Governor Roy Cooper announced 40 appointments to several state boards and commissions. 

 

“I’m thankful that these accomplished North Carolinians will share their expertise with our state through public service on state boards and commissions,” said Governor Cooper. 

 

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

•    County Commissioner Danny R. Burns of Bryson City as a member at-large. Burns retired from Pepsi Cola Co. after 43 years of service. He serves on the Swain County Board of Commissioners and previously on the Swain Broadband Committee and Marianna Black Library Planning Committee. 

 

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

•    Ann B. Whichard of Greenville as a member at-large. Whichard served on the Board of Directors at the North Carolina Museum of Art as well as the Greenville Museum of Art. She is chair of the Rachel Maxwell Moore Art Foundation. She has served on the UNC General Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Carolina Women’s Leadership Council.

•    Asha Bala of Fayetteville as a member at-large. Bala established the Leela School of Dance. Bala is the 2018 recipient of the North Carolina Heritage Award, and she has performed at venues around the world.

•    Holly Post of Sanford as a member at-large. Post worked in public schools after a career in North Carolina Departments of Natural Resources, Commerce, and Corrections. She served on the Lee County Community Orchestra Board of Directors.

•    Jane Butler Wilson of Winston-Salem as a member at-large. Wilson is the chief executive for various departments at Excalibur Direct Marketing. She served on the Winston-Salem Foundation and the Giannini Advisory Committee of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. 

•    Kathryn M. Crowe of Morehead City as a member at-large. Crowe is a teacher and serves as the entertainment chair for the Friends of Hospice. Previously, she was the president of the Outer Banks Chapter of the National Charity League. 

•    Sally Plyer of Raleigh as a member at-large. Plyer owns Midtown Art Consulting. She is a board member of the Visual Art Exchange, and served as the Artist Exhibition chair for the Raleigh Fine Arts Society. 

•    Stephen Hill of Kinston as chair.  Hill is CEO and chair of Discovery Insurance Company, Hill Realty, and Mother Earth Brewing.  Previously he served as president of the Community Council for the Arts in Lenoir County and was chair of Arendell Parrot Academy.  

•    Thomas Sayre of Raleigh as a member at-large. He is a founding principal of the multi-disciplinary design firm Clearscapes and has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.  He is a North Carolina Award recipient for Fine Arts. 

 

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

•    Lisa D. York of New Hill as an auctioneer. York is a certified auctioneers institute class advisor at National Auctioneers Association and regional vice president at the NC Association of Realtors. Also, she was awarded the title of 2017 Grand Champion Auctioneer. 

•    Willie A. Johnson of Greensboro as an auctioneer. He is owner/broker of Willie Johnson Realty. He is both a licensed real estate broker and licensed auctioneer.  

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners:

•    Gary R. Massey of Raleigh as a certified public accountant.  Massey is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen. He is chair of the Medical Care Advisory Committee. Massey is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Carolinas Center for Hospice and Palliative Care Association. 

•    Michael S. Massey of Morrisville as a certified public accountant. Massey is vice president of Georgia’s Own Credit Union. Massey served on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Association of CPAs (NCACPA). He is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the North Carolina State Bar:  

•    Jane B.  Weathers of Raleigh as a public member.  Weathers was the director of Section & Division Activities for the North Carolina Bar Association and an elementary school teacher in Wake County.  Weathers is a board member on Wake Up for Children, and the Wake Forest University Alumni Council.  

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Board for Licensing Geologists:  

•    Robert Mensah-Biney of Asheville as a public member. Mensah-Biney works in the Minerals Research Laboratory at North Carolina State University. Mensah-Biney was an adjunct mineral processing professor at UNC-Asheville and as the leader of CAP Consortium.

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority: 

•    William N. Lewis of Wilmington as a member knowledgeable about park and recreation issues or finance. Lewis worked as the director of the New Hanover County Parks Department. He is a past president of the NC Recreation and Parks Association. Lewis serves as chair of the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority.  

•    Harelda Mavis Gragg of Durham as a member knowledgeable about park and recreation issues or finance. Gragg is an attorney and serves as the chair of Board of Directors for Triangle Land Conservancy and vice chair of the Dispute Settlement Center.

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Structural Pest Control Committee:

•    William A. Tesh of Greensboro as a pest control industry member. Tesh is the president of Pest Management Systems, Inc., Groundworks LLC, PestOne Inc., Crawlspace Care Technologies, Inc., and Crawlspace Depot, LLC. Tesh served as president of the National Pest Management Association and president of the NC Pest Control Association.  

•    Akshathumar A. Patel of Cary as a public member. Patel is president for SHRI Hospitality Management Company and principal of SHRI Hotels, LLC. He serves as government relations manager for the Asia American Hotel Owner’s Association and is a past president of The Hindu Society of North Carolina. 

 

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

•    Angelo D. Williams of Durham as an expert in delivery of human, educational, environmental, homeland security, or public safety services. Williams is Owner/Art Director of Freshdesignz. Also, he works as the graphic design manager and social media specialist at Saint Augustine’s University.

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina On-Site Wastewater Contractors & Inspectors Certification Board:  

•    Chris Dobbins of Shelby as a water pollution control operator. Dobbins has worked for Wesson Septic Tank Service as Vice President and Construction Project Manager. He is a licensed on-site wastewater systems installer and inspector.

•    Mike Robinson of Kill Devil Hills as a licensed engineer.  Robinson is a licensed surveyor and an engineering and surveying consultant in eastern North Carolina. 

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition:  

•    Amanda Holliday of Chapel Hill as a licensed dietician/nutritionist. Holliday is a clinical assistant professor and program director for UNC Chapel Hill. She is a member of the North Carolina Dietetic Association and holds multiple board positions for UNC’s Department of Nutrition and school of Global Public Health.

•    Dr. Ananya Sen of Raleigh as a licensed physician.  Sen works as a medical officer and hospitalist for the Department of Public Safety.  She was the medical director for Rex Family Practice and lab director for Duke Primary Care.    

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Southern Region Educational Board Legislative Advisory Council:  

•    Senator Jay Chaudhuri of Raleigh as a legislator. Chaudhuri also served as general counsel, senior policy advisor to State Treasurer Cowell, and special counsel to then Attorney General Roy Cooper.  

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the State Education Assistance Authority:

•    Deirdra C. Williams of Youngsville for expertise in Secondary/Higher Education.  Williams works as the dean of Counseling and Student Services at Heritage High School and currently serves on the American School Counselor Association. 

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Board for General Contractors:  

•    Robin Hicks-Guinn of Charlotte as a public member. Hicks-Guinn is an attorney at the Law Offices of T. Michael Todd, PLLC and a member of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association.  Hicks-Guinn also served as a trial court administrator and was appointed to Raleigh’s Human Relations Committee where she served as chair of the Race Relations Committee.    

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors:

 

•    Troy A. Worrell of Durham as a heating contractor.  Worrell is the CEO and owner of Carolina Air Conditioning Company Inc. in Durham. Worrell began his career with Towercom Communications where he became the Lead Foreman. Worrell is also an active supporter and participant of the local Habitat for Humanity and Operation Breakthrough. 

 

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

•    Dr. Liliana T. Wendorff of Charlotte as a member at-large.  Wendorff is a Spanish professor and chair of the World Languages Department at Queens University.  Previously, she served as the co-director of StarTalk Chinese Summer Programs and as chair of the Department of Foreign Languages at UNC Pembroke.  

 

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

•    Susan Carroll of Riegelwood as a member at-large. Carroll is a retired licensed physical therapy assistant who worked for Brunswick, New Hanover, and Bladen County schools.  She also serves the Brunswick County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and the Northwest City Park Activities Board.  

 

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

•    John N.  Bray of Hickory as a member at-large.  Bray is the CEO and chairman of Vanguard Furniture Co. Inc. Bray has also served on the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, Catawba County Champions of Education and the Bank of Granite.

 

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

•    Nelson E.  Burgess of Jacksonville as a member at-large.  Burgess owns and operates three Chick-fil-A franchises in Jacksonville, NC. Also, he served on the Board of Directors for Branch Banking and Trust, Jones Onslow Electric Membership Corporation, and Onslow County Caring Community Foundation.  

 

 

Gov. Cooper has reappointed the following individual to the College of Albemarle Board of Trustees:

•    Arthur C. Tillett of Nags Head as a member at-large.  Tillett is the assistant superintendent of Dare County Schools.  Tillett was a teacher at Manteo Middle School and an assistant principal at Manteo High School.  

 

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

 

•    Gracie Johnson-Lopez of Durham as a member at-large.  Johnson-Lopez is the president of Diversity & HR Solutions.  She has served on the Durham Chamber of Commerce, Black Women in Business Advisory Board, and Leadership Triangle.     

 

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

•    Ann Bennett-Phillips of Winston-Salem as a member at-large.  Bennett-Phillips worked as senior vice president with First Citizens Bank and as vice president at CapDev.  She serves on the boards for Forsyth Tech Foundation, Central YMCA of Winston-Salem, NC Center for Public television, and for the NC Public Schools Forum.  

 

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

•    Jennifer Locke of Enfield as a member at-large. Locke is a strategic account executive for Duke Energy. She served on the Halifax County Arts Council and the Planning Board for the Town of Enfield, North Carolina.  

 

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

•    Ann Holton of New Bern as a member at-large.  Holton has served as a county commissioner in Pamlico County since 2002.  Holton also served on the NC Association of County Commissioners and with the Pamlico County Partnership for Children.  

 

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

•    Dr.  Walter T. Jackson III of Laurinburg as a member at-large.  For over 35 years, Jackson served as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, and other roles in the Robeson County School system.     

 

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Board of Trustees:

•    Patricia K. Horton of Concord as a member at-large.  Horton worked as the regional president of Uwharrie Bank and is a former president and CEO of Cabarrus Bank & Trust.  Horton has also served on the Rowan-Cabarrus Foundation Board and the Cabarrus Arts Council.  

 

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

•    Brian Geoffrey Hulse of Goldsboro as a member at-large.  Hulse is an attorney and serves on the Boys & Girls Club, Friends of the Wayne County Library, Arts Council of Wayne County, and the Paramount Theatre Foundation.