Governor Cooper Announces Appointments to State Boards and Commissions

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced new appointments to boards and commissions across North Carolina.

“I'm grateful to have these appointees serving North Carolina," Gov. Cooper said. "Their expertise will help our boards and commissions make critical decisions about our state's workforce, environment and communities."

Gov. Cooper has nominated the following individual to the North Carolina Industrial Commission:

• Wanda Blanche Taylor of Raleigh as a commissioner representing employees. Taylor is the director of litigation, counsel at Key Risk Insurance in Greensboro. She is the former chief deputy commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission where she served as an adjudicator for over twenty years.

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

• Brika P. Eklund of Hillsborough as a member at-large. Eklund serves as the team leader and director of real estate at SELF-HELP. She previously worked in asset management for Boston Capital Corporation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to North Carolina Emergency Response Commission:

• Karyn Lee Yaussy of Newton as representative of emergency managers. Yaussy serves as an emergency management coordinator with the Catawba County Government. She has over 35 years of experience in disaster response, crisis communications and emergency planning for government and non-profit organizations at the local, state and national level.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television, and Digital Streaming:

• Trey Rabon of Wake Forest as a member at-large. Rabon is president of AT&T North Carolina, a position he has held since 2019. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the NC Business Committee for Education and the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
• Lindsay Bierman of Durham as a member at-large. Bierman is the chief executive officer of UNC-TV. Prior to joining UNC-TV, Bierman served as the eighth chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.
• C. Hunter Widener of Charlotte as a member at-large. Widener is a senior client advisor for PNC Wealth Management. He also serves on the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Center Board and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art Board.
• Jonas J. Pate of Wilmington as a member-at-large. Pate is the creator and executive producer of “Outer Banks” for Netflix, a drama that will premiere on April 15th, 2020. He has been a writer, director, and film creator for the past 25 years. He is active on the Wilmington Arts Council and is a founding member of the Friends of the Wilmington Rail Trail.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Historical Commission:

• Perry Morrison of Wilson as a member at-large. Morrison has over 30 years of experience practicing law and has been the head attorney of Morrison Law Firm since it was formed in 2004.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Holocaust Council:

• Kathleen O’Neill Cunningham of Fort Mill, South Carolina as a member- at-large. Cunningham is a national board-certified professional educator specializing in English and language arts with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.
• Susan Fox Robinson of Greensboro as a member-at-large. Robinson currently serves on the board for the Greensboro Jewish Federation, Greensboro History Museum, and the Carolina Foundation for Jewish Seniors. She also previously served as the president of the Greensboro Jewish Federation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Internship Council:

• Darren Miller of Winston-Salem as a college or university rep. with less than 5,000 students. Miller joined the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking, faculty in January 2016, where he continues to teach and mentor full time in the Producing Department. Previously, Miller served as senior executive and producer at Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise’s Paramount Pictures based C/W Productions for twelve years.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the License to Give Trust Fund Commission:

• Beverly Biancur of Rocky Mount as a member who has demonstrated an interest in organ and tissue donation and education. Biancur is the Women’s Soccer Head Coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Biancur organizes the Duck, Dodge, Donate Dodgeball tournament at the college to raise awareness for organ donation.

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

• Thomas N. Roller of Beaufort as a member actively engaged in the sports fishing industry as demonstrated by deriving at least fifty percent (50%) of annual earned income from selling goods or services in this State. Roller is the owner of Waterdog Guide Service in Beaufort. He is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain with over 14 years of experience in the saltwater fishing industry. He is a member of the Southern Flounder Fishery Management and the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committees.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission:

• Edwin E. Booth of Washington as a member at-large. Booth is currently a Beaufort county commissioner. Booth retired after 30 years with the state, including 28 years with the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and was awarded the Long Leaf Pine after retirement.

 Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to North Carolina Real Estate Commission:

• Mary Wills Bode of Raleigh as a public member. Bode is the executive director of North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform. She previously worked as a corporate associate for ProsKauer Rose LLP and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council:

• Dr. Christopher G. Ullrich of Charlotte as the chair. Ullrich has served as the chair for the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) for the past five years. He has been a practicing radiologist in the Charlotte area since 1982.
• J. Cooper Linton of Chapel Hill as the representative of hospice. Linton is the associate vice president of Duke HomeCare and Hospice. He is the Immediate-past Chair for the Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina. 
• John E. Young of Wilmington as the representative of hospitals. Young is the President and CEO of Columbus Regional Healthcare System. He has 38 years of financial and managerial experience in a variety of business and hospital settings.
• Mark Werner of Apex as the representative of the health insurance industry. Werner has served as the vice president of network management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina since 2014 and has been with the company since 1997.
• Dr. Pamela Alston Oliver of Lewisville as a member-at-large. Oliver is the executive vice president and president of the physician network at Novant Health. She is the Chair of the Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition in Winston-Salem and serves on both the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund and the Board of Visitors at the UNC Chapel Hill.
• Dr. Sandra B. Greene of Chapel Hill as a member-at-large. Greene is a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She previously served as the vice president of Strategic Information at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
• Valarie T. Jarvis of Durham as a member-at-large. Jarvis is the mobile director of nursing at Principle LTC. She has been in the nursing profession for twenty years.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Underground Damage Prevention Review Board:

• Freddie Young of Charlotte as a public utilities contractor licensed under G.S. 87-10(b)(3) who does not own or operate facilities. Young is currently the vice president of Sanders Utility Construction and has over 38 years of experience in the water and sewer construction industry.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Vocational State Rehabilitation Council:

• James Jones of Red Springs as a representative of regional rehabilitation centers. Jones currently serves as an occupational therapy assistant at Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center and Carolina Rehab Center in Fayetteville. He has over 22 years of experience delivering services in the inpatient rehabilitation settings.
• David Tedrow of Durham as a current or former applicant for vocational rehabilitation services. Tedrow currently serves as a health insurance broker with Senior Health Insurance Brokers in Durham. He formerly was a volunteer SHIPP counselor for Senior PharmAssist.
• Sharon M. Nellenbach of Hickory as a representative of a business or industry. Nellenbach is a human resources manager at RPM Wood Finishes Group, Inc. She has over 20 years of experience managing all phases of human resources.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service:

• Reverend Michael D. Frese of Mebane as a representative of the faith community. Frese is the Corridor District Superintendent for the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Previously, Frese was the senior pastor at Millbrook United Methodist Church.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission:

• James “Jim” M. Ruffin of Winston-Salem as the 7th wildlife district representative. Ruffin is an independent construction consultant at Construction Practices, a company he founded in 2014 after a 27-year career in commercial construction. Ruffin is an exceptionally active outdoorsman and displays tremendous community service experience through his work with Arbor Acres, The Nature Conservancy, and the UNC School of the Arts Foundation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Water Treatment Facility Operators Certification Board:

• Kim Greenwood of Walnut Cove as the manager of a North Carolina municipality using a treated groundwater supply. Greenwood began his role as the town manager of Walnut Cove in Stokes county in 2017 after 30 years with the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles as a license and theft inspector.

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