A. in Public Policy Analysis and Master of Public Administration at UNC-Chapel Hill. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Mu Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and a drum major in the marching band. Christopher also holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Indiana University. He is pursuing his Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. Christopher is originally from Gates, NC and currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife, son and daughter. |
| Joyce Su (Ping) Rogers ’90 – Cary, NC | |
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Joyce is a pharmacist at UNC Hospital. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1990 from UNC-Chapel Hill. Joyce serves on the General Alumni Association Board of Directors as the School of Pharmacy Representative and she also serves as a member on the Pharmacy Alumni Association Board of Directors. |
| Anitra Royster ’99 – Durham, NC | |
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| Patrick Simpson ’89, ’93 – Pinehurst, NC | |
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Patrick Simpson, MD, earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1989 and Doctor of Medicine in 1993 from UNC-Chapel Hill. As a student, he was a Morehead-Cain scholar, North Carolina fellow, and a member of the Order of the Bell Tower Honorary Society. Patrick completed his postgraduate training at the University of North Carolina Hospital for General Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a Cardiology Fellowship in Nashville, TN. As a cardiologist, Patrick has worked at Pinehurst Medical Clinic, Inc. in Pinehurst, NC. for more than 22 years. Patrick has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, both as a researcher and volunteer. |
| Debbie Thompson Smith, Esq. ’89- Atlanta, GA | |
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Debbie Thompson Smith is a native of Burlington, North Carolina. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a double major in psychology and communications. She went on to earn a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law. Debbie interned with the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Hogan and Hartson law firm (Washington, D.C.). She subsequently became a prosecutor for Fulton County, Georgia, where she was the inaugural recipient of the Prosecutorial Excellence Award (having been the first prosecutor in the state of Georgia to try a fraternity hazing case). Debbie currently practices securities law. She was Chief Counsel with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office-Securities and Business Regulation Division and now serves in the capacity of Senior Enforcement Attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). She investigates, amongst other matters, suspicions of insider trading, market manipulation, accounting irregularities, and initial public offering fraud. She formerly served on the boards of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Atlanta and Our House, Inc., as well as the executive board of the United Way VIP Program. She was published in Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters: Words of Wisdom from Multicultural Women Attorneys Who’ve Been There and Done That (American Bar Association, 2000). Debbie is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include volunteerism, travel, and reading. She is a longtime member of the Literary Circle Book Club. Debbie is also a former professional fashion model. She has been featured in commercials, advertising campaigns, and elaborate fashion show productions for such stellar brands as Saks Fifth Avenue, Belk Department Stores, Macy’s, L’Oreal Cosmetics, Essence magazine, Dudley’s magazine, Victoria’s Secret, Bell South Communications, O’Charley’s Restaurant, The Learning Channel (“TLC”), Black Entertainment Television (“BET”), Bishop T.D. Jakes MegaFest, and the Magic Johnson Celebrity Fashion Extravaganza. Her favorite charities include Literacy Action, Jimmy Carter’s Habitat for Humanity, and the Atlanta Humane Society. Debbie is appointed to the UNC Ackland Museum of Art National Advisory Board. She and her husband Tyrone reside in metro Atlanta. |
| Thomas Wong ’76, ’79 – Durham, NC | |
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Thomas Wong is semi-retired from a three-decades+ career in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector. He continues to do episodic consultation for start-up pharma companies that are developing drug candidate(s) for product registration in the US. Tom is active also in the start-up community in the RTP region and serves on the screening committee for RTP Capital Funds. Tom is a two-time University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) Alumni, receiving first a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, followed by an MPH in Public Health. He is pleased to have had his advanced education at UNC. Tom welcomes the opportunities to pay back that UNC training by volunteering his time to UNC and by contributing to the various scholarship programs that the University offers. For over a decade, Tom was a member of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Foundation Board and is currently an emeritus board member. At Gillings, Tom and his wife had directed their first gift to be targeted at minorities who plan or are studying Epidemiology or Public Health Policy and Administration. Subsequently, they established a second scholarship targeting students at Gillings who had served in US military services. These two endowed scholarships, hopefully, will benefit future public health-oriented students. In addition, Tom was a member of the UNC’s Board of Visitors and was active in the recent successful Carolina Campaign serving as a member of the Strategic Diversity Committee. Tom and his wife were among the founding financial donors with the establishment of the UNC Asian American Center. Tom is currently on the Chancellor’s Global Leadership Committee and contributes to funding for student educational opportunities in the international setting. One such effort is the establishment of a scholarship to support student research at the UNC Research Center on the Galapagos Islands. Tom is looking forward to serving on UNC ACRED and to contributing to strategic planning policies that are aligned with the University’s diversity missions and goals for student and alumni. |
| Dr. Ossian Wynn ’79 – Charlotte, NC | |
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Ossian Wynn is a Physician at Emergency Medicine. He is a Charlotte resident. Ossian obtained his Bachelor of Science in Medicine from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1976 and his Doctor of Medicine in 1979. Two of Ossian’s children are also UNC alumni, his son graduated in 2013 and daughter in 2004. His wife also received her Doctor of Medicine from UNC. |
Advisory Status
- Ms. Teresa Artis Neal ’83
- Mr. Danny Bell
- Dr. Roy DeVonne Flood, Jr. ’86, MD ’91
- Dr. Leon Herndon ’87, MD ‘91
- Mr. Michael Denard Kennedy ’79
- Ms. Lucrecia Moore ’92
- Dr. Virginia Cárdenas MSA ’98, Ph.D. ’06