Announcing Leadership North Carolina Class 32

Raleigh, NC – Fifty-six civic and community leaders from across the state have been accepted to form the 2024-2025 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 32 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 32 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. Due to impacts from Helene, members of Class 32 convened virtually last week to launch their program year. 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 32 will be held in Durham, Wilmington, Charlotte, and Asheville.

LNC Class 32

• Lisa Marie Adkins, Director of Development, myFutureNC, Transylvania
• Diana Baker, Associate Director of MFP, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Forsyth
• Amy Bason, Deputy Director/General Counsel, North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, Wake
• Robin Bennett, Senior Tax Manager, DMJPS PLLC, Moore
• Susanna Birdsong, General Counsel / Vice President of Compliance, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, Wake
• Eric C. Bowen, Director – Software and Data Engineering, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Wake
• Rosalie Calarco, Associate State Director of Advocacy and Outreach of Coastal Region, AARP North Carolina, New Hanover
• Adam Blake Caldwell, Business Development Representative, WithersRavenel, Johnston
• Ivan Canada, President & CEO, North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, Guilford
• Michael Thomas Carson, Executive Director, Head of Consumer & Business Credit, First Citizens Bank, Wake
• Darryl Childers, Assistant State Budget Officer, North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, Wake
• Caroline Basnight Collier, Associate Director of Continuing Professional Development, North Carolina Area Health Education Centers, Durham
• George T. Collier, Deputy Director, North Carolina Department of Information Technology, Harnett
• Layla Cummings, Director, Regulatory Affairs – NC, Duke Energy, Wake
• Kevin Seldon Dick, President & Chief Executive Officer, Carolina Small Business Development Fund, Wake
• Tracey du Laney, Senior Director, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Wake
• Morgan Edwards Whaley, Chief Development Officer, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA), Durham
• Waqiah McNair Ellis, Vice President, Nursing, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Durham
• Cristina España, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Engagement, Office of the Governor, Wake
• DeDreana Freeman, Council Member, City of Durham, Durham
• Andrea V. Freile, Family Engagement and Communications Coordinator, Wayne County Public Schools, Wayne
• Andrew Bryan Gardner, Associate Vice President, Workforce Strategies, North Carolina Community College System, Moore
• Esteban Guzmán, Director, Small Business Center, Wayne Community College, Wayne
• Shirnetta Harrell, Founder and Executive Director, The No Woman, No Girl Initiative, Johnston
• Kerry Grace Heckle, Executive Director, Corporate & Community Relations, UNC Health, Wake
• Jennifer Garifo Heiss, Director of Marketing and Communications, Institute for Emerging Issues, Wake
• Hank Henning, District Manager, Government and Community Relations, Duke Energy, Guilford
• Joseph Hungerford, Director of Engineering, Curtiss-Wright, Buncombe
• James Vinson Hunter, Vice President, Government Relations, RTI International, Wake
• Michael A. Johnson, Senior Vice President, Dogwood State Bank, Durham
• Jodi B. Kaplan, Associate Vice Chancellor, Alumni Engagement, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Leslie Karkanawi, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, Wake
• Stephanie Lake, Chief Operating Officer, Wake Technical Community College Foundation, Wake
• David Lee, Industry Recruitment Coordinator, Division of Workforce Solutions, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Cleveland
• Zachary W. Long, CEO and General Counsel, Well Care Health and President, Long Family Ventures, Wake
• Collin McColskey-Leary, Vice President, Program Impact and Innovation, Communities In Schools of North Carolina, Wake
• Maryam Meseha, Attorney and Founding Partner, Pierson Ferdinand, Wake
• Melissa F. Miller, Senior Manager Infrastructure & Security, Martin Marietta Materials, Wake
• Mary Jennings Moore, Goverment Relations, SAS, Wake
• Molly Nagowski, Government Relocation Program Manager, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg
• Molly O’Connor, President, Community Impact, Three Ships, Chatham
• Hetal Patel, Partnership Manager, MDC, Guilford
• Christopher Rivera, Vice President, Business & Workforce Solutions, South Piedmont Community College, Mecklenburg
• Stacy Sereno, State Legislative Director and Legislative Counsel, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Wake
• Kristi Lee Snuggs, President, Child Care Services Association, Johnston
• Alicia Stokes, VP, Government Strategy, Planning, & Performance, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham
• April M. Thornton, Director of Communications, UnitedHealthcare, Randolph
• Mariam Tisdale, Chief of Staff, Teach For America North Carolina, Mecklenburg
• Scarlett Tyner, Manager, Strategic Communications, Novo Nordisk, Johnston
• Stacey Waddell, Deputy Chief Operations Officer, State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU), Wake
• Emily Wallace, Managing Principal, Thrivner, Inc., Wake
• Thad Walton, SVP, NC Commercial Banking Executive, Regions Bank, Mecklenburg
• Demarcus Williams, Director of Communications, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Durham
• Keisha Williams, Assistant Vice President, Duke Learning and Organization Development, Duke University, Wake
• Heather Wilson, Executive Director, Cameron Art Museum, New Hanover
• Ralph Wilson Jr., Assistant Vice President – Endoscopy Service Line, Atrium Health, Mecklenburg

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