Board of Directors

Jose Alvarez

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

Paula Benson

In December of 2012, Paula joined Wilson Forward. She led the transition from Wilson Forward’s beginning role as a visionary council to a strong backbone organization that currently supports numerous partnerships and collaborations in Wilson. Paula has held advocacy and… Read more

Brenda Berg

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

Sara Chester

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

Casey Cooper

Casey Cooper is the Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee Indian Hospital (CIH) in Cherokee, NC. The CIH serves approximately 14,000 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). As an enrolled member of the EBCI, Casey has been involved… Read more

Debbie Hamrick

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

Mike Hawkins

Mike Hawkins is President of Pisgah Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates commercial and residential properties in western North Carolina as well as Pisgah Fish Camp seafood restaurant in Brevard. He served 12 years as a Transylvania County commissioner including… Read more

Nelle Hotchkiss

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

Ray Jeffers

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

Randolph Keaton

Randolph currently serves as the Executive Director of Men and Women United for Youth and Families, CDC, a non-profit organization located in Delco, North Carolina as well as Councilman for the Town Of Sandyfield, NC. He was born and reared… Read more

Ben Knight

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

Phil Marion, Jr.

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

Alice Schenall

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

Yolanda Taylor

Yolanda is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Wake Forest Law School and the lead attorney at the law firm, Yolanda L. Taylor Law Firm, PLLC d/b/a The Center for Community Law and Equity. She practices in the areas of… Read more

Dennis Tracz

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

Gil Wise

Gil has a passion for strengthening and growing rural churches in North Carolina. He is a part of the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative with the Duke Endowment and Duke University. He is leading a movement of United Methodist Churches that… Read more

Patrick Woodie

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