Announcing Leadership North Carolina Class 31

Raleigh, NC – Fifty-six civic and community leaders from across the state have been accepted to form the 2023-2024 class for Leadership North Carolina, the state’s premier leadership deployment 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 Core Program. Leadership North Carolina’s Class 31 is made up of top leaders from the government, business, nonprofit, and education sectors.

Over the course of seven two-and-a-half day sessions Class 31 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 six key areas: economic development, education, environment, government, health and human services, and inclusive leadership. 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 held around the state, highlighting the social, geographic, and economic diversity of North Carolina. The members of Class 31 gathered in Boone last week for their Orientation session at Appalachian State University. The group will meet in Raleigh in November for the Government session and in Greensboro for the December Education session. The remaining sessions for LNC Class 31 will be held in Durham, Greenville, Charlotte, and Asheville.

LNC Class 31

• Kristie Aldridge, Vice President, Strategic Communications & Marketing, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Wake
• Madison Allen, Senior Program Officer, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Guilford
• Meredith Archie, President, NC Chamber Foundation, Wake
• LaRita Barber, Chief Advancement Officer, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, Union
• Vivian Bolanos, VP Business Banker II, First Citizens Bank, Henderson
• Trey Cash, Economic Development Director, Greene County Government, Greene
• Jennifer Chase, Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President, SAS, Wake
• Lisa Cherry, Planning and Economic Development Director, Gates County, Gates
• Rochelle Cook, Project Manager, Laboratory Corporation of America, Guilford
• Jill Cox, President and CEO, Communities In Schools of North Carolina, Wake
• Franklin Creech, Superintendent, Greene County Schools, Greene
• Nancy Cross, Section Chief – Career and Technical Education Reporting and Analysis, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Randolph
• Erin Crouse, Field Representative, Southeast Region, The Conservation Fund, Orange
• Kathie Dello, Director of North Carolina State Climate Office/State Climatologist, North Carolina State University, Wake
• Jody D. Donaldson, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Wake
• Patrick Eglinton, SVP, Senior Director, Operational Risk, First Citizens Bank, Wake
• Wesley Fountain, Vice Chancellor of External Affairs and Military Relations, Fayetteville State University, Cumberland
• Venu Ghanta, VP, Regulatory Affairs and Policy, Duke Energy, Wake
• Charles Harr, Chief Medical Officer, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Wake
• Kara Henderson, Owner, Henderson & Henderson Dentistry, LLC, Warren
• Jennifer Howard, SVP, Director of Operations, Dogwood State Bank, Wake
• Lauren Iannitti, Vice President, Facility Executive, Atrium Health, Mecklenburg
• Jessica Ijames, Corporate Director, Community Engagement, Novant Health, Rowan
• Tracey Johnson, Washington County Commissioner and Assistant to the Director of Operations, Beaufort County Community College, Washington
• Matthew Kagel, Director, Communications & Government Affairs, Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, Johnston
• Carolyn Keith, Assistant Director Economic & Workforce Development, EPIC UNC Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Colleen Kinser, Director, ICFNC, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Johnston
• Nicole Kiser, Principal Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Piedmont Natural Gas (Duke Energy), Iredell
• Gregory Lahrman, Senior Director, Operational Excellence, Martin Marietta, Wake
• Stacy M. Lowry, Director, Community Support Services, Mecklenburg County, Union
• Kathryn Marker, Director, K12 Scholarship Programs and College Access Outreach, North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, Wake
• Steven Martin, President & CEO, Constellation Quality Health, Wake
• Tyler McLauchlan, Architect, Clark Nexsen, Buncombe
• Greg McNamara, Business Development Manager | Associate, LS3P Associates LTD., Wake
• Shannon McSwiney, Director, Marketing & Communications, Delta Dental of North Carolina, Wake
• David Mize, Senior Tax Manager, DMJPS, PLLC, Guilford
• Jack Monell, Provost Fellow & Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Winston-Salem State University, Forsyth
• Christina Moody, Deputy Clerk of Superior Court, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, Halifax
• Hannah Morecraft, Deputy Managing Director, APCO Worldwide, Wake
• Kevin J. Price, President & CEO, National Institute of Minority Economic Development, Chatham
• Nate Quirk, Partner, Burr & Forman, Mecklenburg
• Ciara Rogers, Partner, Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey, PLLC, Wake
• Grace Rountree, Director, Public Affairs Strategy & Advocacy, Duke Energy, Wake
• Jacqueline Russell, Director, Division of Disability Determination Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Wake
• Kimberly Shaw, Executive Director, The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center, Durham
• Paola Sztajn, Dean, College of Education, North Carolina State University, Wake
• Annette Taylor, Director, Office of Digital Equity and Literacy, North Carolina Department of Information Technology, Wake
• Melanie Taylor, AVP, Healthcare Strategy, Planning, and Performance, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham
• Jessie Tenenbaum, Chief Data Officer, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; Associate Professor, Duke University, Wake
• Deborah Thomas, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Stacie Walker, Chief Lending Officer, State Employees’ Credit Union, Wake
• Jordan Whichard, Chief Deputy Secretary, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Wake
• La’Meshia Whittington, President/CEO, The Whittington & Staley Consulting Group, Wake
• Kim Winter, Dean & Professor, Western Carolina University, Jackson
• Valyce Woolaston, Senior Counsel, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., Wake
• William Wooldridge, Chief of Staff, Corning, Cabarrus

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 1,400 graduates of the program whose continued ties to LNC and to one another provide them with rich opportunities for serving North Carolina.

The Class 31 roster is available here. To find out more about Leadership North Carolina, please visit: www.leadershipnc.org.