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realCommercial
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underwritingAttorneys
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(left to right) are Steve Brown, Jane Barkley, Charity Taylor Grindstaff,
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Wells Fargo Your Love.
congratulates Our Passion.
Nichole Kelley

Congratulations for being recognized as one of

the 50 Most Influential Women of 2017 by
The Mecklenburg Times.

wellsfargo.com/realestate

4521 Sharon Rd
Charlotte, NC 28211
2017 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
All rights reserved.

www.diamondsdirect.com
939108
Congratulations!
Karen Rice
Group Human Resources Business Partner
Lash Group, a part of AmerisourceBergen

50 Most Influential Women 2017

The Mecklenburg Times

At Lash Group, we work with purpose each day by helping patients to start, and stay on,
vital therapies. With more than 20 years of experience across virtually all disease states,
weve implemented hundreds of support programs and have helped millions of patients
live longer, healthier lives.

www.lashgroup.com

Congratulations
Felicia
Walton Gray!
Gray Classic, Co-Founder

We Love you,
Herb & Bailey
 @ShowcaseRealty

Charlottes #1 Home-Selling
#ShowcaseRealty
Digital Marketing Innovators
CREW Charlotte
Congratulations to each of our members
for being honored as a Mecklenburg
Times 50 Most Influential Woman.

Kelly Barnhardt Sallie Jarosz

Matthews Chamber NewDominion Bank
Your Home is Guaranteed to Sell of Commerce
within 120 days or I will pay you Jessica Rossi
Barbara Briccotto Kimley-Horn & Associates
$2,500* INTEC Group
Anne Vulcano
Susanne Dixon CBRE (CREW Charlotte
KPMG Past President)

Nichole Kelley Mary Wilken

Congratulations to my fellow 2017 Honorees on your Wells Fargo Bank Insite Properties
recognition as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in
Charlotte! I also extend my gratitude to The Mecklenburg
Times for granting me this distinctive honor.
- Nancy Braun, Broker/Owner

#7 In the Nation by Real Trends and the Wall Street

Journal (2015 & 2016)
www.NancyHasTheBuyers.com
www.ShowcaseRealty.net
Get Your Home Sold, Call 704-997-3794 Today!
www.crewcharlotte.org
*some conditions apply

our mark
O N C H A R L O T T E

Congratulations!

CHLANDRA
MOORE-QUARLES
of The T. R. E. Foundation for being named
one of 2017's 50 Most Influential Women
 a note from the editor
Paul Fletcher
Cheers to The
Meck Times MIW
Class of 2017!
From the armed services to entertainment to
athletics to the board room to politics, women have
never been so influential on the world stage.
And we see them in our community as well, from
the mayor to the public schools superintendent to
judges and CEOs and leaders across the spectrum
of public and private and for profit and nonprofit
institutions.
And while glass ceilings and patronizing pats may
not have disappeared completely, women now move
forward with the confidence and knowledge that they
can do anything. Anything.
And so we celebrate those who live this spirit:
Those who pick themselves up when they stumble;
who find their way around or through obstacles;
who figure out how to thrive and make a difference in
their communities.
They are entrepreneurs; they are trailblazers.
Theyre not afraid to take the heat and take on the
establishment if it means improving the odds of
success for disadvantaged children. They are mentors,
emboldening others with their wisdom and experience,
and by leading by example. They are passionate and
compassionate, giving of their time, resources and
energy to help those less fortunate, whether in our own
community, nationally, or abroad.
They are, in a word, influential women.
This is the ninth year of The Mecklenburg Times
50 Most Influential Women awards. And it is with
great pride that we share with you this special section
Tish Atkins
Southern Shows, Inc.
outlining the accomplishments, vision, and success of
the 2017 honorees.
These 50 were selected by an independent panel of
judges from our community who studied hundreds
of nominations of worthy women from across the
Charlotte/Mecklenburg metropolitan area. Those
named possess outstanding qualities of business and
nonprofit leadership and civic responsibility.
Some of these women you will recognize because
of the high profile they have achieved through work
or philanthropy. Others you may not know, but
we hope in reading this section you will soon feel
that you do. Each exemplifies what most of us hope
to achieve in our careers and our lives: a legacy of
influence and support for those who follow.
We are privileged this year to have partnered
again with a nonprofit organization, one whose
core mission offers hope, support and love to the
families of seriously ill children.
Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte is part of
what has become a global charitable network with
the mission to improve the health of children and
offer support and a place to stay for the families who But that was our charge to the judges. And, as they
are coping with such difficult times. do each year, they came through admirably, choosing
Led by Executive Director Mona Johnson-Gibson, a woman whose handiwork can be seen across the
the Charlotte home works with our local health care region. And her work hasnt ended; as youll read, her
institutions to assist in the whole care necessary when a future endeavors will prove to be as challenging as
child is struck by a devastating illness. those in the past.
We found the organization to be the perfect partner But its not hard to have faith in her, in our 50
for us in this celebration. nominees, in the hundreds and thousands of other
Women are mothers, aunts, daughters and sisters, women in our community that their talents and
and we all at some point were children. And our energy will continue to improve life in the Queen City.
hope is that even in this small way, we are helping an We hope you enjoy and draw inspiration from
organization working to care for the entire family. reading their stories.
Considering the extraordinary achievements of so
many nominees, naming just 50 was no easy task. Paul Fletcher
And it was even more difficult for the judges to Editor-in-Chief
determine the Woman of the Year from this class. The Mecklenburg Times
OUR JUDGES
Marie McLucas Ann Warren
Primax Properties Duke Energy
6 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017

CORBY COCHRAN ANDERSON
Bradley Arant Boult
Cummings LLP / Page 8
KELLY BARNHARDT / Page 8
Matthews Chamber of Commerce
LAURA BELCHER / Page 10
Habitat for Humanity Charlotte
SHARON BLUMBERG / Page 10 Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes,
Im Not Done Yet, LLC
NANCY BRAUN / Page 12
Showcase Realty LLC
BARBARA A. BRICCOTTO / Page 12
INTEC Group, Inc.
JESSICA BRONZERT / Page 13
The Sparks Group
AMY BURKETT / Page 13
PBS Charlotte/WTVI
KRISTINA CRUISE / Page 14
Promising Pages
NOELLE DE ATLEY / Page 14
Creative Thinking Group, LLC
SUSANNE DIXON / Page 15 JENNIFER MILES / Page 27 Law Office of Yolanda M. Trotman,
KPMG LLP
ANGELA TERESA DREHER / Page 15
Outreach Management Services,
Inc.
LATOYA EVANS / Page 16
Compass Group North America
JOANNA GAMMON / Page 16
Compass Group / Canteen
FELICIA GRAY / Page 18 AMELIA OLD / Page 29 Fundanoodle
Gray Classic
NAN GRAY / Page 18
Sprint
BETSY HAUSER IDILBI / Page 22
Tech Talent South
Index of
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FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 7
 Corby Cochran
Anderson
Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Corby earned a bachelors degree from the
College of William and Mary and a law degree
from the University of Virginia law school. Her
focus is on franchise law, and she is the founder
and co-sponsor of the Franchise Business Net-
work and Women in Franchising Network of
Charlotte, part of the International Franchise
Association. She is active in many professional
and legal groups, and has often been recog-
nized for her work.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplish-
ment has been raising two strong, independent,
accomplished daughters. Both young women
have big hearts, big ambitions, and, most
important of all, a great perspective on the
world beyond themselves and the importance
of trying to be a force for good in the lives of
others.
Tell us about someone who has been an
influence in your life.
I learned to dream big from my high school
Spanish teacher, Nancy Ruth Patterson. I was
the first in my family to go to college, and that
would not have happened but for her. College
Kelly
Barnhardt
Executive Director,
Matthews Chamber of Commerce
Kelly was named a Charlotte Business
Journal 40 Under 40 for her part in bringing a
public-private partnership to Indian Trail that
created a recreation and sports facility that
resulted in free open gym hours for residents.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
The 40 Under 40 Award was definitely a
highlight for me. It was a great honor for the
hard work that I put into something, that,
while in the public sector, I was highly criti-
cized for and also highly applauded for at the
same time.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Getting the executive director position for
the Matthews chamber was a tremendous
professional accomplishment for me. It can be
stressful and it can be long days, but I feel like
I am really helping the almost 400 chamber
members we have at a variety of business levels.
Tell us about some of your career goals.
One of the top priorities I had coming into
seemed like an impossible dream to me, but
she refused to see it that way. Of course you
are going to college, she would say whenever
I expressed a doubt. I submitted one applica-
tion, to William and Mary. I had never seen
the school, which was four hours away from
my hometown by car but a world away by
every other measure. On the day I received
my acceptance letter in the mail, she told me,
Were going to see it. The next week, she
drove me there. It was my first step on the path
she made possible for me.
What would your 25-year-old self be
surprised by regarding either your pro-
fessional or personal life, and why?
My 25-year-old self had never heard of
Charlotte, and certainly never would have
expected to live and work here. I always
imagined myself in Virginia, where I was
born and raised, or in Washington, D.C.,
where I worked for 12 years before going to
law school. I never visited Charlotte until I
interviewed for a clerkship at a law firm here.
When I interviewed with firms in my home so far? What do you want to do?Of course, Charlottes challenges, but Im glad I chose to
state, even though I was in my 30s, I often was connections matter; but even without them, I make Charlotte my home.And Im sure that,
asked, What does your Daddy do? But in felt I could succeed here.And the city itself had after getting over her surprise, my 25-year-old
Charlotte, I was asked, What have you done a can-do attitude that I loved. Im not blind to self would be glad, too.
my role was creating a program called Women
In Business. This program is all-encompassing
when it comes to issues in todays workplace
and home. The tag line is Engage, Empower
and Energize. Another goal is mentoring,
and we are working on a separate committee
for that. Lastly, we are hoping that some new
women leaders come out of this group and
will lead not just the chamber in board or
committee positions, but perhaps work with
some of the area nonprofits as well.
Another item on my wish list is to create a
separate program for the younger generation
of workers. We currently have a title in place,
MYPLAN, which stands for Matthews Young
Professionals, Leaders, & Advocates Network.
One of the biggest problems any chamber has
is attracting the younger professional and we
are hoping through this program that we can stop trying to copy the success of others so how they measure successes, and how each
attract that type of young professional. much. My 25-year-old self would definitely treats its customers/clients. But probably
be shocked that I left the commercial real most shocking to my 25-year-old self would
What would your 25-year-old self be estate field for a job in local government be my ability now to get up and speak in
surprised by regarding either your pro- and then in the nonprofit sector. To work front of large audiences and express my per-
fessional or personal life, and why? in the private, public and now the nonprof- sonal and professional opinions while doing
I would have liked to have told my it sector has really opened my eyes in terms so. It is still not easy, but it is not something
25-year-old self to be more original and of how each sector differs, their struggles, I dread anymore.
8 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017

Hornets Sports & Entertainment congratulates
Senior Vice President of Arena & Event Operations
Spectrum Center General Manager
Donna Julian
one of The Mecklenburg Times
50 Most Influential Women of 2017.
Bradley congratulates Corby Anderson for
being named to the Mecklenburg Times
50 Most Influential Women
At Bradley, our people are our greatest asset. They are dedicated
to helping their clients and their communities meet challenges
and succeed.

bradley.com

No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.
spectrumcentercharlotte.com Contact: Dana Lumsden Esq., 704.338.6034, dlumsden@bradley.com, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Hearst Tower, 214 North Tryon Street, Suite 3700, Charlotte, NC 28202.

REAL ADVANTAGE,
RECOGNIZED.

Congratulations Anne Vulcano for

being chosen as one of Charlottes 2017
50 Most Influential Women.

Senior Vice President

Brokerage, Office Properties
 Laura
Belcher
President and CEO,
Habitat for Humanity Charlotte
Laura has a bachelors degree in accounting
from the College of William and Mary. She
involved in several local business and nonprofit
groups, and has been honored for her
leadership by several organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
The community-building work I have done
internationally and domestically come to mind.
Twice I have traveled to Mexico, Kenya, and El
Salvador, in addition to serving in Mississippi
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These
experiences building homes, classrooms
and churches alongside members of those
communities impacted my world view and
helped shape my sense of servant leadership.
When in Kenya, it was the depth and
breadth of hospitality shown by the residents
in a village west of Nairobi that touched me
most. The kindness they showered on us as
foreign workers was tremendous. We worked
to build and expand a school that catered to
children who had lost one or both of their
parents to the AIDS epidemic, some of whom
Sharon
Blumberg
Founder, Psychological Coach and
Facilitator of Change, Im Not Done Yet, LLC
Sharon has a masters degree in clinical
and organizational psychology from Western
Kentucky University and a bachelors degree in
psychology from Hofstra University, and is a
certified yoga instructor. She founded a human
resources and organizational change consulting
firm in 2008, later rebranding it Im Not
Done Yet LLC, after having worked as a
strategy and change professional for companies
such as IBM, Citigroup and Deloitte. She was
nominated as a changemaker for the White
House Council for Women and Girls United
State of Women Summit in 2016.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
In January 2012, I reached a milestone, the
age my mother was when she died. My mother
died at 55, too young for anyone to loose their
life. This turned out to be very profound for
me. My internal dialog shifted dramatically. I
went from feeling motherless to I Am Not
Done Yet. I have come to a true and heartfelt
realization that my lifes purpose is to enable
and empower women to realize that their lives
were suffering from the disease themselves.
The thirst for education and desire to improve
themselves stood in stark contrast to their
surroundings and life circumstances.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
While working with the Arts and Science
Council (ASC), I developed a crowd-
funding website, power2give.org. The site
was successfully launched locally in late
2011, inviting local arts organizations to
post projects in need of funding and invite
donors to support those projects. The local
efforts were successful and I then adapted 18 years and working on over a dozen house significant growth in the number of families
the platform to be used by other markets and builds, I was fortunate to have found that served.
began rolling it out nationally in 2012. By elusive intersection of passion and profession.
2014, power2give.org had been launched in Since joining Habitat Charlotte I have been What would your 25-year-old self
24 communities across the country, including energized by the commitment of our mission be surprised by regarding either your
Seattle, Miami, St. Louis and Houston. to address the needs of families throughout our
professional or personal life, and why?
community and fueled by the dedication and
Tell us about your transition to Habitat passion of our staff members, board members I think the 25-year-old me who was in the
for Humanity Charlotte. and volunteers. We have worked together to corporate sector and climbing the ladder would
In 2014, Habitat Charlotte invited me to expand our outreach, diversify the population be surprised that my volunteering for Habitat
take on the role of president and CEO. After we serve, secure new avenues of funding, and became such a passion and calling in my life
volunteering with Habitat Charlotte for nearly design an aggressive strategic plan focused on that it became my career.
are not over when they have experienced a
transition or loss, whether the transition is
self-directed by choice, through the decisions
of others, or the change just happens.
I rebranded my HR and organizational-
change consulting firm to focus on individuals
and organizations going through change or
transition. My firm works with individuals who
are not done making a contribution in their
own lives, the lives of the their family, their
workplace, their community and the world.
Tell us more about your goals.
With my deep commitment to womens
rights, my work and my life are focused on
mitigating gender and age bias. I accomplish
this through my work at Im Not Done Yet,
through my blog, my political activism, and by
being recognized by others. artists followed by an engaging and inspiring and amazed. Surprised that I took my double
I look for interesting opportunities to facilitated conversation. masters in psychology and created a successful
collaborate. I most recently partnered with business without a doctorate, and married a
the Mint Museum to offer a unique museum What would your 25-year-old self truly sweet man that makes me laugh each and
experience called Women2Women: Fired be surprised by regarding either your everyday. Amazed that at my age, Im training
Up. This experience offers a private docent- professional or personal life, and why? for my first triathlon and learning how to swim
led tour of two exhibits showcasing women My 25-year-old self would be both surprised at the same time. Pretty cool!
10 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Congratulations
C O N G R AT U L AT E S Noelle De Atley!
Congratulations
Noelle Decommunity
Atley!
Creative Thinking Group founder,
tech wizard,
all 50 of the 2017 volunteer
Creative extraordinaire
Thinking Group founder,
tech wizard, community
volunteer extraordinaire
MOST INFLUENTIAL
WOMEN HONOREES
including our own inspiring CEO

SHANA PLOTT
colemanlew.com 704.377.0362
THINKING GROUP
creativethinkinggroup.co
THINKING GROUP
creativethinkinggroup.co

Congratulations to the
50 Most Influential Women!

SHALANNA PIRTLE
Partner, Employment & Labor

Congratulations to Shalanna Pirtle

for being named one of the Charlotte
regions 50 Most Influential Women.

Learn more about our support of

female leaders and our commitment to
the local community at parkerpoe.com.
lydiaslegacy.org
 Nancy
Braun
Owner and Broker-In-Charge, Showcase Realty LLC
Nancy earned a bachelors degree in indus-
trial and labor relations at Cornell University
and a law degree at the State University of New
York Buffalo law school. She has completed
several executive leadership programs, and is
a member of numerous local and national real
estate and womens business organizations.
Shes received many awards as a top real estate
agent and businesswoman.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I am a very proud mother of two fantastic
11 year olds. I adopted them six weeks apart as
infants. We have a happy and active home life
with my husband, who often travels due to his
position with an international hotel operator.
My children have turned out amazingly. They
love life, our family and their interests. They
are thoughtful, compassionate, fun, caring and
well-mannered.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Building and growing Showcase Realty LLC
and Showcase Property Management LLC
since their inception in 2008 has been my
most significant professional accomplishment.
Barbara A.
Briccotto
Director of Interiors, INTEC Group, Inc.
Barbara earned a bachelors degree in
interior design from UNC Greensboro. Shes
a member of several interior design and real
estate organizations and has been honored
often for her professional and volunteer work.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I attribute my achievements and success
to never losing sight of the values that my
parents instilled in me hard work, respect
and appreciation. These basic principles have
guided my personal and professional decisions
and are at the core of who I am.
Ive been an active participant in CREW
Charlotte for over nine years, and served
as president in 2013. I spearheaded the
development of an Accomplished Leaders
Forum, which polled C-suite and senior
executive members to better understand how
CREW Charlotte could provide value to them.
The result was to offer an invitation-only forum
where senior leaders could discuss relevant
workplace and industry issues with their peers
in a confidential environment.
In 2017, Im taking on a new challenge with
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Man
and Women of the Year fundraising campaign.
During my 20-year career I have closed over
5,000 homes. Over the past year, we have sold
300 homes and leased and managed over 50
properties. Over the years, I have refocused,
adapted and capitalized on the changing
markets.
My staff knows and appreciates that I am
driven to provide timely, caring and de-
fect-free service as evidenced by their receipt
of emails and tasks even in the early hours
of the morning and on weekends. I have sur-
rounded myself with professionals to manage
Showcase as a business rather than as just a
place for agents to hang their licenses.
I also offer free workshops to educate the
community on home buying, the market,
and how to invest. My agents receive regular
training on how to become technologically
savvy and keep up with social media to help
grow their business. unplanned meeting we formed our mastermind What would your 25-year-old self be
Women business owners typically work long group. On weekly calls, we discuss challenges surprised by regarding either your pro-
hours, juggle family and work and are isolated we face, marketing strategies, employee best fessional or personal life, and why?
from other professional women. While attend- practices and so much more. My business struc- I never envisioned that I would be an owner
ing a conference, we were awoken in the middle ture and practices have greatly improved. But of a real estate company. At 25,I was attending
of the night due to a fire alarm. Two women what I also value is the camaraderie we share. law school and contemplating working for
with similar businesses in other parts of the Legal Aid. I also would have not anticipated
country and I walked the streets of Tulsa until how much I would love being a mother of my
they let us back in our hotel room. During this two fabulous children.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Since joining INTEC Group in 2013, we
have been focused on growing the team and
empowering them to achieve success. I am
passionate about the continued development
of myself and our team, and take a special
interest in understanding each team members
goals and helping them find their path to
success.
I have been fortunate to lead our Strategic
Leadership Team in the development of our
new Personal Development Plan. This is a
process that replaces the annual review
with an employee-driven and manager/firm
supported approach. The employee drives
their goals personally, professionally and as
related to growth of the firm. After a pilot run
in Charlotte, we have now implemented this enhance the human condition of our clients, My 25-year-old self would celebrate the self-
firm wide. our communities and in various ways, the confidence I have developed and the success I
In 2016, we started the implementation betterment of our world. This collective effort have hadin finding my voice.These were traits
of our new Strategic Plan. Given our vision has led to INTEC being recognized by Smart that I was still struggling to find at age 25.
to Enhance the Human Condition, we CEO magazine as a Corporate Culture Awards
I encourage everyone to celebrate
are focused not only providing exceptional Recipient for 2016.
service to our clients, but designs that are yourself and be comfortable in your own
influential and impactful. There is a great What would your 25-year-old self skin. Be authentic in who you are and share
sense of accomplishment in knowing that the be surprised by regarding either your your voice. Your values and beliefs shine
service and creative design solutions we provide professional or personal life, and why? through in your authentic self.
12 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Jessica
Bronzert
Founder and CEO, The Sparks Group
Jessica graduated with honors from
Michigan State Universitys James Madison
College with a degree in social relations,
and received an MBA from Case Western
Reserve Universitys Weatherhead School of
Management. She also received a certificate
in leadership coaching from Georgetown
Universitys Institute for Transformational
Leadership.
She started the Sparks Group in 2015,
helping leaders and teams develop capacity
not just skills to deal with the increasing
change and complexity in the workplace.
Sparks Group offers executive coaching, group
and team coaching, workshops and change
consulting support. Shes an adjunct faculty
member of the Center for Creative Leadership
and a professional certified coach with the
International Coach Federations Charlotte
Chapter. Shes involved in several leadership
development and civic organizations. She
previously was the director of Change Execution
at Lowes, helping to develop and implement
a change management center of expertise and
coaching the top 150 leaders as part of an effort
to shift Lowes to a purpose-driven organization.
Amy
Burkett
General Manager, PBS Charlotte/WTVI
Amy received a bachelors degree in jour-
nalism from Bowling Green State University
in Ohio, and has worked as a reporter, anchor
and producer at a variety of television stations.
Shes active in the community and is a certified
trainer, speaker and coach. She has led teams
winning seven regional Emmy Awards, four
national PBS awards, seven Pennsylvania
Association of Broadcaster Awards, and two
regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplish-
ment is living a life of service.
Ive been married 25 years, which is no small
task in the television industry. My job has tak-
en us to five different states. In a business thats
filled with self-centered people, Ive focused
on growing others and myself to be all we were
created to be for the benefit of our community.
My familys commitment to service took us
to Haiti in May 2013, where I taught leader-
ship to orphaned teenagers, while my husband
and son helped build a playground.
After honing my skills as a writer, reporter
and anchor in commercial television for nine
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
In the vein of what doesnt kill you makes
you stronger, Im most proud of weathering
personal hardships in my life. This includes
a very difficult divorce between my parents
that included me going to four different high
schools in four years. Through that experience
I learned that I could go anywhere and do
anything, no matter what my circumstances.
More recently, I am proud of parenting
my two sons, the older of whom has autism.
Although his particular expression of autism
is mild by most standards, our family still
deals with various and sundry issues related
to having a special-needs child. My earlier organizations, teams and individuals make the the benefit of the local business and civic
experiences in life taught me how to advocate changes that make a difference to them and in communities.
for myself, and now I am learning how to the world. With a strong orientation toward
advocate for someone else. making the world a better place, I am looking What would your 25-year-old self
to do two things with my work: 1) reintegrate
be surprised by regarding either your
What are your goals for the future? direct service into my work by focusing
professional or personal life, and why?
Ive already made an impact in the Charlotte on nonprofits as well as businesses, and 2)
area, both with my work at Lowes and as an building a practice primarily centered on the My 25-year-old self never believed I would
active member of the community. But the real Charlotte market. work for myself or be successful at it. I also
reason for this honor is what the future holds. My unique background and perspective never thought Id have kids when I was 25!
The Sparks Group is focused on helping couple with my clear intention to work for Wrong, and wrong!
years, I chose to turn my focus to nonprofit
leadership and went to work for PBS 39 in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There I learned
how to raise money to fund the mission and
how to deal with all daily operations of a
television station.
What drives your success?
Passion and tenacity are my superpowers.
Everyone has access to those two traits, but
very few people activate them daily.
Everyone, including me, has wanted to
throw up the white flag and surrender at
times. However, something inside me wont
allow it. Its as if I can hear Winston Churchill
saying, Never, ever, ever give up. Were all
one decision away from walking in our destiny, thrive and Im honored for everyones help. that will make your life so very rewarding.
yet unfortunately too few people are willing to
My 25-year-old self would also be surprised
pay the price to get there. What would your 25-year-old self be
Were currently working to create a multi- to know that life would be much more difficult
surprised by regarding either your pro-
year program to help motivate children and fessional or personal life, and why? and wonderful than she could imagine. I wish I
teens to take the triple D challenge and be First of all, I wish my 25-year-old self could tell her to stop worrying, enjoy the jour-
daredevil dreamers who take action to move would have made me stop eating sweets! ney and hold Gods hand even tighter. Just keep
out of poverty and into their destiny. The But she would be surprised that I finally
swimming, kid, and the dreams you have today
media can be harnessed for good and thats stopped focusing on myself and realized
what Im committed to do at PBS Charlotte. It that I could accomplish even greater dreams for success will turn into dreams of significance
takes community support for PBS Charlotte to by helping others accomplish theirs and tomorrow, which are so much more rewarding.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 13
 Kristina
Cruise
Founder and Executive Director,
Promising Pages
Kristina earned a bachelors degree in
telecommunications at the University of
Florida and a nonprofit business management
certificate from Wake Forest University. After
more than a decade in journalism, she founded
Promising Pages, which has distributed more
than half a million donated books to tens
of thousands of underserved children in the
Charlotte area.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
One month after starting Promising Pages in
2011, in partnership with Classroom Central,
we became pregnant with my son. In 2015, I
gave birth to our second, Vivianna Katherine.
This sweet, intelligent, beautiful little girl looks
so much like me, adults cannot tell some of our
baby pictures apart.
My family is my greatest accomplishment.
I have two of the most wonderful kids in
the world and my husband (co-founder of
Promising Pages) is without question one
of the most honorable, dedicated and nicest
men you will ever meet. Not to mention he is
incredibly handsome.
Noelle
De Atley
Founder and Tech Yoda,
Creative Thinking Group, LLC
Noelle has an associates degree in
humanities from College of the Canyons and
a bachelors in business management from the
University of Phoenix, Charlotte. She also has
earned certifications in martial arts, including a
black belt in several. Creative Thinking Group
is a technology solutions group, and Noelle
is active in several business, civic and political
groups and also is a sergeant in the South
Carolina State Guard, earning medals for
exceptional response and basic training.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
The most significant accomplishment to me
is being a teacher. I began my first year out of
high school as an English as a second language
assistant in Los Angeles. My passion for
learning and sharing my knowledge keeps me
feeling youthful and excited every day.
I will never forget my source of inspiration.
One of my high school students in Los Angeles
had asked me to help him fill out his college
application. I discovered my joy the next year
Tell us about the influences in your life.
My childhood was tough to say the least
and I cried myself to sleep asking God why
I had to have this family and this situation.
I do not blame my past. It was part of my
story necessary for my unique boot-camp-
style integration into a courageous leader
and staunch child advocate. Sometimes our
greatest teachers are the ones who show us
what not to do. I believe those who played
tragic roles at the time gave me what I
needed to grow up to create and develop an
organization that has the power to profoundly
change childrens lives on a national level. I
have a huge heart for kids in need because I
deeply identify with them.
What would your 25-year-old self But in 2008 a single news story profoundly Three years later with 300 donated books in
be surprised by regarding either your changed my path. While covering a story tow and one volunteer I started Promising
professional or personal life, and why? at a food pantry in inner-city Cincinnati, Pages out of my garage in Charlotte. I would
At 25 I slept, ate and breathed broadcast news a beautiful toddler caught my eye. She was like to tell my 25-year-old self that even though
every single day (and night). In fact, if I would stunning but her dark brown eyes were dead my broadcasting career would be much shorter
have told my 25-year-old self I would make inside. I wanted to give her something that than I ever could have wanted or imagined,
a complete 180-degree career shift to social could last longer then the two bags of food her I would never regret for one moment my
service, used books and childrens literacy, I family was waitingin the cold for two hours decision to leave reporting to start advocating
would have chuckled in my own young face. for. The word books popped into my head. for children.
when we ran into each other at a church. He
hugged me and thanked me because he was
the first in his family to make it to college.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
I have never met a stranger. I greet everyone
as if I have known them for years. I have even
been referred to as Forrest Gump because
I cannot go out in public without seeing
someone I know.
I moved 12 times by the time I was 18 and
it taught me how to overcome the adversity of
being the new kid. I learned not only how to
be comfortable around new people, I learned
about different cultures and social structures.
In 2009, my doctor told me I needed more entertainment business. I do not think I even
exercise and golf did not count. I was working What would your 25-year-old self knew Charlotte, North Carolina, existed.
at Apple when a man wearing a karate shirt be surprised by regarding either your The life I have for myself today was not even a
asked for my help with iPhone cases. I asked professional or personal life,
remote dream because I thought it only existed
about the shirt and if an out of shape woman and why?
like me could come. He smiled and invited me At 25 I was working as a stagehand on the in fairy tales and fantasies. I created illusions
to try it out for free. I went and by 2016, I had back lots of every major studio in Los Angeles. through my work with lights, sound and special
my black belt. I have also gained a new family. I was backstage on every big event in the effects. Now I have created a real life.
14 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Susanne
Dixon Partner, KPMG LLP
Susanne earned bachelors degrees in
accounting and German from UNC Charlotte.
In addition to promoting womens leadership
as an audit partner at accounting firm
KPMG, she launched the Charlotte chapter
of ATHENA International and serves on the
board of the Charlotte Susan G. Komen breast
cancer awareness organization.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I was recognized as one of Charlottes
emerging leaders when I was selected as one of the
Charlotte Business Journals 40 Under 40 in 2012.
I also serve as president-elect of the executive
board for the Charlotte affiliate of Susan G.
Komen. And I value my family. My husband
Tommy and I have two children, daughter
Caroline, who is 11, and son Jack, who is 7.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I became KPMG Charlottes first female
audit partner, and I have led efforts to increase
the number of females joining the ranks of
management in the Charlotte audit practice by
over 50 percent in the past 10 years.
As former co-leader and current advisor of
Angela Teresa
Dreher Community Coordinator,
Outreach Management Services Inc.
Angela received a bachelors degree
in accounting with a minor in business
computer science at Belmont Abbey College
and an associates degree in early childhood
education graduation with honors from
Gaston Community College. Shes a member
of a variety of charitable, civic, and political
organizations, and has been honored for
professional and volunteer work and leadership.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal
accomplishment has been rearing four
wonderful children and caring for my brothers
son after my brothers death. As a single parent,
I have relied on God and family support.
My oldest son, Walter, is a North Carolina
highway patrolman. My oldest daughter,
Kate, is in graduate school at the University
of Greensboro; my youngest daughter, Carol,
is a freshman at North Carolina Central
University; and my youngest son, Daniel, is a
junior in high school.
All of my children understand and
appreciate the value of serving others. They
KPMGs Network of Women (KNOW) in
Charlotte, Ive been responsible for fostering
an inclusive environment where women can
thrive and for providing a forum for women
to share experiences and support each other in
personal and professional pursuits.
In addition, I launched a local chapter
of ATHENA International, a professional
womens leadership organization. As chair, Im
responsible for working with women leaders
in the Charlotte community to support,
recognize and honor women leaders. Over
120 women in the Charlotte community have
been honored for their professional excellence,
giving back to the community and mentoring
of other women.
What would your 25-year-old self
be surprised by regarding either your
professional or personal life, and why?
From a personal perspective, the year I and so thankful for my faith and the constant 20 years (what would we do without our
turned 25 years old, I lost my dear mother to strength it provides me. I am truly grateful that iPhones?), but I would be most surprised that:
breast cancer, so when I reflect on my journey my mothers love continues to transcend into 1) I am going on my 20th year at KPMG as a
over the past 20 years since her passing, my my life and my familys life.
partner; 2) I still love what I do while working
25-year-old self would be surprised at the From a professional perspective, my 25-year
abundance of joy and happiness that I have old self would certainly be surprised at all of for a wonderful firm with awesome colleagues
again in my life. I am so very blessed by a the changes in my profession, as well as all of and clients; and 3) I have the honor to serve on
precious daughter and son and loving husband, the technological advancements in the past Komen Charlotte board of directors.
realize and understand that we all are our
brothers keeper.
What has influenced you in your
professional and personal lives?
I am a native of Gastonia and an advocate
for those in need in our community and for
the advancement of all people. (Editors note:
Angela was the founder and executive director
of As One Ministries, providing services for
homeless men, women and children.)
I believe that serving others is my God-
given calling and everyone has the capacity to
serve others in some fashion, and I attempt to
encourage all that I come in contact with.
The major influences in my life have all
been strong, hard-working women, starting discharge from hospitalization. I also monitor continue my work with those in need of mental
with my mother, Jewel Dreher. The other ladies mental health consumers compliance with health and community services.
that influenced me are those who worked with mental health and/or substance abuse
me while growing up at church, Mrs. Francis treatment discharge instructions and act as the What would your 25-year-old self
Floyd, Ms. Francis Littlejohn, Mrs. Jeannette hospital liaison and treatment team member at be surprised by regarding either your
Cunningham and my great aunt, Doris Ross. CaroMont Regional Hospital. professional or personal life, and why?
In my current position with Outreach I live by the scripture I can do all things My 25-year-old self would be surprised that I
Management Services, I provide resources and through Christ, who strengthens me! and am am not in it for the money,but left accounting
referrals for mental health and community currently planning to attend UNC Charlotte to work with those in need and found peace
services to adults and adolescents upon to obtain a masters in social work in order to doing it.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 15
 LaToya
Evans
Vice President and Head of Communications,
Eurest, Compass Group North America
LaToya earned a bachelors degree in
journalism and mass communications from
UNC Chapel Hill and a masters degree in
communications and organizational leadership,
specializing in crisis communication, from
Marist College. Shes been a keynote speaker
for a variety of organizations focused on young
women and mentoring. She has received
several awards and honors, including having an
eponymous scholarship at her high school that
is awarded annually to the young woman in the
school pageant with the highest grade point
average. LaToya is the first person since the
pageants founding in 1955 to have won it four
years in a row.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I currently serve as vice president and head
of communications for Eurest at Compass
Group North America, a Fortune 500 global
foodservice company and one of Charlottes
largest employers. At just 30, I report to
the CEO of Eurest, the companys largest
sector, and lead the entire communications
department for the division.
Joanna
Gammon
Talent Acquisition Recruiter,
Compass Group/Canteen
Joanna has a bachelors in business
management from UNC Charlotte and was
named New Recruiter of the Year for Compass
Group in 2016. Shes a member of numerous
business, civic and nonprofit organizations,
leading volunteers in a wide variety of
projects including health screenings for
children, baby showers for homeless pregnant
teenagers, picnics for families in transition,
mock interviews for job candidates through
Goodwill Industries, and birthday parties for
children at the Alexander Youth Network. She
has been honored by several local nonprofits
and community groups for her charitable work.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I created Joannas Barefoot 30 a Jesus-loving, people-helping, passionate
5K race to raise money in honor of my
30th birthday for Samaritans Feet. I ran it
barefooted, had 50 volunteers, 40 new pairs
of shoes were donated, and raised $10,000. I
then took a trip to Haiti with Samaritans Feet
to wash the feet of children and give each of
While serving as vice president, Corporate
Communications and Media Relations
at Bank of America corporate, I was a
spokesperson often quoted in local and
national media for the company, overseeing
12 markets including areas of North Carolina,
South Carolina, Baltimore, Washington,
D.C., and New York state. I managed media
relations around Bank of Americas closing
financial centers, protests, new technologies,
fraud and layoffs across the northeastern
United States.
Additionally, at Wal-Mart, the worlds
largest company, I served as the companys
national spokesperson, based at the company that announced the famed Watson computer. internationally alone, which is one of the
headquarters in Arkansas, for (several high- Prior to a corporate career, I ran a freelance most liberating and invigorating things to do
profile) issues while overseeing the strategic writing business while also pursuing an as a woman. I pride myself on being a strong
communications for six retail divisions. undergraduate education. woman of God over all else.
I previously lived in New York and
oversaw media and various entertainment Tell us about your life philosophy.
What would your 25-year-old self
partnerships across the U.S. for Philips While Ive had an incredible career
Electronics and managed communications and have given back to the communities be surprised by regarding either your
for IBMs $1.3 billion global technology Ive lived in, I consider the growth in my professional or personal life, and why?
services division at just 24, writing for the Christian faith to also be one of my greatest Believe in the Lords plan for your life, even
inventor of the IBM personal computer and accomplishments. Additionally, in my quest during the times it seems like there is no plan.
LASIK eye surgery and being on the team to live a full life I also frequently travel Trust him.
them a brand-new pair of tennis shoes.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
While with Signature Consultants, I was
chosen out of 300 employees to relocate
to Austin, Texas, and recruit for their new
client, Google. I hired three floors worth of
employees while leading an associate recruiter
through a rigorous eight-week training and
development program, and conducted a
successful job fair. My team was constantly
praised for providing white-glove service
and awarded for being the top vendor on site.
I am the youngest person in Charlottes kids yet; and thats OK. I think when we are
Tell us more about yourself. history to sit on the Habitat for Humanity younger, we have timelines in our head for
Im an adrenaline junkie, world traveling, Board of Directors, and the youngest person certain things and worry about pressures from
in the universitys history to sit on the UNC society. Sometimes its better to just let life take
networker, and a competitive athlete who Charlotte Foundation board. you where it does.
loves connecting others to opportunity. I Professionally: Even though I set an
live by the motto God first, family second, What would your 25-year-old self aggressive financial goal to hit by the time I
create opportunity, connect people to be surprised by regarding either your turned 30, I didnt really think I would hit it.
opportunities. My strong faith has guided my professional or personal life, and why? But I did. However, it took me until I was 33,
purpose-driven life. Personally: Im 33 and not married or have not 30 and thats OK.
16 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Centralina COG

Outstanding congratulates

Michelle
leadership. Nance
Exceptional on this

results. outstanding
achievement!
At KPMG, we never underestimate the power of
dedicated people with passion. Thats why we want
to recognize Susanne Dixon, who was named a
Michelles leadership, vision and determination as
2017 honoree for the Mecklenburg Times50 Most
Influential Women. Youve exceeded expectations
and made a positive impact in the lives of so many.
Centralina COGs Planning Director has helped our
kpmg.com region grow jobs and the economy, control the cost
of government and improve quality of life.

2017 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG
network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG
International), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. The KPMG name and logo
are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. NDPPS 675035

Compass Group Salutes

50 Most Influential Women Honorees

CPCC congratulates Amy Burkett
Joanna Gammon & LaToya Evans. for her outstanding work on
behalf of WTVI PBS Charlotte
and the college.

Joanna Gammon, LaToya Evans,

Talent Acquisition Vice President & Head of
Recruiter, Canteen - Communications, Eurest -
Compass Group Compass Group

19698
 Felicia
Gray
Co-Founder, Gray Classic
Felicia earned a bachelors degree in
mathematics from Johnson C. Smith
University. Shes a member of several
professional groups and civic organizations,
and has received several honors for her
professional, academic and community
achievements. She and her husband, Herb,
founded The Gray Classic in 2009 as a golf
tournament to raise community awareness and
money to support the mentoring efforts of the
100 Black Men of Greater Charlotte. To date,
it has raised more than $160,000 to support
programs benefitting youth, and now includes
seven annual events.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Becoming a mother to my daughter, Bailey.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My proudest professional accomplishment
is the Gray Classic Womens Empowerment
Brunch. It started with approximately 50
women at my home. We are in the ninth year
and the event has grown to be a sellout event
Nan
Gray
Regional Marketing Manager, Sprint
Nan has an associates degree from Paducah
Community College and is active in several
nonprofits aimed at helping women and
children. Shes a second-time Most Influential
Women, as well as an honoree of other
womens leadership awards.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
During my employment with Sprint as a
regional/area marketing manager in charge
of our national sponsorships, I was privileged
enough to lead a team of over 100 employees,
contractors and partners in promoting and
activating our NFL sponsorship at the Super
Bowl in Miami. This six-month program
included management of assets and creating
and activating events and PR projects in the
weeks before and during the Super Bowl.
While these types of projects are difficult
to measure, we saw a 14 percent increase in
consumer activations of our services as well
as an 8 percent decrease in churn over the
six-month period following the campaign.
My team was one of three recognized on the
annual CEO videocast the following year
of over 400 people. This brunch started as a
twinkle in my eye and I am so proud of how
it has grown.
Tell us more about yourself.
My husband, Herb, and I are very active in
the Charlotte community. We have raised over
a million dollars for local charities, programs
and agencies, including the 100 Black Mens
Movement of Youth mentorship program, the
YMCA, the Harvey B. Gantt Center, Johnson
C. Smith University, Project LIFT, and the
Urban League of Central Carolinas. Our most
notable charitable event is the annual Gray
Classic weekend. During the Gray Classic
weekend, I host a Womens Empowerment In addition to our charitable work, I have a be surprised by regarding either your
Brunch for over 400 women each year. The full-time career as a quality assurance manager professional or personal life, and why?
mission of the Gray Classic is to help provide for a large financial institution, where I define Becoming a mother in my 40s. In my plan at
an avenue for young students to improve their and manage the testing of complex IT projects. age 25, I was supposed to have child at age 27.
educational opportunities, network with In my role, I interface with technology partners Being a considered a philanthropist.At age
local professionals and engage in mentorship across multiple lines of business at the bank. 25, my image of a philanthropist was an old
programs. We also provide a platform for Lastly, I teach group exercise classes for the man with white hair.It was not a woman that
various causes and small businesses in the YMCA. It feeds my soul to interface with so looks like me.
community by hosting monthly networking many people in so many different capacities. Juggling three careers (IT, group exercise and
events and our annual holiday party benefiting philanthropist) while being a mother and wife
The Harvey B. Gantt Center. What would your 25-year-old self at this age.
as a team effort that made an impact in the
companys success that year.
Tell us about your goals for the future.
Ill be turning 58 this year and, while often
thats a time to start planning retirement
or slowing down, I am excited about new
challenges and ways to serve this community.
Over the last three years, I have developed
a passion for photography and I have been
spending my time learning this craft so that
I can find a real purpose for the passion and
craft. Currently, I am volunteering my time to
nonprofits to photograph their events, their
programs and whatever their needs may be.
I am also currently in talks with a national
nonprofit that works in Africa to bring
education and clean water to some of the most
remote areas to volunteer my time to capture What would your 25-year-old self (following a brutal attack) I needed to learn
their mission with photography. be surprised by regarding either your not just coping skills for my PTSD, but real-life
Im looking forward to seeing how my new professional or personal life, and why? skills needed to be an adult. I think at 25 years
passion of photography and my calling to serve My 25-year-old self would be surprised and old, I didnt see my life adding up to much
(especially women) will merge and develop. delighted to know that a) I was still alive and and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. My
Maybe a whole new career? I dont know, but b) I was able to overcome the obstacles that 25-year-old self would be surprised at how my
just the thought of it makes me extremely happy. I had endured those first 25 years and that I heart had changed from one that was scarred
had humbled myself enough to get the therapy and cold to the servant one that she has today.
18 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Nominate for 2018!

SPECIA
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1
The 50 Most Influential Women event was created by The
Mecklenburg Times to spotlight and recognize the important
role women play in the greater Charlotte region, in the economy, AN
0
NIVER
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and in society. The honorees represent the most influential SARY
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Woman of the Year Sponsor:

Woman of the Year Michelle Nance
has it all mapped out
Planning Director, Centralina Council of Governments
PHILLIP BANTZ
phillip.bantz@nclawyersweekly.com
Scottish writer Robert Burns might have
had more faith in the outcomes of best-laid
plans if hed had the opportunity to sit down
with Michelle Nance, whose passion for good
planning stretches back to her salad days.
Nances path to her current position
as planning director for the Centralina
Council of Governments in Charlotte began
about 15 miles away in a Mount Holly
elementary school, where her teacher, Peggie
Ferguson, asked the class to visualize what
might become of their little city.
We had to look at an older mill village
and try to imagine what that village might
be in 25 years, Nance remembered. We
had to go out and talk with our neighbors
and put together a map for the future.
We were taking down a lot of houses and
putting up lots of parks and playgrounds
because thats what was important to us at
the time.
As Nance moved through middle and
high school her memory of Mrs. Ferguson
and that planning project faded. But the
spark of interest it ignited remained. And it
grew brighter in college, when Nance found
herself drawn to geography courses and
suddenly knew she wanted to make places
better for people to work and play.
In the mid-1990s, after earning a
masters in public planning at East Carolina
University, where she double majored in
urban and regional planning and geography
as an undergrad, she landed her first job as a
planner working on a geographic information
system for the city of High Point.
Nance later returned to the Charlotte
area after accepting an offer to serve as the
planner for Gastonia and she found a
familiar face on the citys planning board:
Mrs. Ferguson.
It was just this amazing story, Nance
said of the reunion. I knew I was meant to
do this work.
Nance described Ferguson, a community
advocate who died in 2014 at age 79, as a
strong woman and role model: As an ele-
mentary school kid, I was a little bit afraid
of her, she said. But sometimes thats what
you need to push you.
She also counts former Gastonia plan-
ning director Jack Kiser as a mentor, saying
he taught her not only technical things but
how to work with people and bring a com-
munity along, how to frame issues in a way
that might better appeal to a conservative
electorate.
Because sometimes planning is seen
as progressive, way out there, dreamy, she
added. You have to be able to plan for the
future but message it in terms of todays val-
ues. That takes a lot of skill and experience.
One of the keys to being an effective
planner is framing ideas through the lens of
economic development, according to Nance.
People relate to that, she said. They
also relate to quality of life, although that
can be more intangible. But we try to make
it personal.
Nance left Gastonia in 2012 to become
the planning director for Centralina, a
voluntary group of municipal and county
governments. She said her greatest profes-
sional accomplishment so far during her
22-year career as a planner was the lead role
she played in creating the CONNECT Our
Future project. The three-year effort began
in 2012 to develop what she describes as a
growth framework for a 14-county region
around Charlotte that stretches into South
Carolina.
The project, which she said involved two
government councils, four metropolitan
planning organizations, a 95-member project
consortium, 119 local governments and more
than 8,400 residents, resulted in a growth
map to help steer development toward what
people in the targeted areas valued.
20 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
One of the primary reasons we did
CONNECT was more and more funders
(i.e., grant providers) want to know that you
have a plan of action, that you can work to-
gether as a region and have a vision of what
you can do and are capable of implementing
that, she said.
One of several community leaders who
endorsed the project, Max Hopper, mayor of
the town of Earl in Cleveland County, said
in a statement about CONNECT: Were
part of whats going to be a mega-region, and
if we want to preserve what we love about
our towns, and get the best of the growth
thats coming, we must plan together for it.
Accidental growth is not an alternative
that wed want to live with, or leave our
children, he added.
Nance also created Centralina Health
Solutions Center, which has helped commu-
nities develop plans for biking and walking
trails, among other things, and was among
18 coalitions in the nation only two of
which are in the Southeast to receiving
grant money from the American Planning
Association.
By shaping the built environment to
promote healthy lifestyles and increase
access to nutritional foods and places to
be physically active, the Health Solutions
Center can have a significant impact on the
life of current and future residents in a given
community and the region, Nance said.
She and her husband, a lawyer, have a
7-year-old daughter, Morgan, who already
shares her moms penchant for leadership.
She told me, I like to be in charge of
things. I said, Thats fine, but the key is
making people want to do things for you
and not just telling them what to do,
Nance said. We talked about how incor-
porating other peoples ideas makes them
motivated to do the work, because suddenly
its their idea.
Follow Phillip Bantz on
Twitter @NCLWBantz
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 21
 Betsy Hauser
Idilbi
CEO and Co-Founder, Tech Talent South
Betsy earned a bachelors degree in
journalism with an advertising concentration
from UNC Chapel Hill. Three years ago, she
start Tech Talent South, a web development
and technical and entrepreneurial skills
training company that runs educational coding
boot camps and networking events dedicated
to fostering technology talent throughout
the Southeast. She attended the first-ever,
invitation-only Tech Meetup at the White
House with former U.S. Chief Technology
Officer Megan Smith. She was recognized as a
Leader Under 40 by the Community Building
Initiative and has received numerous awards
for achievement and leadership.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Building a business from the ground
up without taking a dime in funding is
challenging enough as it is, but adding in
getting married and having two adorable kids
during the 3 years of getting the business up
and running is something entirely different.
So with that said, I am most proud that
although it may be chaotic in my home, I like
to think that my husband and I are doing one
Sallie
Jarosz
Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate,
NewDominion Bank
Sallie earned a bachelors degree in English
from UNC Charlotte, and is a member
and officer of Commercial Real Estate
Women as well as being active in other real
estate, religious, childrens and community
organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
After my freshman year in college, I came to
Charlotte to secure an internship and decided
to transfer to UNC Charlotte. I secured a job
at Harris Teeter and began attending school,
all funded by me without student loans. I
sometimes worked three jobs at one time to
pay for housing, food, gas, clothes and books.
While working at Harris Teeter, I met an older
woman named Opal Winstead who watched
me work countless hours in the checkout line.
She eventually helped me secure a Pell Grant so
that I could finish school. The Pell Grant only
covered my tuition, so I continued to work
full-time.
This is a significant accomplishment because
heck of a good job raising the most amazing
kids ever.
On a less sappy note, Im also incredibly
proud of my foosball skills (seriously though,
Im awesome), the fact that I learned to water
ski at 4 years old and scuba dive at 12, and
that I managed to set a personal best half-
marathon time only three months after my
daughter was born.
Tell us about the role of mentorship in
your life.
I believe in mentorship being mentored,
mentoring and creating mentorship
opportunities for others.
Throughout my time at Tech Talent South
and before, Ive been lucky enough to hold opportunities to shine. TTS employees have What would your 25-year-old self
on to some amazing mentors that have led me been named finalists for Educator of the be surprised by regarding either your
through some challenging situations and, more Year and CFO of the Year and more. Most professional or personal life, and why?
importantly, celebrated my successes. importantly, all of those folks have been under Well, for someone who set less than a
As a mentor, one thing that has been the age of 30 when awarded those accolades. stellar example with attendance for classes
incredibly important to me at TTS is My proudest moments as a founder are found at UNC-Chapel Hill (Go Heels), it would
allowing my employees the opportunities that in seeing my team receive well-deserved kudos. absolutely blow my 25-year-old self away to see
wouldnt be available to them in a traditional this passionate person who gets so wrapped
environment. As a startup founder, I know up in her work that she routinely forgets to
that I cant pay my key folks market rate for do normal people stuff (like eat lunch or buy
their roles, but what I can do is allow them deodorant apologies to my co-workers).
I was completely independent at a young age,
had no immediate family within an eight-hour
drive and persevered through every obstacle,
including a serious illness in my senior year. I
look back and wonder how I did it, but I am
certainly glad I did because it made me value
my degree and the strength and courage it
took to succeed.
Tell us more about what you think
contributes to your success.
I am sharing these quotes from former customers and explore new methods in her What would your 25-year-old self
winners of this prestigious award, Cristy Nine industry to meet her customers needs. As be surprised by regarding either your
and Marie McLucas. They offer insight into my the co-chair of CREW Charlottes Member professional or personal life, and why?
character and professional impact better than I Recognition committee, she earned her the At the age of 25, I had one child and
could state. 2015 Impact Member of the Year award, was two years into building my career in
Sallie combines vision, passion and which recognizes the member who looks to commercial real estate finance. I would never
intelligence with hard work, charisma and a serve and promote the success of women in have believed that 30-plus years later I would
great network to achieve results in all that she the real estate industry. She is undertaking manage to be happily married to the same
does. She is that rare blend of fierce business fundraising efforts for scholarships that impact man I adore, added three more children,
sense, deep heart, unrelenting drive, selflessness young women desiring to pursue careers in have four grandchildren, all while amassing a
and infectious energy. Cristy Nine, commercial real estate. Marie McLucas, successful career in commercial real estate, not
Corporate Managing Director, Savills-Studley. CFO Primax Properties. to mention becoming an honoree for the Meck
She works hard to find solutions for her Times 50 Most Influential Women.
22 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Donna P.
Julian
Senior Vice President of Arena & Event
Operations and General Manager,
Hornets Sports & Entertainment
Donna earned a bachelors degree in athletics
from Ohio University and is a graduate of the
Board of Regents of the Oglebay School for
Public Assembly Facility Management, for
which she also has served as a teacher. Shes
been a member and board member of several
venue-management professional organizations.
She also has served on the boards or as a
member of several nonprofit organizations,
and been honored by both the Baltimore and
Charlotte Business Journals, among other
business and leadership organizations.
Donna is the lead executive for day-to-day
operations of Spectrum Center, including
overseeing the arenas master calendar, booking,
budgeting and administration, as well as
the preparation, production and execution
of all arena events. Some of the events shes
overseen include concerts by the Rolling
Stones and Paul McCartney, college basketball
tournaments, and the 2012 Democratic
National Convention. Before joining Hornets
Sports and Entertainment in 2005, she spent
15 years as general manager of 1st Mariner
Arena in Baltimore.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Marrying my husband, David, and our two
sons, Griffin, 19 and Donovan, 15.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Overseeing the operational execution
for the Democratic National Convention
in 2012 at Time Warner Cable Arena, now
Spectrum Center.
Tell us about your personal philosophy.
I read Daring Greatly by Dr. Bren Brown,
which Amazon called a transformative new
vision book for the way we lead, love, work,
parent and educate that teaches us the power of
vulnerability.
Also, It is not the critic who counts; not
the man who points out how the strong man
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could
have done them better. The credit belongs to
the man who is actually in the arena, whose
face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows
in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while
daring greatly.Theodore Roosevelt
It changed how I approach each day and
my commitment to invest not only in others,
but myself.
What would your 25-year-old self
be surprised by regarding either your
professional or personal life, and why?
At 25, I was truly a career-focused and
goal-driven person and could not have
imagined I would have reached this level in
the predominately male-dominated sports
and entertainment business. I would also
be surprised at the hard work of balancing
my family that I cherish so deeply and this
incredible career journey. Therefore, I hope
that I can serve as an example to young
womento dare greatly and not be deterred.

Nichole
Kelley
Director, Asset Management,
Wells Fargo Bank
Nichole received bachelors degrees
in finance and insurance at Illinois State
University in Norman, Illinois. She manages
a $15.7 billion portfolio of commercial
mortgage-backed securities and was chosen by
Wells Fargo to manage a single-family rental
portfolio, a new type of product. Shes active
in Commercial Real Estate Women and in
educational and community nonprofit groups.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My greatest personal accomplishment
would be raising two wonderful children
whom I continue to learn from everyday. I
have a daughter, Aubrey, who is 10, and a son,
Keegan, who is 8. In my case my children teach
me just as many life lessons as I teach them. My
daughter has taught me the greatest life lesson
of all, which I now apply to my daily life.
My daughter was born with a rare immune
system disorder called Behcets disease. Behcets
causes blood vessel inflammation throughout
the body and typically has numerous signs
and symptoms that seem unrelated at first.
Unfortunately, this was my daughters case.
We could not determine the cause until she
was 6 years old. While the symptoms come
and go and the pain varies, my daughter will
always have Behcets disease as there currently
is no cure. I have never heard my daughter
complain and she never allows the effects of
her medicine or symptoms to stop her from
her daily activities of school, playing with volunteer opportunities in their community. I
friends or swim team practice. As a result of make it a point to include my children in each What would your 25-year-old self
watching my daughter deal with daily ups and of the organizations I support. Each September
downs, I now have a new perspective on life. be surprised by regarding either your
my children help me select school supplies for
Whenever Im dealing with a tough issue or Classroom Central (for which she organizes professional or personal life, and why?
hard situation I tell myself, This issue is not fundraisers and supply-drives) and they donate My 25-year-old self would be surprised to
that bad. Things could always be a lot worse. their books to a childrens hospital that are see the personal and professional milestones
provided to children with medical issues during Ive been able to reach in the last 10 years.
Tell us about what motivates you. their appointments and lab work. Its rewarding It is overwhelming when I think about how
I believe it is important to give back to to me to feel that Im helping people succeed
those in our community, especially those less against the toughest of odds, and witnessing fortunate and blessed I am to have the full
fortunate than ourselves. I also believe it is their success motivates me to want to work support of my husband and two children with
extremely important to include children in harder for them. each of my personal and professional goals.

FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 23

 K. Mitchell
Kelling
Shareholder,
Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes, P.A.
Mitchell earned a bachelors degree in
government from Harvard College, graduating
cum laude, and a law degree from Wake Forest
University School of Law. Shes an extremely
active volunteer in legal groups and community
nonprofits, and has been recognized by
Charlotte Business Journals 40 Under 40 and
by legal publications.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
When I graduated from law school in 1998,
I never imagined that I would practice family
law. But that was my first job. After five years, it
was expected that I would sit for the specialists
exam. I studied for weeks leading up to the exam
and sat for it after a three-day custody trial. I was
exhausted and declared that if I didnt pass the
exam, I would never take it again. A few weeks
later, I found out that I had passed.
After five years of practicing family law, I had
found an area of the law that I loved more than
I ever imagined. Becoming a North Carolina
Certified Specialist in Family Law was not only
Heather
Sharrett Kidwell
Project Management Office Manager, Wells Fargo
Heather received an associates degree
in computer programming from Central
Piedmont Community College, a bachelors
degree in business management from Montreat
College and an MBA in management from
UNC Charlotte. Shes affiliated with several
professional groups and is an active coach and
board member for Girls On the Run Tri-
County. Shes received honors for leadership in
several organizations.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I hope that I can always say that my most
significant professional accomplishment is a
work in progress. I continually challenge myself
to innovate and find new ways to work toward
my ultimate passion of making others day-to-
day lives better at work.
My current role has offered me the greatest
opportunity to deliver on this passion. I
established a centralized project management
office in a group where each line of business did
things very differently. I spent my first six months
understanding the ins and outs of what the
organization did. I met with leaders and project
managers across the organization. Ultimately
all the input led to me to identifying many
opportunities for the team. I was able to deliver
a significant professional accomplishment, but
it also meant that I was committing myself to
practicing family law for the foreseeable future
and, honestly, for the rest of my life.
Tell us about the best advice youve
received.
One of the best pieces of advice I got when
I started practicing law was to 1) always take
at least one day off on the weekend and 2) find
hobbies and interests outside of the law. Both
of these are to keep you sane since practicing
family law can be pretty crazy at times.
Since I started practicing in 1998, I can
honestly say that I have never worked on a
Saturday.
The interest that has truly brought me What would your 25-year-old self in Boston. There was just one thing I forgot
love and joy is fostering dogs through North be surprised by regarding either your to think about the weather. So, after three
Mecklenburg Animal Rescue. With all of them, professional or personal life, and why? years of snow and more snow, I decided in the
we have taken them into our home and treated I think my 25-year-old self would be
spring of my junior year that I would be going
them just the same as our dogs. It always is hard surprised to know that not only am I living
for me when a dog goes to his or her permanent and working in Charlotte and have been since to law school in the South.I graduated in June
home, but I know that I am helping dogs that I graduated from law school in 1998, but that I 1995 and returned to N.C., which is where I
might not otherwise have a place to go. came back to N.C. immediately after four years have been ever since.
a formal operating model, a series of training
sessions, a roadmap to grow and develop project
managers and forums for project managers to
network with project managers from other lines
of businesses. These efforts helped streamline the
organization and help give better direction to
our project managers.
Tell us about what drives you.
I feel my biggest achievement in life
is staying true to my fundamental values
and developing personal and professional
aspirations that interweave my values and
personality.
I strongly feel that it is not simply enough
to promote greatness in my immediate
professional peer group and therefore ensure
that I help promote success in others through
involvement in activities such as participating
in work community of practices, acting as a
mentor for upcoming leaders and acting as
secretary for our divisions Toastmasters group. manage a project management office where a strong passion in finding ways to make
I enjoy things like policy and methodology other peoplesuccessful so they can rule the
What would your 25-year-old self writing (something I would not have had world. I am starting a doctorate in business
be surprised by regarding either your the patience for) and I have a strong sense of administration this fall to help further my
professional or personal life, and why? community that has developed over the past goal of enabling success in others.I hope to
My 25-year-old self probably would not five to six years. continue on this path and someday be able to
recognize me. I do Brazilian jujitsu, a sport When I was 25 I wanted to rule the world write about all the amazing things my 35-year-
I would never have considered in my 20s. I just because it sounded cool now I have old self would be surprised by.
24 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Linda
Kirby
Executive Vice President, Boingo Graphics
Linda is active in several professional
organizations, as well as Sustain Charlotte,
Dress for Success Charlotte and the Humane
Society of Charlotte. She has received
several awards, including Outstanding
Philanthropic Small Business Award and
Mecklenburg County Sustainable Business
of the Year Award.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Maintaining strong relationships with
mentors, family and friends has enriched
my life beyond measure. These close and
meaningful relationships led me to joyful times
where Ive celebrated many accomplishments.
I dont believe this happens by accident, but is
rather the result of a life lived with integrity
and purpose my greatest accomplishment.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
At 27, I joined a family owned business,
known then as Kopy Korner Printing. Now
27 years later, I am proud to be a partner and
executive vice president of that same company,
Dana
Lehnhardt
Attorney, Collins Family Law Group
Dana has a bachelors degree in political
science and psychology from UNC Charlotte
and a law degree from UNC School of Law,
Chapel Hill. Shes active in county and state
bar associations as well as community, arts
and sports nonprofits. She participated in the
Union County 4-H Dancing in the Clover
2015, a fundraiser modeled after Dancing
with the Stars, placing first in fundraising and
second in dancing.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal
accomplishment is without question my two
boys, Joey, 14, and Drew, 12. They are both my
pride and joy. Joey is a 9th grader and is funny
and sweet. Drew is in the 6th grade and is
smart and thoughtful. They are really awesome
kids and I could not be more proud.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Becoming a specialist in North Carolina
family law. To become a specialist, you
have to have been practicing for at least five
years in family law and you have to obtain
recommendations from your legal peers
which has become Boingo Graphics. I am
thankful for the opportunity to work with
good people who were willing to invest in my
professional development. I try to live that
philosophy every day by investing in people
and staying focused on providing employees
with the tools they need to succeed. Playing
a small role in helping others to live out
their dreams is truly my greatest professional
accomplishment.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
I am a play-hard, work-hard kind of girl. The
work-hard part was a pattern I learned from my
mother at a very early age. A mother of three,
an entrepreneur, a decorator and my greatest
hero taught me that there were no limits on
what I could achieve by applying myself.
Playing hard was a gift from my wife. I
like to call her my favorite sport, so full
of life and determined to make the most of What would your 25-year-old self and productionmanagement would lead me
every minute. Together we enjoy sharing our be surprised by regarding either your to own a business where my real value is in
backyard with our pups, friends and family. professional or personal life, and why? support of sales. And that yoga, mimosas and
Sunsets, yoga and travel are my personal refuge. My 25-year-old self would be surprised to classical music would become a few of my
learn that my background in quality control favorite things.
including other attorneys and judges. Then
you have to take an extensive written exam
on the topic of North Carolina family law. In
2008, I accomplished this goal.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
As a native of Union County, I believe
one of the most important responsibilities
is to give back to the community. I strongly
believe in supporting various agencies and
charities throughout the Charlotte region.
I have supported the homeless shelter in
Union County for many years by being on the
board of directors and in various volunteer
roles. My entire family has served at the
shelters soup kitchen. We have attended
most shelter fundraising events and have
given personal donations. In addition, I have
coached and mentored many local children Society, among others. Each year, our firm how my children would become the center
through the Upward Basketball program and hosts a Halloween event called the Black Cat and the largest motivator for everything I do.
Monroe Youth Soccer, many of whom are Bash and donate all proceeds to a local charity It was easy to be self-centered and selfish at 25,
underprivileged. Finally, I am the chair of my such as the Union County Humane Society.
but once I had my two boys, I quickly put their
law firms Community Outreach Committee,
and we consistently support local charities needs ahead of mine and not just to make sure
What would your 25-year-old self
and their events including the American Red be surprised by regarding either your they are happy and healthy but also to ensure
Cross, the Union County Symphony, the Arts professional or personal life, and why? that I am raising good human beings who
Council and the Leukemia and Lymphoma My 25-year-old self would be surprised at think of others and give to their community.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 25
 Laura
Maniec
CEO and Owner, Corkbuzz Charlotte
Laura received an associates degree in
hotel and restaurant management from
Nassau Community College and a master
sommelier designation from the Court of
Master Sommeliers. Shes involved in several
professional organizations, in addition to the
Charlotte Chamber and the Womens Impact
Fund Charlotte. She was honored as Food and
Wine Sommelier of the Year and Crains New
York Business 40 Under 40, and referred to by
The Wall Street Journal as the It Girl of the
New York wine scene.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplish-
ment to date was passing my master sommelier
exam before the age of 30 (after nearly eight
years of intensive study), at the time (2009)
making me the youngest female master som-
melier in the world. Today, only 32 women in
the world hold this distinction, out of several
hundred total.
Having been through this rigorous process,
I was honored to be featured on Esquire
televisions reality show UnCorked several
times and share my knowledge with six aspiring
master sommeliers.
Julianne
McCollum
Head Quack and Principal,
Yellow Duck Marketing
Julianne received a bachelors degree in
consumer sciences and international marketing
from Purdue University and an MBA from
Wake Forest Universitys Babcock School
of Management. She has been a member of
several business and civic organizations, and
is active in the Catawba Lands Conservancy,
the Charlotte Ballet and Children and Family
Services Center.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplish-
ment was between July 2011 and July 2012.
After completing 14 triathlons, I had high
hopes to complete a half Ironman. However,
my triathlon career was sidelined with a hip
injury. My running was indeed over, but after
a lot of physical therapy and mental exercise, I
got back on the (bike) saddle.
Through a friend, I became involved
with 24 Hours of Booty, a 24-hour cycling
benefit for cancer awareness and research.
One year after my hip surgery I pushed my
limits and actually rode over 130 miles and
raised over $2,500. This accomplishment far
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My most significant professional
accomplishment is opening my own
restaurant, Corkbuzz, in New York Citys
Union Square in 2011. Since then, I have
opened two other locations, one in Chelsea
Market and the most recent here in Charlotte.
All told, I have opened three restaurants in
less than five years with an eye on further
expansion.
Before I became an entrepreneur, I was
partner and wine and spirits director for the
entire B.R. Guest restaurant group of 20
restaurants across the country. At 25, I was
managing the wine lists as well as educating
the entire front-of-house team on wine.
influential person in my life. He has taught about owning my own business and passing my
Tell us about someone who has been an me how to run a successful company while MS exam at that time.
influence in your life. always doing the right thing for employees, our However, I think my 25-year-old self would
One of the most influential people in my customers and our communities. have been surprised to know that I met and am
life was my maternal grandmother who helped marrying the most perfect man (for me) in the
instill morals and values in me and taught me What would your 25-year-old self world. At that time I didnt think I could have
that hard work, dedication and passion really be surprised by regarding either your both a happy personal life and such a fulfilling
do pay off. professional or personal life, and why? professional life. I feel so grateful and lucky to
Today, my uncle, business partner and co- My 25-year-old self would not be surprised have a great partner in business with Frank and
founder of Corkbuzz, Frank Vafier, is the most about my professional life because I did dream in my future husband with Michael.
outweighed any half Ironman I would have
finished.
Tell us about some of your personal
and professional goals.
One female issue that not a lot of people
talk about is fertility. When you have it, its
not on your radar. But when you struggle with
it, it can loom larger than everything in your
life. My husband and I have been trying to
grow our family unsuccessfully for five years. I
had always felt called to adopt so we embarked
on the adoption journey. After about a year
of waiting, we were finally matched with a
birth mother in Florida. As time drew on
we became uneasy at her missing doctors
appointments and finally last summer she
disappeared with $10,000 of our hard-earned
money. Adoption is not an easy road, not for What would your 25-year-old self know that Id still be in Charlotte but Ive been
the faint of heart. be surprised by regarding either your pleasantly surprised how easy it is to plug in to
My goal is to keep a successful business professional or personal life, and why?
growing while also growing my family and The 25-year-old me knew that it was the community and build great relationships
being a mentor for women who struggle with important to be diligent but would have here. Ive been able to accomplish what I have
infertility and adoption while still being a strong assumed that attracting customers would
advocate for the environment and the arts. require a lot of advertising or marketing effort through treating people the way they deserve
to launch and find customers. Young me didnt to be treated and leveraging relationships.
26 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Meg
McElwain
Founder and Chairman, Mitchells Fund
Meg is the owner and president of Magnolia
Marketing and the founder of The Mitchell
Bays Turner Pediatric Fund, named for the
son she lost to cancer. She has been honored
by local companies and civic groups for her
leadership and philanthropy, and was named
one of The Mecklenburg Times 50 Most
Influential Women in 2011.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal
accomplishment is that God chose me to be
Frank and Mitchells mother.
I believe God knew that Mitchell would
have cancer and suffer immensely during his
short life and He trusted me to take care of
him. Watching my baby suffer and die is the
hardest thing that I have or ever will face.
I am thankful for my Christian faith because
it gave me the strength to ask God to take
Mitchell when the cancer became too much
for his tiny body to fight. My faith continues
to help me face each day without Mitchell here
because I know that when my life is done, I will
see my sweet boy again in heaven.
Jennifer
Miles
Senior Vice President, Cushman & Wakefield
Jennifer has a bachelors degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Alabama
and an MBA from Duke Universitys Fuqua
School of Business. She has been honored with
employee awards for driving the greatest client
value and going above and beyond the call of
duty to drive client value. Her innovation in
using sourcing processes in nontraditional ways
has resulted in millions of dollars in savings
for her companys clients and was lauded by
Fortune magazine.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplishment
is my 15-year-old son. My husband and I were
married five years before we began trying to
have a child. We thought it would be a very
quick process. One year became two, three,
then four. We finally decided to try in vitro
to assist with the process. Finally, the third
time worked and we conceived. Nine months
later, we gave birth to a beautiful son. We call
Charles our miracle baby. He has been a part of
South Carolinas gifted and talented program
since he was 9 years old. He plays travel and
high school baseball and is a great kid.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My most significant professional
accomplishment has been founding Mitchells
Fund and using the influence that the
Charlotte community has given to me to build
a strong organization that our donors trust in
and want to contribute their money to.
Mitchells Fund supports the social needs
of children and families facing the crisis
of a life-threatening pediatric illness. All
contributions are used to fund expenses like
mortgage payments, utility bills, counseling
services and travel for families seeking medical
care. Mitchells Fund gives support that allows
parents to relieve financial stress and focus on
caring for their sick child.
Tell us about what has shaped your life.
My life and priorities have changed since
Mitchell was diagnosed with cancer at only 3 I can help children and families who are facing What would your 25-year-old self
months of age in 2012 and died just days after the crisis of pediatric illness. Doing this work be surprised by regarding either your
his second birthday in 2014. fulfills me in ways that words cannot describe. professional or personal life, and why?
Since Mitchie died, I have been searching Mitchells Fund is housed in the Novant My 25-year-old self would be surprised by
and praying; asking God to show me what I Health Foundation and therefore the fund how strong she would have to be in life and
should do next. I have come to realize that God has no administrative costs. I receive zero how much pain she would have to endure after
wants me to use my marketing, communication compensation for my work with Mitchells losing her parents at such young ages and in
and nonprofit skills for Mitchells Fund so that Fund and I have zero desire to change that. watching her infant child fight cancer and die.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
In addition to graduating with a bachelors
degree in electrical engineering, I received
a commission in the United States Army. I
was the first African-American female to be
awarded a four-year R.O.T.C. scholarship
from the University of Alabama.
In 1990, I was a focused young professional
that believed if I worked hard, I would rise
to the top of corporate America. I worked
long days and weekends. In October of that
year, my life changed when I was activated for
Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I was activated in
October and didnt have a day off until March.
I worked 12 hour days, seven days per week.
I had taken time for granted and was put
in a situation where I lost all control over my
schedule and life. I vowed from that point
forward not to take my time or time with my
family and friends for granted. My personal
philosophy is to live each day as if its your
last. Dont put anything off until tomorrow What would your 25-year-old self While I love my career and the success Ive
because life can change overnight. be surprised by regarding either your been able to achieve, it is no longer my No.
professional or personal life, and why?
1 priority. Instead my family is No. 1 and my
My 25-year-old self would be surprised
by my priorities. I was totally focused on my career success is a means for my family to be
career and ascending the corporate ladder. able to do the thing we enjoy doing.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 27
 Mel
Miller
Founder and President, Business Sorority
Mel holds life and health insurance
licenses and is licensed by Prometric Testing.
Shes active in the Lake Norman Chamber
of Commerce and is an ambassador on the
leadership board of Sandbox.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
As a single mother since 1993, I am proud
to have raised a young man who successfully
embraces work ethics, integrity and confidence
and possesses amazing people skills. He is
independent and has an empathy for others
that is extraordinary. While being a single
parent, I grew in the financial services arena
and starting a womens organization. In this
time, my priorities were and have always been
very clear to me. I work to live, not live to
work. Living means having time with my son
(first), his fiance, my family and friends, my
furbabies and my down time. Being an example
to my son through actions, not just words, has
been important to me, and I have seen every
day how this is now playing out in his life with
the choices he makes and the priorities he has
as an adult.
The reason for this sense of accomplishment
is most significant because I am a survivor
CheLandra
Moore-Quarles Founder & Executive Director,
The T.R.E. Foundation
CheLandra is a member of numerous
professional and philanthropic organizations,
and received a Charlotte Regional Realtor
Association Housing Opportunity Foundation
grant for the T.R.E. Foundation.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
The formation of The T.R.E. Foundation
Inc. in 2014. T.R.E. stands for Teaching
Responsibility Early and it encompasses the
belief that young people who volunteer early
in life gain skills and developmental assets that
translate to future benefits for them personally
and for society. The foundation is affectionately
named after my son Douglas (Tre) Quarles III.
In the summer of 2014, I began scheduling
small volunteer projects for Tre and posting
pictures and videos of his projects on social
media sites. The response from family,
friends and the Charlotte community was
overwhelming. I started receiving requests for
children to join Tre during his next project and
decided a collective approach would have the
most impact on the community. Since 2014,
of sexual abuse and domestic violence (as
a child). I learned very early that you make
choices about how you deal with the things
that happen outside your control. At the age
of 18, I was living on my own and making my
own successes and failures. It was important
to me that I raised a son who could embrace
the value of a woman and a true partner
in life. I now try to share with others that
we cannot always control what happens
to us, only how we respond and move on.
This was the underlying motivation for my
vision of empowering women personally and
professionally with Business Sorority.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy and goals.
The people in my life know that I am a
glass half full person. I can find something
positive about almost anything. For me, that My future will continue to include growing surprised by what a good mom I turned out to
was Survival 101. I try to maintain a group people financially in my financial planning be. My son is a man that I am beyond proud of;
around me who are positive in order to stay practice, while growing this Love Army of he is a good friend to others, has amazing work
that way. women that can do anything! ethics, is a good son and is a good fianc, soon
I intend to make Business Sorority national. to be husband.He is independent, self-assured,
We had our second Charlotte Chapter start in What would your 25-year-old self funny and loving.He has become more than
April, which is exciting to see this expansion be surprised by regarding either your a son, he is one of my best friends.All of this
as I had envisioned. We will have a north and a professional or personal life, and why? in spite of the fact I thought I never wanted
south chapter at that time. I think my 25-year-old self would be children and wasnt even sure I liked them.
we have grown to over 100 members that
participate in monthly community service
projects including preparing and distributing
meals to the homeless. Showing children how
to be selfless versus simply telling them how
to be selfless may be the key to unlocking the
compassion within their hearts.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
The most significant professional
accomplishments that have impacted my
career were obtaining licensure with the N.C. Tell us about your personal philosophy. because you might be the only person who does.
Board of Licensed Professional Counselors, I believe that the secret to a fulfilling
credentialing as a nationally certified counselor and happy life is simple: Always practice What would your 25-year-old self
and licensure with the N.C. Substance Abuse compassion. The spiritual practice of be surprised by regarding either your
Professional Practice Board. By doing so, compassion is often likened to the opening professional or personal life, and why?
I was able to open up a private practice in of the heart. First, allow yourself to feel the I think my 25-year-old self would be most
2008 providing professional counseling and suffering in the world, including your own. surprised by the fact that I am a mommy and
consultation to individuals and families. I am Second, dont turn away from pain; move have a career that I love. I remember being more
also able to provide pro bono counseling to toward it by caring. When we do this we are anxious at 25, thinking you can either have a
individuals presenting with financial need and able to expand our circle of compassion. family or a great career. I think she would be
linkage to community resources. I was taught the principal of compassion by happy to know that I figured it all out and there
my mother, who is truly my greatest influence. is enough room in the trunk of my car for my
My mother taught me to always help someone briefcase and all of my sports-mom gear.
28 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Amelia
Old
Founder and Editor-in-Chief,
Passports from the Heart
Amelia is a former talent agent and beauty
blogger who last year founded Passports from
the Heart, in which she combines travel and
philanthropy with travel writing.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Having the ability to rise above challenges
and to be a voice for others is an incredibly
important accomplishment to me.
I want my children to see that no matter
what they go through, someone elses heart may
be hurting just a little bit more. And if they
reach out, they may end up healing themselves
in the process.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I spent the majority of my life working in the
entertainment business, first as a talent agent
and then as a beauty blogger. While I had great
success during these times, I had a strong desire
to put my heart into my true passions.
A little over a year ago I made the decision to
make the transition to travel and philanthropy.
It is my goal to encourage people to not only
Fran
Perez-Wilhite
Business Development,
North Carolina Military Business Center
Fran received a bachelors degree in
psychology from Norwich University, an
MBA from Wake Forest University and several
certificates in continuing education. She
assists veterans in obtaining federal contracts
for their businesses, and shes an appointee to
several national and state military advisory
organizations, as well as local civic organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My appointment to the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Community Relations
Committee scanned eight years and was
a significant part of my life. The PCR
subcommittee had a variety of tasks, but
my favorite was hosting the Annual Police
Community Relations Awards for our hard
working CMPD Officers.
It was always hard work each year, but
when I was on the stage, recounting the
bravery of each officer in the words of each
grateful victim, it was spellbinding. Those
who attended each year were enthralled by
travel, but to truly immerse themselves within
the culture of the places they are visiting,
explore off the beaten path, and learn how to
give back to these communities.
Watching my business grow in such a short
time has been quite rewarding. Within four
months in 2016, I visited the Dominican
Republic, Greece and Africa. These were all
media-related opportunities presented with
the understanding that I would share stories
of not only culture, history, and places, but
also stories of real people who live in these
communities.
Tell us more about your life and
philosophy.
I am a wife and mother to three children, What would your 25-year-old self fire within me. After several years of chasing
ages 17, 15 and 7. My husband and I got be surprised by regarding either your dreams and goals that were part of my original
married in 2013 and in 2015 I adopted his professional or personal life, and why? plan, I eventually took this great leap to follow
two teenage children who are now mine Exactly 10 years ago, I moved to Charlotte that growing flame of passion for philanthropy
forever. We also encourage our children to be from Atlanta. I was 25 years old and had no idea and travel. I realized that I am indeed much
involved with the community outside of school how much that move would change my life and stronger, braver and resilient that I could have
activities. my life plan. When I moved here, in addition ever imagined. My 25-year-old self would be
to owning a talent agency, I took a contract pleasantly surprised that the plan she had laid
position at a large nonprofit in the city. Little out for her future didnt work out because there
did I know that opportunity would light this was a far greater plan in the making.
the courageous actions of our CMPD.
Tell us about an experience that has
influenced your life.
I became the survivor of a violent crime on
Jan. 29, 2013. I had just finished shopping for
items to put in gift baskets for homeless women.
There was an armed attacker and his getaway
driver waiting for me for well over an hour.
Although he had a pistol and was brutally
attacking me, my fellow Charlotteans sprang
to action. Some called the police while some
ran towards my cries. They comforted me after
the assault. Even though I was badly injured stood by my side, the doctors and specialists fright and showering wasnt always an option.
and bleeding, I got in my car and followed the who helped me keep my smile, and my family My 25-year-old self would be very surprised
perpetrators until I memorized their license and friends in Charlotte that kept me going. to know that even though my military days
plate. I then returned to the scene of the crime. are now long behind me, I am still serving.
The two were caught and sent to prison. What would your 25-year-old self However, now I serve the veteran community.
I have had to endure multiple procedures be surprised by regarding either your As a veteran advocate/leader, I assist veterans in
since then due to my injuries, some of which professional or personal life, and why? my career and with my personal time.
will never fully heal. I look at that experience as I celebrated my 25th birthday in Saudi Nowadays, I do it all with manicured nails
a positive one thanks to all the great people in Arabia while serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. and with my hair neatly blown out. Thats
our city: the witnesses who aided me and called Army. It was one of my best birthdays ever something my 25-year-old self would never
for help, the police officers and detectives that even though my hair, skin and hands were a have believed.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 29
 Shalanna L.
Pirtle Partner, Parker Poe
Shalanna has degrees in broadcast
journalism and sociology, and a law degree
from the University of Georgia. Shes active in
the bar association, as well as several business,
education and civic organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
What I am most proud of to date has been
my ability to conquer Crohns disease. Crohns
is a chronic, autoimmune disorder and while it
can be managed with medication, there is no
cure. My life turned upside down in February
2015 when a Crohns flare spiraled out of
control. I landed in the hospital for five days.
Out of all the effects of this flare, the most
troubling was that it left me, a single mom,
virtually incapable of caring in any substantial
way for my then 5-year-old son.
I committed myself to doing whatever
was required to never experience this again.
I completely changed my diet and exercise
habits. Now, I am healthier than ever, showing
others what is possible.
Shana
Plott
Chief Executive Officer,
Coleman Lew + Associates
Shana was recently named CEO of the
executive and leadership recruitment firm
Coleman Lew + Associates. Shes active in
many civic groups, and was a founding member
of the board of directors for SouthPark
Engineering and Robotics Clubs.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Raising three bright, independent children
is at the top of the list. However, I will share
another experience that shaped my life.
About 15 years ago, I served as a reading
buddy to a fourth grader who was new to our
neighborhood elementary school. Jane was
living with her two sisters after the death of her
mother. Her abusive father had been murdered
the year before by her brother, who was
convicted and sent to prison.
Jane and I read together each week and
I quickly realized her needs were great. She
needed love, support and stability. In addition,
she needed grief counseling, which was easy
because I worked at KinderMourn, a local
organization providing this exact service. A
tribe of friends with big hearts arranged for
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My very recent promotion to partner at
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, one of the most
well-recognized and long-standing law firms in
the Carolinas. By its very nature, the decision
embraces my authenticity, and recognizes three
important facets of who I am as an attorney a
trusted business partner, who happens to be an
African-American female.
Tell us about your personal philosophy.
One day I realized that I just wasnt doing
enough to impact the lives of others.
So, I began to ask myself the following on a
weekly if not daily basis: and quality of workforce and affordable present-day self would be an awesome mother
Am I proud of the legacy I am leaving housing stock, a necessary component for and a fabulous journalist and media mogul,
for my son and the lives of children that creating any modicum of stability, health and on her way to conquering the world. Her
I shape with my work? well-being, allowing focus on educational definition of success definitely came with
Was todays work consistent with my pursuits, and overall breaking the cycle of
a husband.But 36-year-old Shalanna could
why? poverty. I am determined to do it one child,
not be prouder of the choices shes made, the
If am successful in the work I am doing one family and one house at a time.
example shes become to others, the manner in
right now, will it matter one year, a
decade, a century from now? What would your 25-year-old self which she has owned her calling, and all that
From there, in 2016, I gave birth to LP-12 be surprised by regarding either your she has accomplished without that life partner
LLC, a Charlotte-based real estate investing professional or personal life, and why? her younger self just knew she would have.
company focused on improving the availability 25-year-old Shalanna was certain that her Bring on life, baby!
Jane to attend weekly group meetings.
Janes driver called to let me know the girls had
absolutely no furniture, just an empty apartment
and a television. With permission from Janes
older sister, I sent an email to a few friends in
case anyone happened to have any leftover home
furnishings in need of a new home. Within
hours, my inbox was flooded. My friend and I
drove all over town for a full week, picking up
donations of furniture, household accessories,
groceries, clothing and more.
Fifteen years later, Jane and I are still in
touch. She recently graduated from high
school and gave birth to a beautiful daughter.
She started a factory job recently and I am
standing by, cheering her on.
Tell us about someone who has been missing a beat as an incredible mother to four and a mean blackberry cobbler, and how to
an influence in your life. young children. She showed me at an early age handle lifes adversity with grace and dignity.
I have been blessed by the influence of many that women can indeed be great mothers and Linda Bennett was a tough minded CEO
strong women, who taught me from a very have careers.
who recruited me as the head of marketing
early age that I could do whatever I set my Maudie Mae (Sue) McLaurin was a
mind to doing. and development when I was in my late 20s.
domestic worker who helped make it
My mother, Lou Halstead, returned to possible for my mother to go back to college Linda believed in me more than I believed in
college to complete her degree and fulfill her and have a career. She taught me how to myself and gave me tremendous opportunities
lifelong dream of being a nurse, while never debate politics, how to bake scratch biscuits to learn and grow.
30 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Danielle
Ratliff
Owner and General Manager,
Serenity Now Massage Therapy
Danielle has a bachelors degree in public
health from UNC Chapel Hill. Shes
credentialed as a dietician, nutritionist and
massage therapist. Shes an officer of Executive
Women of LKN, and a member of several
professional and business organizations.
Shes also been active in civic organizations,
and has been honored as one of Lake
Normans 100 Most Powerful women by Lake
Norman Publications, as well as by other
womens organizations, and for her academic
achievement at UNC Chapel Hill.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I was raped in 2011 in my neighborhood
in NoDa. As a result of the attack, I was
diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
complicated with anxiety and depression. I was
at the lowest point in my life and attempted
suicide a few months later. Luckily, I did
not succeed in my attempt, and after lot of
counseling and support from family and
friends, battled my PTSD head on and went
Karen
Rice
Group Human Resources
Business Partner, Lash Group,
a part of AmerisourceBergen
At Lash Group, Karen leads employee
recruitment and retention efforts and
organizes volunteer events for employees to
participate in. Shes been honored by Lash
Group with the HR Excellence Award
Strategic HR Leadership.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My parents helped shape my work ethic and
drive to succeed. Its something that I want to
instill in my children as well.
As a woman with a daughter, it is very
important to me that my daughter sees I can be
successful in business and be a mommy at the
same time. Hopefully this will empower her to do
the same. I want her to see that women have many
options, and be encouraged to find her passion
in life. It is also important that my son sees how
my husband helps out around the house so that
later in life, he will also respect and support
women working and balancing a family. Im very
passionate about sharing these important life
lessons and life skills with my kids.
back to school for massage therapy. Although
PTSD can be a daily struggle, I consider
myself to have risen above it and am now a
survivor instead of a victim.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
I believe that our thoughts shape our
actions and our actions shape our realities. I
think we can constantly reinvent ourselves
and grow provided we think positively and
find the good in our situations. I believe in
this evolution of self so strongly that I had a
phoenix tattooed on my back as a reminder
that I refused to be confined or defined by back from the corporate world. We do not have a registered dietitian, and would have never
negative experiences in my past. Instead, I children, but I consider our three cats to be our dreamed of the complete 180-degree change in
have risen from the ashes and learned to look kids and furbabies. I am thankful every day careers to massage therapy, much less owning a
towards the future at all times. for my family and network of close friends and successful massage studio and managing fifteen
My long-term career goal is to expand know that each day is a gift.
Serenity Now to the point where it can support other therapists. I think it would have been
both myself and my husband, who currently What would your 25-year-old self too much for my 25-year-old brain to handle
has a full-time job at an IT services company. be surprised by regarding either your as I always tried to fit inside the box back then.
He supported me during my difficult times, professional or personal life, and why? Now, I have embraced my authentic self and
and I would like to allow him to take a step At 25, I worked for a hospital system as am truly happy.
When we are 80, we wont look back
on the one meeting we had, but rather the
opportunity we had to go to our childs school
event. We need to always do our best at work
and at home, and that means theres a need to
have a healthy balance between the two.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
I believe that the key to being successful
is finding your passion, and seeking a career
that allows you to enjoy what you do each day.
I attribute this idea of finding my passion
to my parents from an early age they
encouraged me to do so. But it wasnt until passionate about helped me to find a career This move would allow me to call Charlotte a
after I graduated that I finally figured out what path that is fulfilling, and has allowed me to longtime home and to raise a family all while
I was passionate about. enjoy success in my profession having an amazing career that I truly love and
During my first job, I came across an
am able to give back through. I had always
opening in HR that sounded intriguing What would your 25-year-old self
a role that I was excited to explore. lacked confidence and felt I needed approval
be surprised by regarding either your
Unfortunately, before I was able to apply, the professional or personal life, and why? from others and moving to Charlotte, finding
position was filled. It was then that I decided to That I would pick myself up and move to a career I loved and ultimately marrying
go back to grad school for a degree in human Charlotte from Rochester, New York, without someone that had been a friend for many years
resources. This guidance to find what I was really knowing more than one person there. allowed me to believe in myself.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 31
 Carin Ross
Johnson
Founder and Managing Director, Lydias Legacy
Carin is senior vice president of Enterprise
Shared Services at Bank of America. She has
a bachelors degree in psychology from UNC
Chapel Hill and an MBA in management from
UNC Charlotte. She has received the North
Carolina Governors Award for Community
Service and was a force behind former
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxxs proclamation
of Sept. 19 as Teal Day Charlotte.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Aside from raising 2-year-old twins, I believe
my most significant personal accomplishment
is carrying on my mothers legacy to improve
womens awareness of healthcare issues,
specifically gynecologic cancer. My mother, Lydia,
was a healthcare professional who unfortunately
was diagnosed with a late-stage uterine cancer
a cancer we just did not know about or
understand. In fact, some of the common signs
went unnoticed by us, until it was too late.
In one of our last heart to heart talks, she
confided that throughout her illness she felt
very alone. There were plenty of support groups
and education workshops for breast cancer, but
people were not aware of gynecologic cancers
Jessica
Rossi
Senior Planner and Economist, Kimley-Horn
Jessica has a bachelors degree in
environmental science and political studies
from Alfred University in New York and a
masters degree in community planning from
the University of Rhode Island. Shes the
president of Commercial Real Estate Womens
Charlotte chapter and active in several
planning and civic organizations. Shes been
honored by Kimley-Horn with a Southeast
Regional Career Development Award, as wells
as by professional and business organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Hands down, my most significant personal
accomplishment is being the mother of a smart,
independent, and opinionated 3-year old.
When I wake up each morning I want to show
her, by example, that she can achieve anything
to which she applies herself with determination
and conviction. Im always looking for a
platform to push my limits, and want to teach
my daughter the following life lessons:
Never be afraid to lead.
Provide support to other women so that
they can grow and develop their authentic
leadership and professional skills.
Find your passion.
or their symptoms. It was then that I knew
that it was my calling to turn her story into a
legacy of education and awareness for others.
A year after my mother passed away, I
founded Lydias Legacy in her honor. Over
the last six years, Lydias Legacy has funded
more than $30,000 for research and invested
in and led education programs in partnership
with local volunteers, partner organizations
and healthcare professionals to teach women
the symptoms of gynecologic cancers and to
encourage them to speak up to their doctor if
they feel they are at risk.
Things as small as a friend texting me a
picture of her teal toes nail polish as a sign of
support for awareness truly show me that Ive
made at least a small dent.
Tell us about the biggest influence in What would your 25-year-old self
What has been your most significant your life. be surprised by regarding either your
professional accomplishment? My biggest influence in life is my family. professional or personal life, and why?
I believe the most significant professional Specifically, my parents and my grandmother. I think she would be surprised that I ended
accomplishment is achieving enough From them I learned life lessons, my work up getting married and had twins because at
professional and personal experience to enter ethic, passion for service, and a few good 25 I was pretty sure that would marriagenever
into meaningful mentoring relationships with analogies and anecdotes that I happily share happen. Professionally, my 25-year-old self
young women professionals. After all you with co-workers, friends, young women I would definitely be surprised that I ended up
dont build a business, you build people; and mentor, and eventually will with my children. being the businesswoman that my 8th grade
then people build the business. self said I would be.
Tell us about your personal
philosophy.
I grew up in a small, rural town in
Pennsylvania. My work ethic was shaped by
the culture of this blue-collar community.
However, I looked for opportunities to
expand my horizons and leverage my talents.
As I moved to larger, and more diverse,
communities, I have been astonished by the
people Ive met. I cant overstate how much
I have learned from others. Everyone you
encounter has a unique gift to share, and my
ultimate challenge is to be fully present and
mindful in all my connections so that I dont
miss a chance to learn something new. My
commitment to life-long learning is at the core
of my success.
Ultimately, my personal philosophy boils
down to two simple and correlated facets: never
stop learning and share what you know with
others. In a time of such division, sharing our
experiences, feelings, and knowledge presents a much that my 25-year-old self would be too cows outnumber people?). Where I ended
critical opportunity to find common ground. surprised about. With that being said, my up professionally was the result of a series of
20-year-old self would be blown away. Coming fortunate, but often unintentional, choices.
What would your 25-year-old self from a small town and subsequently attending While 20-year-old Jessica would never have
be surprised by regarding either your college in an area with only one stop light, been able to picture what the future would
professional or personal life, and why? urban planning as a career option wasnt even hold, I know shed be proud of all weve
Im a very calculated person, so there isnt on my radar (who needs to plan an area where accomplished.
32 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Mary Ann
Rouse
Vice President Financial Services,
Carolinas HealthCare System
Mary Ann received a bachelors degree
from UNC Charlotte, and has remained
active at the school, including serving on
the board of trustees. Shes been named to
the UNC Charlotte Alumni Hall of Fame
and received the Bonnie E. Cone Lifetime
Achievement Award.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
From a personal standpoint, my most
significant personal achievement is my lovely,
bright, and very talented daughter, who
definitely makes life better for me.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My proudest achievement is leading a high-
performing team at Carolinas HealthCare
System. I am fortunate because I get to
work with an excellent team of dedicated
professionals who give their all to support
the mission of our organization, which is to
improve health, elevate hope, and advance
healing... for all.
Tell us about someone who has been
an influence in your life?
One thing I learned from my grandmother
when I was a child was not to say, I cant
do it. If I said that around her, she would
say Mary Ann, cant never could and if you
tell yourself you cant do it, you never will!
Her rebuff would challenge me and I became
determined to show her that I could do it.
That was how I learned to ride a bicycle. I
truly believe that the only obstacles in life are
those that we place on ourselves.
The late Bonnie Cone, the founder of
UNC Charlotte, is another individual that
I had the pleasure of meeting. The story of
how UNC Charlotte came about through
her tenacity and sheer will to make it happen What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought I would be blessed with the incredible
was very inspirational to me. I began to see my to do, by the grace of God I will do. opportunities I have experienced both
involvement at UNC Charlotte as a way to professionally and personally. Looking
make a difference, whether that was helping What would your 25-year-old self back at my younger self, I am most deeply
to bring UNC Charlotte football to reality, be surprised by regarding either your
grateful for my family (which came about a
building the Greek Village or serving on the professional or personal life, and why?
board of trustees. I have on my desk a memento When I was 25, I was a few years out of little later than I would have expected at age
with one of Bonnie Cones favorite inspirational college working for an accounting firm and 25), the opportunity to be part of Carolinas
quotes, which is, I am only one, but I am one. I was having a great time living the dream HealthCare System for 30 years and to serve
cannot do everything, but I can do something. in Charlotte. I never thought at that time in various roles for UNC-Charlotte.

Lisa
Shpritz
Environmental Operations Executive,
Bank of America
Lisa has a bachelors degree in biology and
society from Cornell University, a master of
environmental management degree from Duke,
and an MBA in real estate and sustainable
enterprise from the UNC Kenan-Flagler
Business School in Chapel Hill. She was
the inaugural recipient of the Kenan-Flagler
Distinguished Alumni in Sustainability Award
and is the co-inventor of a patented real
estate environmental sustainability index that
determines the sustainability of real estate.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I am extremely proud of my eight years
of volunteer service on the national board
of United States Green Building Council
(USGBC), from 2006-2013. USGBC
is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
transforming how our buildings are designed,
constructed and operated, and developed
LEED, an internationally recognized green
building rating system. Bank of America joined
USGBC in 1997, becoming one of the earliest
companies to be a part of the green building
movement.
I wanted to deepen the relationship between
my company and USGBC, so I connected
USGBC leadership with our Bank of America
Charitable Foundation, and we worked
together to develop and fund two fantastic
programs that are still in place today, the
Affordable Green Neighborhoods (AGN)
program and the Community Green program.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I am very proud of all of our environmental
achievements at Bank of America over the past
12 years, which have led to the most significant
accomplishment: the September 2016
announcement of Bank of Americas goal to be
carbon neutral by 2020.
We have approximately 200,000 employees,
occupy 84 million square feet and work
in more than 40 countries. My job is to
understand, track and report on all of the
environmental impacts from Bank of Americas
global operations and to establish and achieve
goals to reduce those impacts.
In 2011 and 2012, we announced a broad
suite of environmental operational goals
focused on reducing the environmental
impact of our operations by 2015. Our
greatest impacts are from our buildings and
paper usage, so we crafted goals to address
those. Among our achievements, we reduced
greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent,
reduced water usage by 34 percent and reduced
paper usage by 28 percent.
In September, we announced a broad suite
of goals, including our plan to become carbon
neutral and purchase 100 percent renewable
electricity for all our operations by 2020.
We also were the first financial institution to
announce public quantitative goals related to
supply-chain sustainability, encouraging select
vendors to report information about their
greenhouse gas emissions.
What would your 25-year-old self
be surprised by regarding either your
professional or personal life, and why?
My 25-year-old self would be surprised that
I do environmental work for a financial services
company, rather than for a more traditional
environmental organization. I am very proud
and lucky to have the opportunity to make
such a significant impact on the environment
by working for a large global company.

FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 33

 Erin
Snyder
Senior Associate General Counsel,
Carolinas HealthCare System
Erin earned a bachelors degree from
Northwestern University and a law degree
from UNC Chapel Hill. She received the
Carolinas HealthCare System Pinnacle
Award, the highest award given to employees,
recognizing 12 employees annually out
of more than 60,000 who demonstrate
extraordinary attention to CHSs core values of
caring, commitment, integrity and teamwork.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My amazing daughters Maria, 8, and Anna,
4, who fill my heart with joy every day.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
From 2012 to 2014, I was part of a CHS
team that provided operational support to a
hospital in a rural area of North Carolina. The
hospital was the only provider of emergency care
in the county and one of the countys largest
employers. It had struggled financially for years.
Along with my colleagues at CHS, I worked
Kathy
Spence
Co-Founder and Director of Marketing and
Sustainability, Banister Homes Inc.
Kathy has received sustainable construction
certifications and is a member and speaker
for the US Green Building Council. Banister
Homes has been recognized by Charlotte
Business Journals Green Awards and as one
of Inc. magazines 5,000 fastest growing
companies in America.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I would have to say my most significant
personal accomplishment was finding and
supporting the Childrens PSC Foundation.
Our daughter, Kaylin, was diagnosed with
Primary Schlerosing Cholangitis (PSC) two
years ago at the age of 16. PSC is an extremely
rare and progressive bile duct and liver disease
with limited options for patients that results
in aggressive symptoms, liver transplant,
and risk to health and life for most patients.
Through a lot of prayer, research and just
plain luck we discovered the Childrens PSC
Foundation and an amazing medical trial
at Stanford that has saved her short-term
for two years on multiple initiatives to keep
the doors open and ensure continued access
to critical healthcare services. In 2014, every
physician on the medical staff personally signed
a thank you letter. The physicians recognized
me and a few others by name, saying that their
county is a recipient of a stronger healthcare
community because of our team. I was deeply
honored and grateful to be part of the team
that kept this hospital open.
Healthcare organizations are going through helping craft and translate ideas into action.
Tell us about the lessons youve learned a period of change, and the regulatory Do work that is meaningful. When work
that shape you. environment is complex and challenging. Its an gets busy or stressful, it helps to believe in
I began working as in-house counsel for exciting time to be a healthcare lawyer. what youre doing. The mission of CHS is
Carolinas HealthCare System in 2007. I During my time at CHS, here are some of to improve health, elevate hope and advance
absolutely love what I do. Initially, my practice the key lessons I have learned: healing for all. Being able to see the ways
was focused almost exclusively on commercial Seek mentors and be a mentor. In my first that my work contributes to the mission is an
leasing and real property acquisitions. Over year as a lawyer, I began working with a client amazing gift.
time, my work evolved in ways I never who ultimately became a mentor, colleague and
expected. Now I advise my clients on federal friend. I have tried to follow her example and What would your 25-year-old self
and state regulatory issues associated with mentor my younger colleagues. be surprised by regarding either your
different types of healthcare transactions, Be at the table. Email is no replacement professional or personal life, and why?
software and information technology projects, for in-person conversations. The best My 25-year-old self would be surprised at
marketing, billing, and compliance matters. place to be is at the table with your clients, how well I married.
prognosis and given us a lot more hope for
the future.
With a lot of Gods help and the amazing
support of a network of friends, family, and
professional colleagues, my husband Rod and
I were able to organize and host a campaign
and event to raise funds for the Childrens
PSC Foundation last January. We raised over
$37,000 to give directly to the foundation, the
most ever raised in a single event.
Tell us about your connection to the
As a residential builder, I have lived in What would your 25-year-old self
community. many Charlotte neighborhoods. Each one be surprised by regarding either your
Ive lived in enough parts of our country to is filled with people that humble and inspire professional or personal life, and why?
realize how fortunate our family is to be a part me. Working with nonprofits in the area has I think my 25-year-old self fretted
of this community. We moved to Charlotte shown me time and time again that I have a lot about things that often ended up being
from the massive Atlanta suburbs nearly 20 to learn from others, and there are people in unimportant, and striving for things that
years ago and immediately fell in love with our this city that put most of us to shame with the were inconsequential in the long run. The
new city. We were blessed to find a church right amount they give, expecting nothing in return. three things my 25-year old self needed the
away and settled in to raise our family. Our kids most, long term, were faith in God, a strong
are graduated or nearly graduated from great work ethic and the ability to adapt.I have
Charlotte schools, and as a PTA veteran, I have learned that the final outcome often doesnt
gratitude and praise for the education our two resemble my original plans, but with Gods help
children have received. something even better emerges instead.
34 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 Yolanda M.
Trotman
Attorney at Law,
Law Office of Yolanda M. Trotman, PLLC
Yolanda has a bachelors degree in history
from UNC Charlotte and a law degree from
the University of Pittsburgh. She recently
served as a Mecklenburg County District
Court judge, and is the founder and CEO
of iSpeak Now, a nonprofit organization
that seeks to develop oral communication,
comprehension and leadership skills among
children and young adults.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
My most significant personal accomplishment
was having the courage to step out on faith
and run for public office to become a district
court judge. I had a thriving law practice and
running for judge was not on my radar. But an
innocuous conversation planted a seed and I
found myself making a life-changing decision.
I was not groomed in any kind of traditional
way to position myself to run for judge. But
we knew that we could beat the odds, and we
did by running a true grassroots campaign
surrounded by some amazing people.
I wanted to be a community-oriented
judge because it was my philosophy that a
Jenny
Vallimont Principal, Gkotta
Jenny has bachelors and masters degrees
in architectural engineering from Penn State
University. Shes co-founder and a board
member of the ACE Mentor Program Greater
Charlotte Metro, and serves on the boards
and is a member of several other community
organizations. She has been honored as one
of Multi-Housing News Top 10 People to
Watch and one of Charlotte Business Journals
40 Under 40, as well as being the recipient of
several leadership and sustainability awards.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Without a doubt, adopting our children.
I persevered through the hardest event of
my life and came out the other side a more
compassionate, selfless and driven person. I
continue to honor our adoptions by speaking
with women and couples about what
adoption, and more specifically transracial
adoption, looks and feels like. Infertility can
be a very lonely place. I wish I had someone to
speak with when we were going through our
own journey.
judge is most effective when she is serving
the community in a tangible way. And
while becoming a judge was an amazing
accomplishment, I also learned more about
myself on a deeper personal level and found
my passion. I would have never believed that I
would find myself coming full circle to better
walk in my purpose by leaving the bench, but I
did, and have found myself being able to make
an even greater impact as a servant-leader.
Tell us about someone who has been
an influence in your life.
I am a preachers kid, a teachers kid and the
baby. My parents were my greatest influences.
Losing them within a year and a half of each
other had a profound impact on my life and
personal development. I had to have courage
and strength to face obstacles without their understand what they are and to embrace and What would your 25-year-old self
guidance. But that has also allowed me to learn the lessons. Having the opportunity to be surprised by regarding either your
learn the value of friendships with people who serve as a judge ultimately taught me that I professional or personal life, and why?
ultimately have become family. could do more coming from behind the bench. My 25-year-old self would be surprised at
As I result I learned that life is really all And I had again had to get out of my comfort the journey from a teacher to the courtroom to
about defining moments. As an adult I have zone and make the decision to step down and the bench and back to the courtroom.I would
learned that those defining moments are even nourish my soul. be surprised that I learned how to let my faith
more amplified when we are still enough to be bigger than any fear.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
In 2016, I implemented a new framework
for Crescent Communities that focused the
organizations philanthropic efforts on three
issues: education, shelter and environment. Over
12 months I created a partnership structure that
defined where and how Crescent would interact
with key community organizations that address
those issues.
The partnership initiative was designed
to provide financial support and address key
obstacles for the nonprofit organizations while
also providing business benefits to Crescent
and allowing its employees an opportunity to
volunteer and develop a deeper understanding to help the next generation of young people coordinated the connection of industry
of the core issue. identify their own path in life. After moving members with CPCC to lead the first Trades
As a result, Crescent was named a finalist for from Los Angeles, where I mentored with Day for ACE students in the fall of 2016.
the NREI/IMN 2016 Commercial Real Estate ACE, I worked with the national organization
Awards in the Social Responsibility category to get support to begin an affiliate in Charlotte. What would your 25-year-old self
and continues to garner national attention. I created the Spotlight on Hunger be surprised by regarding either your
competition that won the program an award professional or personal life, and why?
Tell us more about your community with Second Harvest for its continued giving My 25-year-old self would probably be most
involvement. through food donations. I also worked to surprised to learn that a few years later doctors
I have volunteered with the ACE Mentor connect the organization to both CPCC and would tell me that I would never be able to be
Program of Charlotte since its inception 10 UNC Charlotte, resulting in new regional pregnant. And then five months later I would
years ago, working to use professional skills programs at both college campuses. I also become a mom when we adopted our son.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 35
 Mindy
Vervais
Member, MVA Energy Team,
Moore & Van Allen
Mindy has a bachelors degree from the
University of Colorado at Boulder and a
law degree from UNC Chapel Hill. Shes
a member of several bar associations, and a
volunteer with Safe Alliance, which honored
her with its Commitment to Justice Award.
Shes also been honored as one of Charlotte
Business Journals 40 Under 40 and as a North
Carolina Rising Star in North Carolina Super
Lawyers magazine.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I am a single mother to a 4-year-old,
Emmett. I consider becoming a mother my
most significant personal accomplishment.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
My most significant professional
accomplishment is making partner at a
prestigious law firm, while simultaneously
caring for my family and serving clients in
need of pro bono service. Undoubtedly,
it is fulfilling assisting my long-term firm
clients, but oftentimes, I derive the greatest
Anne
Vulcano
Senior Vice President, CBRE Inc.
Anne is an industry roundtable member of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a
graduate of Leadership North Carolina. She
has received the Top 25 Women in Business
Achievement Award and was runner-up for the
Charlotte Business Woman of the Year.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
I find that learning to converse in another
language Spanish in my case has been the
most satisfying accomplishment of my adult life.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
The CBRE National Recognition
Conference honors the top brokers in the
company based on commission income. This
hallowed group typically consists of primarily
investment specialists or brokers from major
markets where the rents, and therefore the
commissions, are significantly higher.
In 2012 and 2013 a confluence of
circumstances provided me with an
opportunity to close three significant
transactions in one year. I was honored as
one of the few leasing brokers, and very few
women, at the conference. In addition, I have
sense of accomplishment when representing
individuals who need it the most those
who cannot afford legal representation.
Through my role as project leader for Moore
& Van Allens Domestic Violence Pro Bono
Project, I have been able to provide pro bono
services to low-income families affected
by domestic violence. My most significant
professional accomplishments occur when
I can empower victims of domestic violence
who could not otherwise afford an attorney
to advocate for their rights, and obtain the
protection that they need.
Tell us more about your personal and
career goals. number at three months. We love exploring, What would your 25-year-old self
My boy Emmett is the love of my life and whether its somewhere near or far. Next up is a be surprised by regarding either your
the driving force behind getting up and going ski trip out West. professional or personal life, and why?
to work everyday. Representing the firms In addition to travel, Im a fan of yoga, My 25-year-old self would be surprised to
individual and institutional clients, as well as running and giving back. In 2016, Emmett know that after 10-plus years together, she
pro bono clients, is professionally enriching and and I began a tradition that I hope to continue wouldnt end up marrying her high school
fulfilling, but I love that my career allows me to for many years. We became wish makers with sweetheart, and that in time, she would
provide for my son and mother, who lives with Make-A-Wish and granted our first wish. successfully navigate making partner at MVA
us, and to do what I love most travel. Given our love of traveling, our first wish is to while being a single mom. She wouldnt be
At 4, Emmett has already logged a number grant a childs travel wish. surprised to know that she is loving every
of miles. He got his passport and frequent flier minute of being a mom.
been on the list of Top Ten Producers for the
CBRE Charlotte office from 1999 to 2014.
Tell us more about your personal
interests.
I have always loved active travel. As I have
grown older, my travel style has morphed. I
am more confident about traveling alone
and I often prefer it. In the past I loved the
treat of luxury travel, but I have thrown
that idea over in favor of undeveloped regions
and natural settings. I still hold the line at
roughing it and camping is fine so long as
there is a soft bed and room service.
What would your 25-year-old self
be surprised by regarding either your
professional or personal life, and why?
I was working at the Condado Plaza Hotel throughout the Caribbean and South America. impressed with that at 25. I now love public
and Casino when I was 25 in San Juan, Puerto I lived in Old San Juan and my neighbors speaking which would have terrified me at
Rico. My husband had been anxious to get were ex-pats from multiple countries, 25. My goal has always been to do the best
out of the continental U.S. for a while. He was locals, homeless people and a wide range of job possible, but the petri dish where the
imagining something more exotic, but they personalities. These experiences broadened
microorganism of my success was cultured was
offered him a job in San Juan. my horizons and gave me an entirely different
Moving at 23 changed my life. I lived there perspective on the world and a passion for entirely accidental.
for 10 years. I learned to speak Spanish. I was foreign travel. My 25-year-old self would be surprised at
initially afraid, but I learned to scuba dive and I have achieved business and financial being older something that surprises me
got my scuba diver certification. I traveled success, but Im not sure I would have been every day when I look in the mirror.
36 | FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017
 April B.
Whitlock
CEO and Majority Owner, Fundanoodle
April is a volunteer for The Lunch Project,
The Childrens Theater and her childrens
schools. Shes been honored three times by
the Charlotte Business Journal, as well as the
Charlotte Chamber and 107.9 The Link.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Creating the Fundanoodle Ambassador
Program is a culmination of every career role
I have had in the past 26 years. Two local
pediatric occupational therapists wanted
to share the way they taught handwriting.
They had a connection at a local school-
supply business, so they pitched the idea.
The executive management team thought it
was a perfect game plan. As brand director,
my early involvement was developing the
name Fundanoodle (a combination of fun,
fundamentals and using your noodle) and a
story that would help the company reinvent
the retail education space. But we quickly
found out even awesome business strategies fail
without focused execution.
In 2013, I took an amazing deal I was
offered and rolled out Fundanoodle as a
standalone company. It was the hardest year
Alyssa
Wilen
Owner and Executive Chef, Chef Alyssas Kitchen
Alyssa has an associates degree in culinary
arts from the Art Institute of Charlotte.
She has received several awards, including
Charlotte Magazines Best Cooking Class,
the Iron Fork Competition, Top Female
Chef in Charlotte from Thrillist.com and
Top 9 cooking classes in the country from
Tripping.com. Her condiment line has been
featured in the gift guides of several Charlotte
publications.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
Getting married and buying a house all at
the same time. My husband and I built our
home and made the selection to design it as
well as the choices of designing our wedding
throughout the first six months of 2016. It
was an incredible blessing, and I am proud of
myself for the smart choices I made and the
organization it took to stay on top of it all.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Growing my business from the ground up.
In 2012 Andrew and I started the business
with a small investment of our own money
that I have ever experienced. It was also an
extremely difficult time personally. We were
in the midst of a major home renovation with
three kids living in a rental house. And then
my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive
ovarian cancer in May 2104 and passed away
in August.
I was broken and bruised and battered, but
I knew I wasnt done. I started focusing on
selling local. And I started researching direct
sale companies. In February 2015, I launched
a social media all-call for women who wanted
to participate in a pilot program to test the
viability of the Fundanoodle Ambassador
program, and ended up with 15 ambassadors
in the test.
And I put myself in that role too here in
Charlotte. I hosted PlayDates our version
of the house party in which parents bring
their children in order to try out the products. What would your 25-year-old self and former Duke cheerleader who is a diehard
I worked booths at vendor fairs and the be surprised by regarding either your basketball fan, she would have never believed
Southern Christmas show. professional or personal life, and why? that she would marry a Tar Heel alum. And, as
The Fundanoodle Ambassador program At 25, I had just been dumped by the guy an only child, I doubt she ever imagined being
launched on Jan. 18 and has recruited over 150 I thought was the one and had moved to the mother of three girls.
savvy individuals to join this channel. They Chicago to start over. I loved living in a big My 25-year-old self would have a hard time
are all genuinely excited about being on the city. She would never believe that I moved believing that at 48, Im working for my third
ground floor of this opportunity. back home to Charlotte. As a Duke graduate start-up and that I actually own this one.
and stretched it as far as we could to get what
we needed. We began as a pop-up event in
Atherton Market, running one to two classes a
week. A year and a half later, we were seeing a
great deal of growth and moved to a permanent
space in the Market. We hired a full-time staff
member and grew our kids culinary education,
and every class in 2016 was sold out.
I believe it is the passion we have for what
we do and the trust we have worked hard to
gain in the community is the reason we are
supported by guests who return to us for
classes year after year.
Tell us about someone who has been an
influence in your life.
My family is my biggest inspiration. I grew
up in Charlotte and I am blessed with an
incredibly supportive family of my mom, dad
and two younger brothers. They are people
I can talk to about anything and have great into a new location, land our condiment in That I am no longer working in a traditional
perspective. This is true for my married family a regional grocery store chain and hire more restaurant setting. I always pictured myself on
as well; they are incredible. employees! the line cooking, and I am no longer doing
I believe hard work and integrity are my that on a regular basis. Additionally, that I have
keys to success. I want to outwork the people What would your 25-year-old self become so comfortable speaking in front of a
around me without taking shortcuts. My career be surprised by regarding either your large group of people. I used to be much more
goals are to expand the business later this year professional or personal life, and why? reserved and couldnt have imagined this.
FIFTY MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN 2017 | 37
 Mary W.
Wilken
Director of Asset and Project Management,
Insite Properties LLC
Mary has worked in property management
for 30 years, and has been honored for a
variety of achievements, including as certified
property manager of the year. Shes been
active as a volunteer and officer for numerous
local and national charitable and professional
organizations.
What has been your most significant
personal accomplishment?
In early 2000, at 33, I was working for a real
estate firm, heading their property management
division, and found that although I had been
in the business for more than 15 years, I was
managing many folks with educational degrees
superior to mine and knew I needed to obtain
a college degree. I became aware of the Queens
University McColl School executive MBA
program. While not holding an undergraduate
degree, I went and talked with their leadership
team. Through my undergraduate coursework,
industry education and work history, I was able
to meet their undergraduate requirement and
qualify for entry.
It was a truly rewarding experience and met
Congratulations to the 2017 Honorees of
Celebrate your achievements
with a personalized plaque!
Professionally display a custom-designed
plaque of your honoree biography in your
office, reception area or home.
This is the perfect way to remember your achievements for your important
role in the greater Charlotte region, in the economy, & in society.
For more information contact Andrea Mounts
704-817-1346 amounts@mecktimes.com
all of my expectations. The confidence gained
by having my degree made a true difference in
my career even if it was only for me.
What has been your most significant
professional accomplishment?
I have had the opportunity to help enable
growth for the companies that I have worked
with and as a business owner in the past
as well. My most significant relates to my
personal business started in 2009 and sold
in 2014. I was fortunate to grow a property
and association management firm from zero
managing more than $300 million in assets of networking. To be able to serve as the IREM into my marriage, I was a mom, and I had just
and provide opportunities for six employees. Foundation president for this two-year term is moved back to Charlotte.
phenomenal. Raising over $400,000 annually So, that sameness is probably somewhat
Tell us about some of the keys to your to be used to advance our industry is a very of a surprise. I still find it a wonderful field
success. meaningful culmination of engagement. and a great way to spend my working hours.
I truly believe that my business savvy,
breadth of experience and strong networking Being married to the same man, having three
What would your 25-year-old self
skills have contributed to enable me to be be surprised by regarding either your wonderful kids that are good people, and
successful. Through my involvement for the professional or personal life, and why? the joy of two grandchildren is pretty special
past 30 years with the Institute of Real Estate In many ways I feel like I am still a lot like too. Probably my 25-year-old self would be
Management and many with CREW, I have my 25-year-old self, only 25 years older. I surprised by the joy that my life is, and that I
been able to experience the wonderful benefits worked in the same industry, I was six years wouldnt change any of it.
Order your plaque
by May 26, 2017
to receive a
15% discount!
 Congratulations

DANA LEHNHARDT
of Collins Family Law Group

for being recognized as one of

2017's 50 Most Influential Women

Monroe | Ballantyne | Uptown Charlotte | Fort Mill

collinsfamilylaw.com

Do you know a legal professional licensed and practicing

law in the state of North Carolina, who has gone above
and beyond in their profession and their community?
make any moment Let us know by nominating for our seventh annual

a Celebration Leaders in the Law awards event that will be hosted in 2017.

Please visit our events page to nominate and learn more!

FREE Bundtlet
with the purchase of a bundtlet
Charlotte
601 S. Kings Drive
NCLAWYERSWEEKLY.COM/LEADERS-IN-THE-LAW5

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Expires 6/30/17. Limit one coupon per guest Cannot be combined
withany other offer Redeemable only at the bakery listed. Must be nothingbundtcakes.com
claimed in-bakery during normal business hours. No cash value.
 The Ronald McDonald
House of Charlotte
Six years ago this month, the
doors were opened to a home
away from home for families of
children stricken with serious
illnesses.
As of May 2, 13,645 people
from 3.015 families have come
through the doors of the Ronald
McDonald House of Charlotte.
And because, guided by its
local board of directors, the
House has made itself a home
to so many, The Mecklenburg
Times has chosen it to be our
nonprofit beneficiary.
The comfort and support that
the Ronald McDonald House
offers to the families of severely
ill children is so invaluable
at such a difficult time, said
Paul Fletcher, editor-in-chief
of The Mecklenburg Times.
Were grateful to be able to
help in some way. The staff and
volunteers deserve so much
support in their critical mission.
And, like the women we
celebrate at our annual 50 Most
Influential Women event, they
contribute in such a significant
way to making the Charlotte
community a better place.
Weve selected the Ronald
McDonald House because
they, like our honorees, are
integral to the spirit, passion
and commitment that make the
Queen City such a special place
to be.
The 35,000-square-foot brick
building on East Morehead
Street is more than a place for
families to rest their weary
minds. With a paid staff of 13
and a daily volunteer force of
about 30, it offers families who
must travel great distances
for pediatric medical care
connections to physical,
spiritual, educational and
emotional support; activities for
siblings; meals; and holiday and
birthday recognitions.
It is estimated it costs
about $142 a night for a family
to stay at the House, said
Mona Johnson- Gibson, the
Houses executive director and
a former 50 Most Influential
Women honoree.
This money will help us
continue our mission of providing
a home away from home for
families of seriously ill children.
The first Ronald McDonald
House opened in 1974, the
result of a quest by Philadelphia
Eagles football player Fred Hill
to help support families who
are supporting their hospital-
bound children. Hills daughter
Kim, 3, had been diagnosed with
leukemia. As Hill and his wife
slept on waiting room chairs
and ate from vending machines,
they saw other families doing
the same. Hill rallied the football
team, and in partnership
McDonalds restaurant and
Dr. Audrey Evans, who had
dreamed of opening a temporary
residence for such families,
they opened the first Ronald
McDonald House.
Today, there are 366 Ronald
McDonald Houses, with more
than 10,000 bedrooms, in 57
countries around the world. The
need for a House in Charlotte,
the fifth in the state, became
apparent when Carolinas
Medical Center opened its 240-
bed Levine Childrens Hospital
and Novant Health Hemby
Childrens Hospital expanded.
Now, families from
throughout the Southeast
who travel to Charlotte for
specialized health care can find
safe, affordable and supportive
housing for short-term or
extended stays.
The House has 28 rooms
and suites, each of which has a
private bath and accommodates
one family. It has a community
kitchen, great room, library,
playground, playroom, sitting
porch and laundry room. It
is staffed 24 hours a day by
professional and volunteer
staff, and meals are donated
and prepared by generous
Charlotteans.
The cost to operate these
houses comes primarily from
individual and corporate
donations. Families who use the
house are asked to make a modest
donation, but are never turned
away due to inability to pay.
We always need volunteers
to help us take care of the
families, to attend and support
fundraisers, to provide wish
list items to the House, said
Johnson-Gibson.
That is why The Mecklenburg
Times has chosen Ronald
McDonald House of Charlotte
as its nonprofit partner. The
organization will receive a
portion of the proceeds from
each paid seat at the awards
program, as well as all proceeds
from the events auction of
an elegant diamond bracelet
worth $3,600. And we want to
extend our heartfelt thanks to
Diamonds Direct SouthPark,
our 2017 Diamond Partner in
this event, which generously
donated the beautiful bracelet
auctioned.