Announcing Leadership North Carolina Class XXIX

Raleigh, NC – Fifty-seven civic and community leaders from across the state have been accepted to form the 2021-2022 class for Leadership North Carolina, the state’s premier leadership engagement program.

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 XXIX is made up of top leaders from the government, business, nonprofit, and education sectors.

Over the course of six two-and-a-half day sessions Class XXIX participants will learn about issues critical to the state through discussions with top officials and professionals, field trips, and experiential learning activities. LNC’s sessions focus on five key areas: economic development, education, environment, government, and health and human services. Through LNC’s program, participants gain new insight into North Carolina’s strengths and challenges and explore opportunities for how they will improve and empower their communities and the state as a whole.

LNC sessions are typically held around the state, highlighting the social, geographic, and economic diversity of North Carolina. The first portion of the 2021-2022 year will be presented on a virtual platform due to impacts of COVID-19. Both virtual and in-person sessions will showcase specific locations around the state, including Boone, Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte, Beaufort and Morehead City, and Asheville.

LNC Class XXIX

• Atinuke Akintola Diver, Executive Director and Lead Organizer, Durham CAN, Wake
• Jennifer Allen, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, SEPI Engineering & Construction, Wake
• Natasha Austin, Chief Operating Officer, Dogwood State Bank, Wake
• Amanda Balwah, Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity, UNC School of the Arts, Forsyth
• Kevin Baxter, Vice Chancellor & Chief Campus Officer, Morganton Campus, North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics, Burke
• Manjunatha Bhat, Interim Associate Dean, Winston-Salem State University, Forsyth
• Jonathan Biggs, Vice President of Risk Management and Education, Investors Title Insurance Company, Durham
• Christopher 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, Swain
• Amanda Bryant, Executive Director, Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS), Buncombe
• Pierre Bynum Sr., Senior House Manager, Men’s Program, 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 Operations, EducationNC, Wake
• Alexander Fagg, Director of Government Relations, North Carolina Community College System, Wake
• Phillip Feagan, General Counsel, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Wake
• Michelle Fortune, Chief Executive Officer, St. Luke’s Hospital, Polk
• Kate Glaze, Assistant General Counsel and Director of Land, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., Wake
• April N. Harley, Executive Director, LEAD NC/LEAD NC Institute, Mecklenburg
• Mathew Hayes, Account Executive, Siemens Medical Solutions, Guilford
• Shakira Henderson, Vice President Research Officer/Clinical Research Integration Officer, UNC Health, Pitt
• Brian Heslin, Deputy General Counsel, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg
• Reva Holland, Director of Medical Practice Operations, Kintegra Health, Cleveland
• Chantal Howard, Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Duke University Hospital, Wake
• Elayne Jones, Business Officer, North Carolina A&T State University, Guilford
• Peter Klein, Business Continuity Manager, Corning, New Hanover
• Felicia Kline, Consumer Affairs – 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
• Julian Macaulay Jr., SVP, Control Executive, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Gaston
• Howard Manning, Executive Director, Dorcas Ministries, Wake
• Jeff Marko, Senior Tax Manager, DMJ & Co., PLLC, Wake
• Dionne McLean, Project Manager, Supplier Diversity Equity & Inclusion, RTI International, Wake
• Danika Mills, State Director – North Carolina, Unite Us, Wake
• Ryan Minto, Director, State Government Affairs, Duke Energy, Wake
• Kirk Montgomery, Information Technology Director, City of Mebane, Alamance
• James Musilek, Director, Strategic Initiatives & Project Management, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, Wake
• Deepa Naik, Director of Philanthropy, The Merancas Foundation, Mecklenburg
• Stephanie Norander, Executive Director/Associate 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
• Jeffrey L. Smith, Litigation Paralegal (Retired), Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, and 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
• Peter VanGraafeiland, SVP, Member Services, Civic Federal Credit Union, Wake
• Edna Wallace, Manager, Strategic Partnerships, RTI International, Durham
• Kelly Webb, Director of Development, Communities In Schools of North Carolina, Wake
• John White, Chief NC Lobbyist / Manager – State & Local Affairs, Dominion Energy, Guilford

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. The Leadership North Carolina Program cultivates a network of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who share a deep commitment to their state. There are more than 1300 graduates of the program whose continued ties to LNC and to one another provide them with rich opportunities for serving North Carolina.

The Class XXIX roster is available here.