Board of Directors
Jose Alvarez
Board Member
Jose Alvarez is the vice president of Prospera-North Carolina, Florida-based nonprofit focused on providing bilingual support and assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their business. With Propsera-North Carolina, Alvarez is managing the first office outside of Florida… Read more 
Charlotte
Andy Anderson
Vice-Chair
Andy Anderson serves as a disaster recovery advocate at Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC). Anderson has over 30 years of experience working with the disability community in many different capacities. His experience includes direct residential care, clinical plan development, day… Read more 
Whiteville
Brenda Berg
Board Member
Brenda is the President & CEO of BEST NC (Business for Educational Success and Transformation NC), a nonpartisan organization of over 120 business leaders with a focus on making education in North Carolina the best in the nation. She has… Read more 
Raleigh
Sara Chester
Board Member
Sara Chester is the executive co-director for The Industrial Commons, a nonprofit based in Morganton that aims to build a diverse working class and root wealth in rural communities. Having worked in economic and community development for almost 10 years,… Read more 
Morganton
Debbie Hamrick
Board Member
Debbie Hamrick is a member of the Public Policy Dept. for North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest general agricultural organization. She works with wide ranging stakeholder groups to shape the state’s agricultural sector for the benefit of all… Read more 
Raleigh
CeCe Hipps
Board Member
CeCe is the president of the Greater Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development. She has been in that position since 2004 with previous positions at the Asheville and Cary NC Chambers of Commerce. Currently, she serves on the… Read more 
Waynesville
Nelle Hotchkiss
At-Large
Nelle Hotchkiss is senior vice president of association services for the N.C. Electric Membership Corporation. She serves as a board member for a number of organizations, including the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for N.C. A&T State University, N.C.… Read more 
Raleigh
Lenora Jarvis-Mackey
Board Member
Lenora Jarvis-Mackey is co-founder and president/CEO of River City Community Development Corporation, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization founded 28 years ago. She serves on several boards, including Reinvestment Partners, Elizabeth City Rotary, and Elizabeth City State University. Lenora’s unwavering dedication to… Read more 
Elizabeth City
Ray Jeffers
Board Member
Ray Jeffers was elected to the Person County Board of Commissioners in 2008, and was the youngest commissioner elected that year in North Carolina. In 2013, Jeffers was sworn in as the 97th president of the North Carolina Association of… Read more 
Roxboro
Angela Judge
Board Member
Angela Judge is the assistant city manager of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. She is also the chief administrator of Elizabeth City’s development standards operations and officers, namely Community Development, Planning, Inspections, Code Enforcement, Parks & Recreation, Human Resources, among others.… Read more 
Elizabeth City
Ben Knight
Board Member
Knight is the co-owner of Kinston’s Chef & the Farmer and the Boiler Room Oyster Bar, and Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria in Wilmington. Knight and his wife, chef Vivian Howard, are the subjects of the Emmy, James Beard Foundation, and… Read more 
Kinston
Phil Marion, Jr.
Treasurer
Phil Marion is the president for the southeastern region at BB&T. Since joining BB&T in 1985, he has served as a business services officer in Raleigh, a business services manager for the Piedmont Region in Winston-Salem, corporate banker for the… Read more 
Wilson
John Nelms
Board Member
John Nelms is senior economic development manager for Duke Energy, coordinating and managing economic development activities for the company in Central North Carolina. John began his utility industry career at Progress Energy in 2005 as a business development executive for… Read more 
Raleigh
Alan Rice
Board Member
Alan Rice is executive director of RFD Community Development Corporation. He also serves as senior minister at Crossfire United Methodist Church, a rural congregation of bikers and working folk. Before entering the ministry, he was an executive in a general… Read more 
Yadkinville
Juvencio Rocha-Peralta
Board Member
Juvencio Rocha-Peralta is executive director of the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN). A native of Veracruz, Mexico, he has lived in North Carolina since 1980. He has served on a number of task forces and boards, including the… Read more 
Greenville
Alice Schenall
Secretary
Alice Schenall is director, quality improvement at the Rural Health Group (RHG). RHG provides quality primary care services without regard for a patient’s ability to pay and serves as a community resource for eliminating health disparities. … Read more 
Roanoke Rapids
Joseph Stanley
Board Member
Joseph K. Stanley is vice president of Joe & Moe’s Automotive and owner of Joe’s Photography, both in Shallotte. He serves on the South Brunswick Islands Committee of 100, the Advisory Boards for both the North Carolina Cooperative Extension and… Read more 
Shallotte
Sarah Thompson
Chair
Sarah Thompson is the executive director of the Southwestern Commission Council of Governments in Sylva, NC. In this role, she administers programs in the seven far western counties of the state related to community and economic development, workforce development, and… Read more 
Sylva
Dennis Tracz
Board Member
Dennis Tracz is a serial entrepreneur with experience in technology, sports management and consumer products goods start-ups. He was the founder of the Virginia Financial Group, Inc. a private investment company and served as the first director of the Entrepreneurship… Read more 
Pink Hill
Patrick Woodie
Rural Center President
Patrick Woodie is president of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. From 2006 to 2013, he served as the center’s vice president for Rural Programs. A native of Alleghany County, he is a graduate of Wake Forest University and… Read more 
Piney Creek