Leadership North Carolina Celebrates Graduation of 29^th Class

Raleigh, NC – On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Leadership North Carolina held the graduation ceremony for its 29^th class. Civic and community leaders from across the state celebrated completion of this prestigious program at the North Carolina Museum of History.

Each year, through a rigorous selection process, LNC chooses a class of established and emerging leaders from across the state to participate in its acclaimed program. Leadership North Carolina’s Class 29 comprises top leaders from the government, business, nonprofit, and education sectors. A full list of participants follows.

Leadership North Carolina’s mission is to inform, develop, and engage committed leaders by broadening their understanding of and involvement in issues and opportunities facing North Carolina. Leadership North Carolina’s core program cultivates a network of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who share a deep commitment to their state. There are more than 1,300 graduates of the program whose continued ties to LNC and to one another provide them with rich opportunities for serving North Carolina.

Over the course of six two-and-a-half day sessions the members of LNC Class 29 learned about issues critical to the state through discussions with top officials and professionals, intentional dialogue, and experiential learning activities. LNC’s sessions focus on five key areas: economic development, education, environment, government, and health and human services.

LNC sessions are typically held in locations around the state, highlighting the social, geographic, and economic diversity of North Carolina. Due to impacts of COVID-19, the 2021-2022 program year began on a virtual platform and returned to in-person sessions in March.  Members of Class 29 built relationships with their classmates, gained new insight into North Carolina’s strengths and challenges, and developed their own priorities for ways they can improve and empower their communities and the state as a whole.

LNC Class 29

• Atinuke Akintola Diver, Vice President of Resource Development and Partnerships, DHIC, Inc., Wake
• Jennifer Allen, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, SEPI Engineering & Construction, Wake
• Amanda Balwah, Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity, UNC School of the Arts, Forsyth
• Kevin Baxter, Vice Chancellor & Chief Campus Officer, NCSSM – Morganton, Burke
• Manju Bhat, Interim Associate Dean, Winston-Salem State University, Forsyth
• Jon Biggs, Vice President of Risk Management and Education, Investors Title Insurance Company, Durham
• Chris Brandenburg, Associate State Director, Advocacy, AARP NC, Wake
• Beckie Brooks, Director, Drivers of Health Strategy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Wake
• Kathryn Bruner, Principal Broker/President, KBR-Kathryn Bruner Realty LLC, New Hanover
• Pierre Bynum, Program Director – TROSA Triad, TROSA, Alamance
• Wanda Coley, Vice President of Strategy, UnitedHealthcare, Brunswick
• Samantha DeLoache, Pharmacy Manager, Kintegra Health, Mecklenburg
• Brian Denisar, CEO & President, Bobbitt, Alamance
• Timothy Downs, Regional Director, North Carolina Economic Development, Thomas & Hutton, Durham
• Dean Drescher, Director of Strategic Initiatives, EducationNC, Wake
• Alex Fagg, Director of Government Relations, North Carolina Community College System, Wake
• Phil Feagan, General Counsel, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Wake
• Michelle Fortune, Chief Executive Officer, Luke’s Hospital, Polk
• Kate Glaze, Assistant General Counsel and Director of Land, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., Wake
• April Harley, Executive Director, LEAD NC/LEAD NC Institute, Mecklenburg
• Mat Hayes, Account Executive, Siemens Medical Solutions, Guilford
• Shakira Henderson, Vice President Research Officer/Clinical Research Integration Officer/Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at UNC Health & UNC SOM & UNC-CH, Pitt
• Brian Heslin, Deputy General Counsel, Piedmont Natural Gas, Mecklenburg
• Reva Holland, Director of Medical Operations, Kintegra Health, Cleveland
• Chantal Howard, Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer, Duke University Hospital, Wake
• Elayne Jones, Business Officer, North Carolina A&T State University, Guilford
• PJ Klein, Business Continuity Manager, Corning, New Hanover
• Felicia Kline, Consumer Affairs Central Point of Contact – Large Banks, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• DeWarren Langley, Executive Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation, Inc., Durham
• Cooper Linton, AVP, Home and Community Based Care, Duke University Health System, Chatham
• Erin Lynch, Associate Provost of Research, Winston-Salem State University, Forsyth
• Howard Manning, Executive Director, Dorcas Ministries, Wake
• Jeff Marko, Partner, DMJ & Co., PLLC, Wake
• Dionne McLean, Project Manager, Supplier Diversity Equity & Inclusion, RTI International, Wake
• Danika Mills, State Director, North Carolina and Arkansas, Unite Us, Wake
• Ryan Minto, Director, State Government Affairs, Duke Energy, Wake
• Kirk Montgomery, Information Technology Director, City of Mebane, Alamance
• Jim Musilek, Vice President, Innovation and Business Development, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, Wake
• Deepa Naik, Director of Philanthropy, The Merancas Foundation, Mecklenburg
• Stephanie Norander, Associate Chair and Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Rachel Page, Deputy Director, Go Global NC, Durham
• Amy Policastro Schroeder, Education Consultant, Career Development, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Wake
• Sarah Prencipe, Governmental Affairs Analyst, City of Hickory, Catawba
• Denika Seymour, Financial Professional, MassMutual North Carolina, Johnston
• Irvine Sloan, Vice President, Strategic Account Management, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg
• Jeff Smith, Litigation Paralegal (Retired), Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, Owner, Smitty’s Notes & SmittysNotes.com, Forsyth
• Sharon Smith, Special Projects Administrator, Albemarle Commission COG, Perquimans
• Diamond Staton-Williams, Director, Atrium Health, Cabarrus
• John Tartt, Assistant Vice President, Atrium Health, Mecklenburg
• Ryan Urquhart, Principal Interaction Architect, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham
• Pete VanGraafeiland, SVP, Member Services, Civic Federal Credit Union, Wake
• Edna Wallace, Manager, Strategic Partnerships, RTI International, Durham
• Kelly Webb, Vice President of External Affairs, Communities In Schools of North Carolina, Wake
• John White, Chief NC Lobbyist / Manager – State & Local Affairs, Dominion Energy, Guilford