Fifty-six civic and community leaders from across the state have been accepted to form the 2023-2024 class for Leadership North Carolina, including Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC Partner Ciara L. Rogers. Leadership North Carolina is 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.
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 L. 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.
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