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

Andy Anderson

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

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

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

CeCe Hipps

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

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

Lenora Jarvis-Mackey

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

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

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

John Nelms

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

Alan Rice

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

Juvencio Rocha-Peralta

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

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

Joseph Stanley

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

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

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