Board + Staff 2025

Jose Alvarez is the vice president of Prospera-North Carolina, a Florida-based nonprofit focused on providing bilingual support and assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their business.

With Prospera-North Carolina, Alvarez manages the first office outside of Florida as part of a national expansion plan to provide the statewide Latino community with culturally focused and in-language business support to help increase economic opportunities through entrepreneurship. His responsibilities include running statewide operations in North Carolina, including fundraising, designing programming, and handling community and government relations. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, Alvarez’s professional experience and passion during the last two decades have been focused on the multicultural small business and marketing fields.

Ryan P. Ammann is senior vice president for Truist Financial Corporation. Within Truist Community Capital, he leads the Funds and Alternate Investments team that deploys capital to support creation and growth of affordable housing, small businesses, and other impactful community development financing initiatives.

With more than 15 years of banking experience, he previously served in multiple capacities for the bank, including CRA device test manager and CRA investment portfolio manager.

Passionate about community development, Ammann serves as treasurer of Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods. A member of Leadership Winston-Salem’s Class of 2015, he has served on numerous boards for organizations with a mission of creating a positive impact in our communities, including the Affordable Housing Coalition and Housing Virginia.

Ammann earned a B.S. in business administration from Appalachian State University. He is also a graduate of the ABA Stonier School of Banking at Wharton.

Dr. Zachary Barricklow serves as associate vice president for strategy and rural innovation at the North Carolina Community College System. His work focuses on advancing the statewide strategic plan that supports 58 community colleges with a specific focus on serving and strengthening the 40+ rural colleges across North Carolina.

Prior to this role, Dr. Barricklow served as VP of strategy and later VP of rural innovation at Wilkes Community College, where he supported the design and launch of numerous programs in and around the college aimed at student success and economic mobility. Dr. Barricklow’s prior experience includes 18 years of owning and operating small businesses, including Versado Training, a customized learning and development company with a global clientele, primarily in biotechnology. Dr. Barricklow also served five years with the US Peace Corps in Panama, including several years in senior leadership positions, such as the national program director for rural community economic development.

Dr. Barricklow received his doctorate in education from the University of Southern California with a focus on organizational change and leadership, a bachelor’s degree from Hope College with a double major in management and philosophy, and he recently completed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

While serving in the Peace Corps in Panama, Zach met his wife, Lauren, from Sparta. They reside in the mountains of Northwest North Carolina with their three children. Zach and Lauren both grew up in rural communities and share a passion for seeing people in rural North Carolina thrive.

Al retired in 2019 after more than 47 years in commercial lending and community development. Most recently he was executive vice president at Self-Help Credit Union and Ventures Fund, where he directed the leaders of teams responsible for managing the organization’s commercial and mortgage assets, lending to large commercial businesses, supporting Self-Help’s information technology needs, and handling fund-raising and development activities. Prior to Self-Help, Al worked at Mutual Community Saving Bank and Mechanics and Farmers Bank. Currently, he serves as board chair of UDI Community Development Corporation and board chair of St. Joseph’s Elderly Center. Al is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and the Carolina School of Banking at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Brittany Bennett Weston is the founding executive director of ResilNC, an organization that seeks to positively influence the ecosystem of available capital and support for Black entrepreneurs. She is also a thought partner consultant and facilitator for strategy and culture change at Bennett/Weston Consulting, LLC. Brittany was a commercial lending sector leader at Self-Help for seven years, where she led the national lending program for public charter schools and was part of the commercial lending leadership committee. Additionally, she is active in her community through service on the boards of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice and Village of Wisdom. Brittany has a B.S. in anthropology and human biology from Emory University and a graduate degree in public administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Casey Cooper is the chief executive officer of Cherokee Indian Hospital (CIH) in Cherokee. 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 in American Indian health care for 25 years. He has served the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and its community since 1993 as a primary care nurse, community health nurse, nurse educator, and nursing manager. As the health director of the EBCI from 1999 to 2004, he helped shape public health policy with a focus on chronic disease prevention and led a community wide initiative to assume the management responsibilities of the CIH from the Indian Health Services.

Casey is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University, holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is a current member of the WNC Health Network, the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Health Committee, CMS Tribal Technical Advisory Group, NC Medical Care Advisory Committee, IHS Facilities Appropriation Advisory Board, Mountain Area Health Education Center Board of Directors, Western Carolina University Board of Trustees, AHA Rural Task Force, and the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board.

Anne Faircloth owns and manages multiple agricultural and real estate businesses in Clinton, including Lafayette Farms, a contract swine operation with 50,000 finishing spaces and 4,000 sows; a 1,000-head beef cattle farm; and various commercial properties.

Anne currently serves on the state Board of Agriculture, the UNC Health Board of Directors, and the board of trustees of the N.C. Museum of Art. She is also a trustee of the Madeira School, the immediate past president of the Sampson Community College Foundation, and is an elder at Graves Memorial Presbyterian Church. She previously served on the boards of the N.C. Pork
Council, Hollins University, Preservation NC, and the United Way of Sampson County in addition to co-chairing Governor McCrory’s Hurricane Matthew Recovery Committee.

Anne graduated from Duke University, cum laude, in 1991. She received an M.A. in english and creative writing from Hollins University in 2000. In 2021, she was named a Knight of the French Legion of Honor.

She worked as an editorial assistant at the International Herald Tribune in Paris from 1991-1994. From 1994-1999, she was a writer-reporter for Fortune Magazine in New York.

Anne is married to Frederick Beaujeu-Dufour and they have two children: Nancy and Julian.

Lariza Garzón is the director of North Carolina and Midsouth operations at the Hispanic Federation (HF). HF works to advance and empower the Latino community and its institutions through programs, advocacy, grant making, and capacity building. Lariza Garzón was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, and has worked for over 18 years with immigrant and agricultural workers in the United States and Mexico. Lariza joined HF in March 2022 and is happy to lead the organization’s efforts to strengthen and support Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations in North Carolina.

Born April 24, 1957, in Southport, Gore was one of eight children of the late David and Berneitha G. Gore. He grew up in Supply and was educated in the Brunswick County school system.

After graduating from high school in 1975, he studied at North Carolina A&T State University, where he earned a B.S. degree in agriculture in 1979 and a master’s degree in agricultural education in 1980.

In September of that same year, he began working for the Mecklenburg County Extension Agency in Boydton, Va. In March 1981, he returned home to manage the family farm. He joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1981 and began basic training in October 1981 with a completion date of February 1982. He is a retired first sergeant and Gulf War veteran.

In November 1984, Gore began employment with Farmers Home Administration, where he continued to work as a career employee until 2009. He was appointed by President Obama in October 2009 to be the North Carolina state director and retired in 2016. Under his leadership, the FHA directed more than $13 billion across the state to enhance the quality of life for rural citizens.

Gore married his wife, Vonzennia Gore, in August 1985, and they have two children.

Randolph currently serves as the executive director of Men and Women United for Youth and Families, CDC, a nonprofit organization located in Delco as well as councilman for the Town Of Sandyfield.

He was born and reared in Riegelwood. He received his early education in the Bladen County school system before graduating from Acme Delco High School in 1979. In the fall of that same year, he enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science in 1984. While serving in the United States Air Force, he obtained his M.A. degree in human resources development from Webster University in 1988. He has over 30 years of experience in the human services field, having worked for organizations such as the New Hanover County Department of Social Services, Columbus County Mental Health, and the Wilmington Housing Authority. His love of rural communities drives his passion for service.

He is a graduate of the Rural Economic Development Institute Class 24 as well as Leadership North Carolina Class 23. In 2018, he was honored by the North Carolina Rural Center as its Rural Leader of the Year. He serves on numerous boards, including the Columbus County Community Foundation, the North Carolina Community Garden Advisory Board, North Carolina Climate Solutions Coalition, and the Bladen County Rotary Club.

He and his wife, Angela, have three children, Chad, Antonio and Keana along with eight grandchildren. He is an avid farmer and a member of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Riegelwood.

Knight is an acclaimed contemporary painter and artist, and owner of Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria in Wilmington. He also co-founded the James Beard Award-winning restaurant Chef & the Farmer in Kinston. Knight, Vivian Howard and their family were the subjects of the Emmy and Peabody award-winning PBS series, “A Chef’s Life.” Since moving to Kinston, Knight has been active in local community development, including the revitalization of the Lenoir County Farmer’s Market. He is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Mrs. Shepherd is the CEO of SkyLine Membership Corporation in West Jefferson. She has worked for the cooperative for the past 25 years and assumed her current role in July 2018. Before being named CEO, Mrs. Shepherd served as chief management officer from 2016-2018 overseeing all operations of the company. Mrs. Shepherd has also provided leadership in the areas of customer service operations through her responsibilities as executive director of customer operations from 2011-2016 and customer service and sales manager from 2002-2011.

Mrs. Shepherd holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and secondary education from Appalachian State University and an MBA from Gardner-Webb University.

She serves on several boards, including those of Carolina West Wireless, Telecom Insurance Group, Access On Networks, Inc., Carolina/Virginias Telephone Membership Association, North Carolina Broadband Cooperative Coalition, Tennessee Broadband Association, and the Board of Trustees at Appalachian State University.

Kim and her husband, Derek, reside in Warrensville, and they have two children. They are members of Pleasant View Baptist Church in Lansing.

Jennifer Tolle Whiteside serves as president and CEO of the North Carolina Community Foundation. She has led the Foundation for over 15 years, more than doubling NCCF assets and grantmaking in her tenure. As NCCF’s second CEO, she is responsible for long-term growth and sustainability, and strategic planning. She loves working every day with generous, passionate and engaged North Carolinians to build community through philanthropic giving.

Tolle Whiteside has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit management and civic affairs. Prior to joining NCCF, she served as the first CEO and president of Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, a nonprofit organization she grew from one staff member to 14 full-time employees and a statewide network. She is a graduate of the University of Florida, received a master’s degree from Louisiana State University and is an alumna of Leadership North Carolina.

Tolle Whiteside has served on numerous nonprofit boards and public commissions, including several legislative appointments. She currently serves on the boards of the North Carolina Rural Center and A Place at the Table. She previously served as chair of the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children and co-chair of the NC Child Fatality Task Force.

She is a past recipient of the Old North State Award from the governor of North Carolina and the national US Commissioner’s Award. She has been named a News & Observer Tar Heel of the Week and counted among the Triangle Business Journal’s most influential female leaders. She is a recipient of the Women of Achievement Award by the Federation of Women’s Club and was inducted into Leadership Raleigh’s first Alumni Association Hall of Fame.

Weyling J. White is the mayor of Ahoskie and executive director of Care Share Health Alliance

He attended Hertford County Public Schools and played on the men’s basketball team. He is a lifelong member of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Ahoskie. In 2004, Weyling attended Winston-Salem State University and received his B.S. in exercise science. Upon graduation in 2008, Weyling returned home to Ahoskie with a mission to give back and use his education and training for the betterment of his community. He obtained his MBA in healthcare management from the University of Phoenix in 2010.

Under his leadership, the Town of Ahoskie has successfully implemented many programs and initiatives, including The Community-Centered Health Initiative; transportation summits; and a youth empowerment program initially targeting young males in our community which expanded to include females as well at Hertford County High School. He has served on the board of directors for Care Share Health Alliance and the Community Advisory Committee for the University of North Carolina Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Weyling was recognized nationally in 2017 as the Emerging Leader in Healthcare Transformation by Communities Joined in Action for this work in public health. He was appointed to the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and selected as a Bernstein Health Leadership Fellow for 2019-2021.

Weyling is a Class XXV graduate of the Rural Economic Development Institute with the North Carolina Rural Center, and Class XXVI graduate of Leadership North Carolina.

He is married to Nikki White of Lewiston-Woodville, and the father to three children; Christian, Savannah, and Johan.