Gov. Cooper Announces New Appointments to State Boards and Commissions

RALEIGH

Feb 27, 2018

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced 56 appointments to various state boards and commissions for North Carolina, including the Criminal Justice Information Network, the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Commission and the Forestry Council

"These North Carolinians bring valuable expertise to these posts and will help move our state forward through their public service,” Governor Cooper said.

The following individuals appointed by Gov. Cooper to the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees have been confirmed by the North Carolina Senate:

Lieutenant Colonel John Ebbighausen of Raleigh as a National Guard Member. Ebbighausen is currently the President of the North Carolina National Guard Association. He has more than 28 years of military service and has been awarded five Meritorious Service Medals and four Army Commendation Medals.
Dirk German of Apex as a state law enforcement officer. German is currently the Interim Assistant Director of the Professional Standards at the State Bureau of Investigation. He served in the United States Army at Fort Bragg.
Linda Gunter of Cary as a retired teacher. Gunter taught social studies courses at Cary High School for more than thirty years and was awarded the John H. Stevens Outstanding Teacher Award. She also served previously in the North Carolina Senate.
Oliver Holley of Ahoskie as an active member of the teaching profession. Holley is the Director of Human Resources at the Perquimans County Schools District. He previously worked for the Northampton County School District, the Weldon City School District, and Bertie County Schools.
Vernon Gammon of Reidsville as a Public Member. Gammon is the Chief Financial Officer at Teamsters Local Union 391. He previously served as Vice President of the North Carolina Chapter of the AFL-CIO.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Criminal Justice Information Network:

Robert S. Brinson of Raleigh as an employee of the state correction agency. Brinson is the Chief Information Officer at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Brinson previously served as an Assistant Secretary and Chief information officer of the North Carolina Department of Correction.

Governor Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Marine Industrial Park Authority:

Stuart Bell of Kitty Hawk as a resident of Dare County. Bell is the Outer Banks Area-Market President at First National Bank. He previously served on the Roanoke Island Historical Association Board of Directors.
Edward Lee Mann of Wanchese as a resident of Wanchese. Mann recently retired as the Director of Public Works for Dare County. He previously served on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.
Michael Meekins of Engelhard as a resident of Engelhard. Meekins has been the owner and operator of Engelhard Seafood, Inc. for over thirty years. He also operates Hyde County Lodges in Engelhard.
Edith Meads of Wanchese as an at-large member. Meads is a Deputy Clerk at the Office of the Dare County Clerk of Superior Court. She was the owner-operator of Jeanette’s Pier for more than 13 years.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the State Board of Registered Environmental Health Specialist Examiners:

Melanie Campen of North Topsail Beach as an Eastern Environmental Health Specialist. Campen currently works with the Pender County Health Department. She is a past president of the Eastern District of NC Public Health Association - Environmental Health Section.
Gregory Caulder of Lumberton as a public-spirited citizen. Caulder is currently the owner and President of GMC Construction of NC, Inc. He is a Robeson county native and a former county health inspector.
Lisa Ford of Elkin as a Western Environmental Health Specialist. Ford is currently a Food and Lodging Supervisor at the Surry County Health and Nutrition. She is a past president of the North Carolina Environmental Health Supervisors Association.
William Hill of Greenville as an environmental health educator. Hill is the Undergraduate Director for the Environmental Health Program at East Carolina University and a member of the North Carolina Public Health Association.
Larry Michael of Wake Forest as designee for the Secretary of DHHS. Michael is the Chief of the Environmental Health Section with the NC Division of Public Health. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the State Board of Environmental Health Specialist Examiners.
Jessica Silver of Asheville as an at-large Environmental Health Specialist. Silver is the Environmental Health Director at Buncombe County Health and Human Services. She previously worked for the Warren County Health Department as an Environmental Health Supervisor.
Phil Thompson of Gibsonville as a Division of Public Health representative. Thompson is the Program Manager for the Pools, Tattoos and Institutions Program of the Environmental Health Section of DHHS. He currently serves as the Chair of the State Board of Environmental Health Specialist Examiners

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the State Water Infrastructure Authority:

Bernadette Pelissier of Hillsborough as a member who is knowledgeable about and has experience related to direct federal funding programs. Pelissier is a former Orange County Commissioner. Previously, she was Chief of Research of the Butner Federal Correctional Institution.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Commission:

Anthony Calamai of Boone as an at-large member. Calamai is currently a Cain Distinguished Professor of Science Education and a professor of physics at Appalachian State University. Calamai is a member on the review panel of the NC Science Museums Grant Program and a member of the Executive Board for the North Carolina Space Grant Consortium.
Hollins Clark of Winston Salem as an at-large member. Clark works as an Associate Professor of Radiology and as an Associate in Internal Medicine-Cardiology at Wake Forest Medical School. Clark has also worked as the Reviewer of Education Exhibits for RadioGraphics.
Tom Earnhardt of Raleigh as an at-large member. Earnhardt has served on numerous boards including The Nature Conservancy, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, Audubon North Carolina, the Friends of North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation.
Theresa McCoy of Durham as an at-large member. McCoy is an instructor at Durham Technical Community College where she teaches chemistry and medical terminology courses. She was previously the Editor for American Journal Experts. She has served as a dispatcher for the American Red Cross and as a tutor with the Durham Literacy Center.
Phillip Westmoreland of Chapel Hill as an at-large member. Westmoreland is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State University. Westmoreland is the Director of the Southeast Regional Manufacturing Center of the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
Ada Lopez of Raleigh as an at-large member. Lopez has worked as a science teacher for Miami Dade and Wake County Public Schools and as a Science Curriculum Specialist for SAS Curriculum Pathways. Ada earned the Hands-on Award from the National Braille Press for co-authoring Reach for the Stars: Touch, Look, Listen, Learn.
Jose Chavez of Charlotte as an at-large member. Chavez works as the Nature Center Manager at Reedy Creek Nature Center. In the past, Chavez has work as a Naturalist for the Canalway Center in Cleveland and as the Head of Natural Resources Department for the Unión Nacional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesina Autónomas in Mexico City.
Janis McLaughlin of Raleigh as an at-large member. McLaughlin is the Manager of Outpatient Rehabilitation at WakeMed Health and Hospitals. McLaughlin serves on the North Carolina Spinal Cord Association event committee and the Hilltop Home Board of Directors.
Elizabeth Conner Sherlin of Raleigh as an at-large member. Sherlin currently works as a Teaching Assistant at Frances Lacy Elementary School where she also served as PTA vice president. Sherlin has worked as a Nursery Director at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church.
Rhonda Hubbard Beatty of Raleigh as an at-large member. Beatty currently works in communications and marketing for the Carolina Center for Public Service. Beatty has worked as special events director for the American Lung Association of NC and is active in the Junior League of Raleigh.
Zeel Patel of Raleigh as an at-large member. Patel works as a marketing specialist and is a part owner of Kapil LLC. Patel has worked as an information specialist at the North Carolina State Board of Elections and in public relations for Inc Clinic Rx.
Brenda Pollard of Durham as an at-large member. Pollard served as executive assistant to the North Carolina Secretary of State and Commissioner of Insurance. Pollard has served on the North Carolina Museum of History Associates board, the Women’s Forum of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Board of Architecture.
Ann Smith of Raleigh as an at-large member. Smith currently serves on the Raleigh Cultural Center board and co-chaired public openings for the North Carolina Museum of Art and the North Carolina Natural Sciences Museum. In 2017, she was inducted into the Wake County Public School Hall of Fame for community service.
Kelvin Harris of Gastonia as an at-large member. Harris is the founder of Gaston Women’s Healthcare. Harris has served on the Caromont Health Foundation board, the Gaston County Health Department of Health and Human Services board and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill board of visitors.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Building Code Council:

Gary Embler of Harrisburg as a licensed general contractor specializing in residential construction. Embler is currently an equity partner and vice president of operations at Niblock Homes, LLC. He also serves as State President at the North Carolina Home Builders Association.
Bridget Herring of Asheville as a public member. Herring is currently the Energy Program Coordinator for the City of Asheville and was formerly a member of the Asheville Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment. She is a certified as a continuing education instructor for North Carolina building codes.
Robert B. Morrow of Tobaccoville as a licensed electrical contractor. Morrow is currently a foreman and superintendent with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Morrow was a department supervisor at the United Electric Company and owner of Morrow Electrical Services.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Plant Conservation Board:

Julie Moore of Raleigh as a representative of a conservation organization. Moore currently works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the Branch of Conservation Strategy, Planning and Communication. Moore is the national coordinator for Safe Harbor and Candidate Conservation Agreements.
Damon Waitt of Durham as a representative of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Waitt is currently the Director at the North Carolina Botanical Garden at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Public Librarian Certification:

Mary J. Wilkerson of Burlington as the North Carolina Library Association nominee. Wilkerson is currently library director at the Alamance County Public Libraries and director at the North Carolina Library Association in the Leadership and Management Section.
Wanda Kay Brown of Winston-Salem as a member At-large. Brown is currently the director of library services for Winston-Salem State University. Brown served as the Associate Dean of Wake Forest University’s Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Forestry Council:

Jack Swanner of Raleigh as a registered forester. Swanner is currently the executive vice president of the Carolina Loggers Association. Previously, Swanner was the director of field and industrial operations at the North Carolina Forestry Association and the director of forestry at Biofuels Center of North Carolina.
Julius Tillery of Durham as a non-industrial woodland owner. Tillery is the farm services coordinator at the Conservation Fund where he connects farming communities with resources and technical assistance. Tillery serves on the Town Advisory Council for the Town of Garysburg.
Riddick Ricks of Roanoke Rapids as a non-industrial woodland owner. Ricks retired recently after 37 years as a practicing veterinarian. Ricks served on the North Carolina Tree Farm Program Board of Directors and Executive Committee and the North Carolina Forestry Association Board of Directors.
Justin Robinson of Durham as an environmental or conservation organization representative. Robinson is currently a botanist and forest ecologist as well as a board member of Conservation Trust of North Carolina and Durham Parks Foundation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Coastal Carolina Community College Board of Trustees:

Leon Ward Sylvester III of Richlands as an at-large member. Sylvester owns and operates 16 Piggly Wiggly grocery stores and is a past president of the North Carolina Food Dealers Association. Sylvester was awarded Richlands' Citizen of the Year.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees:

Luke Hyde of Bryson City as an at-large member. Hyde is an attorney and owns the Historic Calhoun House Hotel. Hyde also served as chair of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Wayne Community College Board of Trustees:

Jimmie E. Ford of Goldsboro as an at-large member. Ford retired as Associate Vice President from Wayne Community College, and previously served on the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges. He chairs the Wayne and Sampson Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Historic Hillsborough Commission:

David Wilson of Hillsborough as an at-large member. He is a chemist by training and currently manages Invision Services, Inc. He spends much of his time volunteering at the Burwell School in Hillsborough.
Karen DeSombre of Hillsborough as an at-large member. After a career in the medical field she opened the Sewing School in the Little Shops of Mebane where she shares her craft with students of all ages.
Beverly Bradsher Thompson of Hillsborough as an at-large member. She is the public affairs director for the City of Durham. She previously worked in health care corporate communications.
Sylvia Parker Smith of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Smith is retired from Duke University after 44 years of service in human resources. Smith is a volunteer at Orange Congregations in Mission and an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Brenda Stephens of Durham as an at-large member. Stephens recently retired as Director of Libraries for Orange County. She serves on the Orange County Board of Education and Vice President of the North Carolina School Boards Association.
Renee Price of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Price has served on the Orange County Board of Commissioners since 2012. Price currently serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.
Bonita Alexander of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Alexander is retired from a career in health care where she specialized in nutrition. She is an active member of her community.
Jean Forrest Brooks of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Brooks spent her career teaching math in public schools in Orange and Durham counties. She volunteers at the Nearly New Shoppe, an organization that provides scholarships to Duke Medical students
Elizabeth Davis of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Davis is an eighth-generation resident of Orange County. She serves on the Board of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, chairs several committees of the Hillsborough Garden Club and is an active supporter of Orange County Habitat for Humanity.
Shawn Williams of Hillsborough as an at-large member. Williams is Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer of Fluid Solutions, Inc. She is committed to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and has served on Parent Teacher Association boards.