Governor Cooper Appoints New Members to State Boards and Commissions

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

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging:

• Joyce Waddell of Charlotte as member at-large. Waddell is a North Carolina State Senator for District 40. She has three decades of experience in education, including 21 years in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a teacher and administrator.

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

• David R. King of Weaverville as member at-large. King has worked in local manufacturing, small businesses, and local government. He was a former Buncombe County Commissioner and has served on the Asheville Buncombe Health and Human Services Board and is currently a member of the MLK Association of Asheville/Buncombe County and the Vance Monument Task Force.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control:

• Dr. Daniel S. Reuland of Chapel Hill as UNC School of Medicine Cancer Control Program Representative. Reuland is a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He has been the program director for the Cancer Prevention and Control Program since 2016. He also serves as the director of the Expanding Networks for Latinos through Community Engagement research services program within the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation Board of Directors:

• Janell Rattler of Robbinsville as a member at-large or member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Rattler works at Cherokee Recreation as the Senior Games Coordinator and as a recreation aide. She previously served on the Cherokee Preservation Foundation Board from 2006-2017.
• Ty Bushyhead Boyd of Cherokee as a member at-large. Boyd works as a real estate broker for Beverly-Hanks & Associates. He also volunteers as a coach and mentor with the Wendell Rams Youth Football league. He is also a graduate mentor for the Minority Education Through Traveling and Learning in the Sciences program.
• Louise Goings of Cherokee as a member at-large. Goings is a teaching assistant at Cherokee Elementary School and is also a Cherokee white oak basket weaver. She has been a member of the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual since the late 1960s. Goings has demonstrated her basketry at the Festival of American Folk-life at the Smithsonian Institution and at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
• Dr. Debora K. Forest of Cherokee as a member at-large. Forest is the Principal of Cherokee High School. She previously worked as an English teacher at the high school and was active in the school’s improvement team, the Students Against Destructive Decisions Club, Senior Beta Club, and class sponsorship.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Inc.:

• Eugene B. McLaurin II of Rockingham as chair. McLaurin has served on the board since 2017 and previously served as the vice chair. He is the president of Quality Oil Company with offices in Rockingham, Laurinburg, Wadesboro and Lumberton. McLaurin has served eight consecutive terms as mayor of Rockingham and one term in the North Carolina State Senate. McLaurin has also been president of both the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce and the Rockingham Rotary Club and was named Richmond County Citizen of the Year in 2014.
• Samuel B. Bowles of Charlotte as a member. Bowles is a managing director at New Republic Capital, the investment advisory arm of New Republic Partners. Bowles is a member of the firm’s board of directors and manages the private investment portfolio. His prior experience includes roles as a managing director of Threadridge Investment Partners, a fully integrated single-family office and holding company, and as a principal at Carousel Capital, a private equity firm based in Charlotte, NC. Bowles also worked at Morgan Stanley in the mergers & acquisitions group in New York.

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

• Erin Carroll Faile of Murfreesboro as a member at-large. Faile retired from teaching in 2007 after 44 years of teaching English and history in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Faile has served on the commission since 2009 and also volunteers for the Murfreesboro Historical Association.
• Matthew Howell of Murfreesboro as a member at-large. Howell is a vice president and city executive for Southern Bank and Trust in Murfreesboro. Howell originally joined Southern Bank and Trust in Ahoskie in 2011.
• Berna Stephens of Murfreesboro as a member at-large. Stephens retired from the Social Security Administration as a Program Analyst in 1997 after 28 years of service. She is currently the president of the C S Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and the assistant pastor at Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Winton, North Carolina. Stephens is also on the Murfreesboro Town Council.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Historically Underutilized Businesses:

• Stephanie W. Pigues of Raleigh as liaison from the Governor`s Office. Pigues is the Director of Public Engagement in the Office of Governor. She has public and stakeholder engagement experience in the private sector having worked as a Solutions Consultant for LexisNexis and previously worked in the Georgia House of Representatives.  
• Katherine Lynn of Chapel Hill as Senior Level Administrator from the University of North Carolina. Lynn is the Senior Associate Vice President for Finance and Capital Planning for the University of North Carolina where she is responsible for the facility, construction, and capital planning programs within the university system. She also serves as a resource for other constituent institutions regarding facilities maintenance and operations.
• Denisha G. Harris of Greenville as executive officer, financial officer, purchasing officer, or supplier diversity chief of a large non-profit organization. Harris oversees the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Program where she developed and served as Coordinator for over eight years. She has served with the NC MWBE Coordinators’ Network for over a decade in various capacities, including as a member of the Programs Committee, Scholarship Chair, Vice-President, and currently as President. 

Gov. Cooper has nominated the following individual to serve on the Industrial Commission:

• Adrian A. Phillips of Mebane as commissioner representing employees. Phillips is a Deputy Commissioner for the North Carolina Industrial Commission. She previously worked as an Assistant Attorney General for North Carolina Department of Justice. 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Board of Landscape Architects:

• Glenn Thomas Stach of Weaverville as a landscape architect. Stach is the owner of STACH PLLC, a preservation landscape architecture and planning firm in Asheville, NC. He is also the Director of Planning and Program Development for the America 250 Foundation.

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

• Nigel L. Long of Charlotte as member at-large. Long is the founder and Senior Managing Director of Trade Street Advisors, LLC, an advisory-focused independent investment banking firm. Long has served on the Board of Directors for the Charlotte Community Capital Fund and the North Carolina Supplemental Retirement Plan Board of Trustees.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board:

• Sandra Perry of New Bern as a marriage and family therapist of the 3rd Congressional District. Perry has 18 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist in a residential childcare facility and private practice. Living in an area with several military bases, Perry has worked with military families on a day-to-day basis.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Ports of Authority Board of Directors:

• Rajan A. Shamdasani of Fayetteville as member at-large. Shamdasani is the owner of American Uniforms in Wilmington. He most recently developed and sold three high quality mini-storage facilities in Fayetteville. Shamdasani has been a member of the Fayetteville Airport Commission, Vice Chair of the United Way of Cumberland County and the Fayetteville State University Board of Trustees.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the State Board of Refrigeration Contractors:

• Marcus W. Franck of Davidson as manufacturer or wholesaler of refrigeration equipment. Franck is the Senior Merchant for Refrigeration at Lowe’s where he is responsible for the largest retail refrigeration business in the industry.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina State Social Services Commission:

• Tanisha R. James of Fayetteville as 8th Congressional District Representative. James is an adjunct faculty member for Fayetteville State University’s School of Social Work and also works as a clinical supervisor and site manager for Carolina Outreach. She serves on the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work and the North Carolina chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
• Kelsey Crowe of Rutherfordton as 5th Congressional District Representative. Crowe works as a clinician and clinical supervisor for Pavillon International in Mill Spring, North Carolina. In her time at Pavillon, she served as the chair of the Cultural Diversity Committee, producing significant shifts in agency, culture, policy, and overall staff morale.
• Dr. Tia R. Crooms of Morehead City as 3rd Congressional District Representative. Crooms is a co-owner and an outpatient therapist at One to One Counseling & Consulting, PLLC. She is also an online TESOL teacher at VIPKID, where she teaches English as a second language to children from the ages of 3-12 years old. She is a member of the Carteret County Domestic Violence Program Board.

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

• Dr. Jessie L. Tucker III of Goldsboro as a member at-large. Tucker is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Wayne UNC Health Care in Goldsboro and an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis. He retired from the Army as Lieutenant Colonel in 2009 after 24 years of service. Previously, he served as President of Methodist South Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, Chief Operating Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Executive Vice President, Harris Health System/Administrator of Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital (LBJ), in Houston, Texas.
• Denise Mihal of Sunset Beach as a member at-large. Mihal is the Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing & Clinical Operations Officer at Novant Health in Winston-Salem.
• Vanessa Ervin of Jacksonville as member at large. Ervin is the President and CEO of Carobell Incorporated, a private non-profit healthcare organization. She is also the President of CLEAD (Certified Leadership, Empowerment and Development), an organization that teaches the methodologies of John C. Maxell to improve organizational, personal, and profession effectiveness.
• Michael Garrett of Greensboro as Representative of N.C. Senate. Garrett is a North Carolina State Senator from District 27. He is a Managing Partner for Marketing Associates Firm and serves as a member of the Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarship Foundation.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Statewide Independent Living Council:

• Shay Webb of Wilmington as an individual with a disability. Webb is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she founded Dubs for Diabetes, a chapter of the College Diabetes Network. While there, she also founded the UNCW NAAPCP ACT-SO High School Mentors Program.

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