Governor Announces State Board of Elections and Other Boards and Commissions Appointments

Raleigh

Aug 7, 2019

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Board of Elections:

Damon Circosta of Raleigh as a member of the same political party as the Governor. Circosta is the Executive Director and Vice President of the AJ Fletcher Foundation. He serves as a professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to serve as Chair of the North Carolina Awards Committee:

Louise Coggins of Wilmington as chair. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Coggins has practiced psychotherapy for the past 39 years. Winner of the YMCA Academy of Women Human Services Award in 1999, she has been an activist for the status of women and domestic violence organizations and brings valuable experience to the committee.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to serve as Chair of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund:

Greer Cawood of Winston-Salem as chair. Before retirement, Cawood was the Director of Public Policy for the Wachovia Corporation, and she is now a political consultant. She has been a trustee of the North Carolina Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and is an NC State appointee to the Natural Heritage Trust Fund. She has been the chair of the board for the last two years, which she will continue to do now under its new laws.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to serve as Chair of the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs:

Reverend Ricky G. Burnett of Stedman as chair. Burnett is a Pastor at Pleasant View Baptist Church in Fairmont and the current moderator of the Burnt Swamp Baptist Association. He serves as the Speaker for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Burnett also served in the United States Navy for 24 years, earning the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission:

Karen L. Stout of Black Mountain as an at-large member. Stout served on the Greensboro ABC Board from 2013 to 2017 as Vice-Chair. Stout has over 38 years of management experience with complete profit and loss responsibility, of which the last 20 years were in Senior Executive roles. She spent 22 years with Harris Teeter and her last role was as Senior Vice President-Operations with The Fresh Market.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees:

Dr. Theresa Banks of Mars Hill as an at-large member. Dr. Banks taught at Marshall Elementary, Marshall Primary and served as the Principal of Spring Creek Elementary and Madison High School. She also served as the first female President of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and finished out her career serving as Associate Superintendent of the Madison County School System.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Commission for the Blind:

Jordan Thomas of Winterville as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. Thomas has been a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the division of services for the blind since 2012. Previously, she served as a family counselor and clinical supervisor at Youth Villages.
Ricky Scott of Raleigh as a representative from the Statewide Independent Living Council. Scott served on the advisory board for the Raleigh Lions Clinic from 2005 to 2010. Previously, he was the president of the North Carolina Advocacy Council for the Blind.
Billy Hatcher of Hampstead as a parent of a disabled child. Hatcher has served as a senior technical sales specialist at Bayer Healthcare since 2014. Previously, he served as a regional sales manager for Kemin Industries.
Cody Davis of Raleigh as a recipient of vocational rehabilitation services. Davis is a Wallace Public Service Fellow at Campbell University School of Law. He is also an active volunteer for the Wake Federation of the Blind.

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

Paula Sewell of Wilmington as a member at-large. Sewell served on the board of the Cape Fear Community College Foundation from 2017 to 2019. She has also served on the boards of the Wilmington Historical Foundation, Edenton Historical Commission and Lower Cape Fear Hospice.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Complete Count Commission:

Annie W. Mobley of Garner as an at-large member. Mobley served as the North Carolina State Representative of the 5th District for 8 years. She has also served as Administrative Office of the Courts and as a Juvenile Services Intake/Court Counselor. She retired as Chief Court Counselor in 1999.
Cathy Kimball of Cary as an at-large member. Kimball founded the China Star newspaper in 2003, which has become the China Press Weekly, a Carolinas region publication. She also began NCK Enterprises, LLC, which provides support for first generation immigrants.
Shan Shan Xie of Greensboro as an at-large member. Xie served as Senior Accountant at Han Feng, Inc. & Affiliates, where she was responsible for centralizing the accounting function in one physical location in Greensboro for 9 legal entities.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina State Board of Registration for Foresters:

James Slye of Goldsboro as a registered forester. Slye currently serves as a Forest Health Specialist for the North Carolina Forest Service.
Tyrone Williams of Enfield as a public member. Williams owns and runs Fourtee Acres, LLC., a forestry, farming, and rental property operation established in 1994 that is engaged in sustainability for the future.

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

Dr. Hale H. Stephenson of Greenville as an at-large member. Stephenson is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. He practices with Physicians East of Greenville.
Kevin Chandler of Charlottesville as an at-large member. Chandler is a native of Swansboro and is now the Senior Public Affairs Manager at Apex Clean Energy.
Alvin D. Powell of Bath as an at-large member. Powell served in the FBI for over 30 years, where he was heavily involved in the investigation of counterterrorism, white collar crime, and special operations matters.
Ashley "Brownie" Futrell, Jr. of Washington as an at-large member. Futrell is the former owner and publisher of the Washington Daily News, where he worked for 32 years.
Terry Everett of Bath as an at-large member. Everett spent her professional career as a history teacher in Bath and has continued to serve the community in retirement.
Carol Boyd Tillman of Belhaven as an at-large member. Tillman has a long history of service in Belhaven within her church and community, including serving on the town’s 4th of July committee.
Seth A. Effron of Raleigh as an at-large member. Effron currently works with Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh. Previously, he worked with the NC Newsroom Cooperative in Raleigh, where he served as Manager and Founding Board Member.
Reverend Sarah E. Saxe of Washington as an at-large member. Saxe is the rector at Zion Episcopal Church of Washington. Prior to ordained ministry, she was a computer system manager.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Marine Fisheries Commission:

Robert McNeill of Wilmington as a recreational sports fisherman. McNeill is a senior real estate manager and the project director of development for Liberty Healthcare. He is a member of the executive board committee for the Cape Fear Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Dr. Martin Posey of Wilmington as a member at-large. Posey is a professor in the department of biology and marine biology at UNC-Wilmington. He has also served as director of the Center for Marine Science at UNC-Wilmington.
Sam Romano of Wilmington as a commercial fisherman. Romano is a co-owner and co-founder of Seaview Crab Company. They presently have 7 locations and service multiple restaurants in the Wilmington area.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services:

Lisbeth Riis Cooper of Black Mountain as a mental health family member. Cooper is the founder of CooperRiis Healing Community, which is a leading mental health recovery program based in Asheville and Mill Spring.
Ruben Roman of Apex as developmental disabilities family member. Roman moved to North Carolina in search of better services for his 8-year-old son, who was diagnosed with severe autism. He has volunteered for various community events including NC4PR Hurricane Relief and Camp Royall, an Autism Society of North Carolina camp.
Dr. Brenda Hargett of High Point as a substance abuse services professional. Hargett is a substance use educator/addictions specialist at High Point University and a clinical and training consultant for Proverbial Solutions. He previously served as the clinical operations coordinator for the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services.
Pat Adams of Rocky Mount as a mental health professional. Adams has previously worked at Edgecombe/Nash Mental Health/Substance Abuse/Developmental Disabilities Center for 30 years, including 9 years as the area director. She is also the founding president of the League of Women Voters of the Twin Counties.
Frederick Stephens of Lumberton as a mental health professional. Stephens is a tenured professor of social work at UNC-Pembroke. He has also served as a contract military family life counselor at Fort Bragg.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the NCWorks Commission:

Miguel Li Puma of Chapel Hill as a business representative. Li Puma currently serves as vice president of human resources for Grifols. Previously, he has spent over two decades in human resources and talent development positions for global companies such as Pfizer and Ford Motor Company.

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

Cindy Schroder of Asheboro as a member at-large. Schroder is a retired public schools administrator. She worked for Randolph County Schools from 1981-2005 where she served as a deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and a middle school principal.

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