Colin Austin, JD
Senior Program Director
caustin@mdcinc.org
Colin designs and manages projects related to career advancement for low-wage workers. He also conducts research on the changing Southern economy and workforce readiness, with a particular focus on immigrant labor. Colin directs several initiatives for MDC including Latino Pathways, Community Colleges Support Centers for Working Families and a U.S. Department of Labor "Pathways out of Poverty" grant for green job training. Colin has experience as an outreach worker to farmworker labor camps, a coordinator of an environmental justice project, and a research manager for a community development corporation. At MDC, Colin has authored several reports and assessments of workforce systems at the local, state, and regional level. Colin participated in the national Sector Skills Academy as a Marano Fellow.
Educational background: Spanish, law, city and regional planning (Brigham Young University, Duke University School of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
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Ulysses Bell, J.D.
Senior Program Director
ubell@mdcinc.org
Ulysses works with MDC's Work Supports Initiative and is primarily responsible for managing the North Carolina JobsNOW Employment & Training Project, which aims to broaden student financial aid services at community colleges and connect low-income students with financial education, counseling coaching, savings programs, and other community based services.
He began his professional career at Nkumbi International College in Zambia as a staff member of the African-American Institute in New York City, and was senior consultant with The Bell Group and worked with churches, faith-based, and community development groups on fundraising, marketing, and financial literacy initiatives. He spent seven years with MDC as director of training and administration, where his team was instrumental in demonstrating the HRD concept that is now incorporated statewide into community college programs. He also worked at The National Rural Center in Washington, D.C., as senior manager; as vice-chancellor for development at Elizabeth City State University; and as vice president for advancement at both Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., and at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He has been a trustee of the ELCA pension fund, a member of the board of Lenoir Rhyne College, and was a member of The White House Rural Public Works Planning Task Force.
Educational Background: Business education (Elizabeth City State University); Teachers College at Columbia University; Law (N.C. Central University School of Law); Young Executives Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill.
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Mark Bensen
Executive Vice President
mbensen@mdcinc.org
Mark manages MDC's day to day operations, including its financial, human resources, and IT functions, and is responsible for promoting an effective organizational culture. He has a key role in developing and implementing short and long-range strategic planning, and takes a keen interest in issues of strategic philanthropy across all MDC's programs. Before coming to MDC, Mark was executive director of the Lucy Daniels Foundation, a Raleigh-based private foundation. He has leadership experience in corporate, nonprofit, and academic settings, and has served as a director or trustee for many charitable organizations. At UNC-Chapel Hill, he was director of the Global Education Initiative for the School of Education. At NC State University, he was associate director of the William R. Kenan, Jr., Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science and was founding director of the Park Scholarships. He also served as an executive-in-residence for NCSU's HiTECH program, where he led teams of entrepreneurs in technology commercialization activities.
Educational background: Psychology (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). back to top >>
Todd Brantley
Associate Communications Director
tbrantley@mdcinc.org
Todd supports MDC's communications efforts primarily in the areas of Web site content management, new media project development and strategic communications. He also provides writing and editing support for all of MDC's projects. Before coming to MDC, Todd worked as a research associate at the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and as the editor of The Fountain, the donor and alumni magazine of the Graduate School at UNC-Chapel Hill. He also worked at UNC-TV and as an intern at WUNC for The Story with Dick Gordon. Prior to returning to graduate school, he worked in the clinical research and pharmaceutical fields in regulatory affairs and drug safety monitoring, and taught religious studies in the distance learning program at Randolph Community College.
Educational background: English, psychology, theology, and journalism and mass communication (UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University). back to top >>
Dan Broun
Program Director
dbroun@mdcinc.org
Dan works on a variety of MDC initiatives that encourage communities and regions to develop and implement innovative workforce and economic development strategies impacting low and moderate income families. Projects include the Rural People, Rural Policy for the WK Kellogg Foundation, the Center for Working Families and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. Prior to joining MDC, Dan served as Director of Special Projects for Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., an economic and workforce development nonprofit; Director of Policy and Program Development for the North Carolina Minority Support Center, a community development financial intermediary, and as a Development Associate with the Center for Community Self-Help, a community development financial institution. Dan has served as author and co-author on a variety of publications including profiles of creative economy activity in the state of Arkansas, assessments of workforce development gaps in the state of North Carolina and rural economic development directions for The Daily Yonder.
Educational background: History, city and regional planning (Carleton College, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Jenna Bryant
Program Manager
jbryant@mdcinc.org
Jenna supports projects focused on employment and workforce implementation initiatives, including the "Pathways Out of Poverty" grant for green training and the Community Colleges Support Centers for Working Families Integrated Service Delivery Collaborative.
Prior to joining MDC, Jenna worked for Regional Technology Strategies (RTS) as a senior research analyst focused on cluster-based occupational analysis, the development of regional economic development profiles, and measurement and assessment of local regional economies. She was responsible for research design and analysis for a variety of projects at RTS including analyzing the creative economies in Colorado, Mississippi, the District of Columbia, and the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, and developing an manual on how to assess workforce gaps for the North Carolina Community College System that outlined the steps and data needed to replicate the study at the community college level. Before that, she worked at the North Carolina Department of Commerce as an economist focused on analyzing North Carolina's economy, and at the Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina in the Policy and Program Evaluation department, where was responsible for the communication and statistical analysis of the North Carolina State Training Accountability and Reporting System.
Educational background: International business and finance (Howard University), Master of Economics (N.C. State University)
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Lance Buhl, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
lancebuhl@gmail.com
Lance Buhl is deputy director of the United States-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He helped create and then managed the center and its counterpart at the University of Cape Town, and translated the founding ideas of the Center's creator, Ambassador James A. Joseph, into its programs.
He taught American history at Harvard and Cleveland State University; was founding director of Projects for Educational Development; chairperson of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Instructional Development for the Ohio Board of Regents; founding director of the Cleveland (and Ohio) site of the Educational Policy Fellowship Program of the Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington, D.C.; and has been an independent consultant on teaching and institutional effectiveness across the nation. He was program officer, manager, and then director of British Petroleum's corporate contributions program in the United States and created the company's programs in urban revitalization, focused primarily on low-income community development and the environment, and played a facilitating role in the creation of the federal low-income tax credit. Since leaving British Petroleum, Lance has provided consulting services in support of developing strategic grant-making and grant-seeking to foundations, corporations, and nonprofits, as well as serving the center at Duke.
Educational background: Kent State University, Harvard University.
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Juanita Collins
Administrative Assistant
jcollins@mdcinc.org
Juanita supports the Achieving the Dream team administratively. She began her professional career as a records clerk in the mortgage banking and legal fields before moving to legal records management. After completing certification as a professional secretary, Juanita pursued a career as an administrative assistant and legal secretary. She has worked in both the corporate ans private sector for entities such as The Methodist Hospital, The University of Houston Law School, and Windsor Village United Methodist Church.
Juanita serves on the board of directors of Presenting the Arts, a non-profit organization in Houston, Texas, and is a volunteer at Caring House in Durham.
Educational background: Communication Studies, Divinity (University of Houston, Downtown, Duke University). back to top >>
John Cooper, PhD
Program Director
jcooper@mdcinc.org
John focuses on community development, environmental justice, dispute resolution, public policy research, emergency management, and land use planning. Currently he directs the FEMA Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program, a $2.5 million effort to understand barriers to increased disaster awareness and preparedness in marginalized communities.
John has provided consultation to community development advocates on issues of planning and civic engagement, and been a visiting lecturer in the Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC). He is a past member of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation's Advisory Panel and currently serves on a number of boards including The Community Home Trust (Chapel Hill, NC) Board of Directors, the Board of Visitors for the UNC Institute for the Environment, and the Advisory Board for the DHS Center of Excellence - Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure, and Emergency Management (DIEM) at UNC.
Educational background: Economics, urban planning, city and regional planning (Texas A & M University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). back to top >>
Carolyn D'Amelio
Senior Financial Analyst
cdamelio@mdcinc.org
Carolyn supports MDC's Chief Financial Officer, members of the executive management team, and MDC program directors by providing financial analysis for contract and administrative budgets and financial reporting. She also provides financial and budgetary accounting support for MDC's Partners for Postsecondary Success initiative. Before coming to MDC, Carolyn held accounting and senior accounting positions with both large corporations and small, privately held businesses, including thirteen years working in accounting for John Hancock Financial Services.
Educational background: Accounting (Northeastern University) back to top>>
David Dodson
President
ddodson@mdcinc.org
Since joining MDC in 1987, David has directed major projects to increase student success in public schools and community colleges, address regional economic decline, strengthen community philanthropy, and build multiracial leadership across the South and the nation. He frequently speaks around the country on creating equity and opportunity for low-wealth communities and has advised major philanthropic foundations on strategies to address poverty and reduce disparities.
He is coauthor of several MDC publications including An Action Agenda to Spur Economic Success: A Report to the Distressed Areas Task Force of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (2009), Disconnected Youth in the Research Triangle Region: An Ominous Problem Hidden in Plain Sight (2008) for The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, and State of the South 2007: Philanthropy as the South's "Passing Gear." He is a member of the boards of The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the US Endowment for Forestry & Communities, the Center for Law and Social Policy, Durham Technical Community College, and the advisory board of the Aspen Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Change. Prior to joining MDC he served as executive director of the Cummins Engine Foundation and director of corporate responsibility for Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Indiana.
Educational background: architecture and urban policy, ethics and theology, public and private management (Yale College; Yale Divinity School; Yale School of Organization and Management). back to top>>
Kate Doom
Program Associate
kdoom@mdcinc.org
Kate joined MDC in March 2006 and works on the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative focusing on institutional change. In addition to other responsibilities, Kate guides agenda planning for the annual Strategy Institute, a gathering of representatives from all Achieving the Dream institutions and national partners, which in February 2008 had 900 participants. Kate also oversees the annual review of demonstration college and university progress reports.
Kate graduated with honors from Guilford College, where she focused on international studies and political science. Her interests include economic development strategies and implementation for the least developed nations of the world as well as leadership roles, tools, and tactics to bring about social change.
Educational background: political science, international studies (Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C.). back to top>>
Scott Edmonds,
Program Associate
sedmonds@mdcinc.org
Scott devotes his time and energy to the Work Supports Initiative, a growing national initiative that seeks to connect low- and moderate-income families with the tax credits, public benefits, and student financial-aid they need in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Scott is actively engaged in grant writing, providing technical assistance to statewide nonprofit affiliates, and strategic planning.
Scott graduated with honors from The University of Missouri, where he received a degree in political science, with a particular interest in Southern Politics. Scott joined MDC in the summer of 2009 as a graduate student intern while in school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his Masters of Public Administration. His passion is in addressing the structural, political, and social barriers that exist in southern states and other communities that contribute to economic hardship.
Educational background: Political science (cum laude), public administration (University of Missouri, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) back to top >>
Matthew Farmer
Contracts and Grants Manager
mfarmer@mdcinc.org
Matthew is responsible for preparing consultant contracts, reviewing annual financial reports from colleges and partners in the national Achieving the Dream initiative, and assisting in creation of contract agreements and cost analyses.
Prior to joining MDC, Matthew was an accountant at Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts for 14 years.
Educational background: business administration, liberal arts, financial information systems management, divinity (Durham Technical Community College, Greenfield Community College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Shaw University). back to top >>
Susan Fowler
Director of Organizational Learning
sfowler@mdcinc.org
Susan's work focuses on Achieving the Dream, especially the community engagement aspects of the initiative. Before joining the MDC staff, she worked for twenty-five years as a self-employed facilitator, organizational consultant, and educator in the nonprofit and public sectors. Her engagements have included: facilitating collaborations between public and non-profit organizations, designing and facilitating strategic and program planning for large and small systems, designing and facilitating experiential education workshops on a variety of topics including change, interpersonal communication, and experiential education, and designing and facilitating community development processes.
Susan began her career as a carpenter and co-founder of Space Builders, Inc., an employee-owned and democratically managed design and construction firm, where she served as principal group facilitator and general manager for thirteen years. She served many years on the boards of the Center for Community Self-Help, the Self-Help Credit Union Community Independent School, and the Satir Institute of the Southeast.
Educational background: psychology, adult education and organizational development (University of Rochester, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). back to top >>
Ralph Gildehaus, J.D.
Senior Fellow
rgildehaus@mdcinc.org
Ralph is developing a new effort to connect more low and moderate-income Americans with work supports, including free federal and state income tax assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and food stamps, child care subsidies, children's health insurance, Medicaid, home energy assistance, Medicare Part D subsidies, senior community service employment, discount prescription drugs, student financial aid, school nutrition programs and soon SSI and SSDI. The effort will use innovative strategies to connect more eligible Americans with these supports, such as the Web-based Benefit Bank program, which provides counselor-assisted help in preparing income tax returns and other work support applications.
Formerly, Ralph served as the director of The Ohio Benefit Bank in Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. With his leadership, the public-private partnership grew to include more than 700 community-based sites and more than 2,500 trained counselors across Ohio, who helped more than 30,000 low- and moderate-income Ohioans claim more than $33 million in work supports. Prior to joining Governor Strickland's staff, Ralph was as a litigation partner with the law firm of Porter Wright Morris and Arthur LLP in Columbus, Ohio. He served for six years on the Board of Trustees of Neighborhood House, Inc., a settlement house in Columbus. Ralph also was a law clerk to Judge Lawrence S. Margolis of the U.S. Claims Court in Washington, D.C., and served on the legislative and political staffs of former Congressman Bob Edgar of Pennsylvania and as Issues Director for Sam Beard for U.S. Senate in Delaware.
Educational background: Political science and law (Amherst College, George Washington University Law School). back to top>>
Bonnie Gordon
Senior Program Director
bgordon@mdcinc.org
Bonnie leads MDC's policy and communications work on the Achieving the Dream Initiative. She was previously the College Prep program officer at the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, New England's largest education philanthropy. In her work at Nellie Mae, she designed a new multi-year grant program for college-school partnerships to improve academic achievement for underserved students and helped lead the development of the College Ready New England P-16 Alliance, a regional policy and program collaboration in support of college access and success for underserved students. She also negotiated and directed the Foundation's funding partnership with Lumina Foundation for Education to bring three Connecticut community colleges into Achieving the Dream. She is a 20-year veteran of higher education administration, having served in a number of positions at Ithaca College, including vice president for college relations and resource development.
Bonnie has extensive experience with state and national education associations, including the National Council of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the American Council on Education (ACE). She has served as a member of the ACE Commission on Adult Learning and Education Credentials, the board of visitors of Air University (United States Air Force), and as a program evaluator for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In addition, she has served on the national Pathways to College Network Executive Committee, the Massachusetts Think College Early Committee, and the Massachusetts State GEAR UP Advisory Committee. She has provided independent consulting services to both corporate and non-profit clients for policy analysis and program support in education, management, human resources, marketing, public relations and fundraising. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Fenway High School in Boston, MA.
Educational background: Speech communication and education (Ithaca College, Harvard University).
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Lucy Gorham, PhD
Program Director
lgorham@mdcinc.org
Lucy directs the EITC Carolinas initiative and focuses on the economics of work and poverty and low-income housing. Her previous positions have included senior research associate at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) at UNC-Chapel Hill, staff member for the Joint Economic Committee and the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources of the U.S. Congress, and consultant to the North Carolina Governor's Rural Prosperity Task Force and the Office of Economic Development at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
She serves as board chair of the Center for Economic Justice in Austin, Texas, and is a steering committee member of the National Community Tax Coalition.
Educational background: Urban and regional planning; human biology (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University). back to top >>
Ferrel Guillory
Senior Fellow
fguillory@mdcinc.org
In addition to serving as senior fellow at MDC, Ferrel directs the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a lecturer at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is a coauthor of the State of the South series and The Carolinas Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow.
He was formerly southern correspondent, government affairs editor, Washington correspondent, editorial page editor, and columnist at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. He also has written for The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, America, The New Republic, and a variety of Southern magazines, journals, and newspapers. He is a contributor to books on public policy, tobacco in transition, and the politics of race.
Educational background: Journalism (Loyola University of New Orleans; Columbia University). back to top >>
Gerry Hardersen
Senior Budget & Financial Analyst
ghardersen@mdcinc.org
Gerry supports the MDC senior management team in the areas of budgets, board presentations and the development of business models which complement as well as enhance the overall company mission. In addition, Gerry serves as project controller for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Post-Secondary Education business model as well as the Work Supports Initiative being developed throughout the U.S.
Prior to joining MDC, Gerry spent over 20 years with Nortel Networks in various controller and senior financial management positions, most recently in mergers and acquisitions and the divestiture of technical training and repair operations. He also served as treasurer of the board of directors for the Mission House for Women, a program to assist women suffering from substance abuse or mental illness. Gerry is a U.S. Army veteran who specialized in nuclear weapons technology.
Educational background: Math, accounting, education (Drake University, the College of St. Thomas). back to top >>
Richard E. Hart
Communications Director
rhart@mdcinc.org
Richard works with all of MDC's projects to connect their insights and solutions with the media, policymakers and the community at large. He oversees MDC's Web sites, helps prepare presentation materials, and assists in writing and editing the State of the South report and other research papers.
He's a native of New Orleans and has been a reporter, editor and columnist for newspapers across the South for more than 25 years. Beginning at his hometown newspaper, The Times-Picayune, covering the city's historic preservation movement, he continued to focus on planning and environmental concerns in reporting, editing and management positions at The Boston Globe, The Capital Reporter in Jackson, Miss., The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., The Miami Herald, The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla., and The Chapel Hill News. Most recently, he was editor of the Independent Weekly, which covers politics, social issues and the arts in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina. His work has won prizes for investigative reporting, editorial writing, design, and coverage of urban growth issues.
Educational background: Urban studies; editor, The Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia University). back to top >>
Phillip Horne
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
jphorne@mdcinc.org
Phillip oversees development, organizational advancement, and external partnerships at MDC. He also assists in the planning and execution of MDC's branding and strategic marketing efforts. Prior to joining MDC, Phillip was vice president of The Fund for New Urbanism, a private equity real estate investment fund devoted to new urbanism and sustainable development. He previously served as president and CEO of the Foundation of Renewal for Eastern North Carolina, where he helped to create three start-up ventures and build a real estate pooled income fund with $60 million in assets.
Phillip has extensive experience in managing university foundations, including serving as the associate vice chancellor at East Carolina University, where he was executive vice president of the ECU Foundation, and as the chief operating officer of the N.C. State University Foundation. He was a recipient of N.C. State's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008 and has been honored with the Outstanding Teacher Award at ECU. He was also nominated for three Emmy awards for documentary and feature film productions broadcast frequently on public television and national cable networks.
Educational background: English, communications, and business (North Carolina State University and East Carolina University).
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Leslie Howell
Accounting Manager
lhowell@mdcinc.org
Leslie manages MDC's accounting operations, including payroll, record keeping, benefits, and management of contracts.
Leslie has been an accounting manager in both corporate and nonprofit environments. She served as a Financial Specialist on special assignments for Robert Half International, a leading finance and accounting service provider worldwide, most recently working as an accounting manager in the biotechnology and hospitality industries. She hails from Savannah, Ga., where she and her husband went to the same high school at the same time -- but did not know each other. Their blended family of six has lived in Raleigh since 1994.
Educational background: Accounting (Georgia Southern University) back to top >>
Carol Lincoln
Senior Fellow
clincoln@mdcinc.org
Carol has more than 35 years' experience at MDC working on issues of educational access, workforce development, and rural community development. In addition to being a senior program manager, she was national director of Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count while MDC was the initiative's managing partner and currently serves as the organization's senior vice president. From 1994 through 2003 she directed the Rural Community College Initiative's (RCCI) national demonstration program to increase educational access and economic opportunity in distressed rural communities. From 1998-2004, she co-led MDC's international work in Namibia and South Africa, where lessons from RCCI were used to help four-year institutions become catalysts for development in impoverished rural regions. She coauthored Let's Do It our Way: Working Together for Educational Excellence and America's Shame, America's Hope: Twelve Million Youth at Risk, which led to a national PBS television project to raise public awareness of the large numbers of youth leaving school unprepared for postsecondary education or careers. Previous experience includes the New York State Manpower Resources Commission and New York State Manpower Planning Council and later the National Commission for Employment Policy.
Educational background: Mathematics and sociology (State University of New York at Albany). back to top >>
Joan Lipsitz, PhD
Senior Fellow
jlipsitz@mdcinc.org
Joan focuses on philanthropy and education and is an advisor to foundations and nonprofits on school improvement and youth development. Formerly, she served as program director for elementary and secondary education at Lilly Endowment from 1986 to 1995, where she specialized in youth development research and middle-school reform initiatives. Prior to that, she established and directed the Center for Early Adolescence at UNC-Chapel Hill, was a faculty member of the Bush Institute for Child and Family Policy, and was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health.
Previously, she was a program associate at the Learning Institute of North Carolina, a member of the College Board's Commission on Precollegiate Guidance and Counseling, a research associate at the National Institute of Education, a member of the governing board of the Annenberg Rural Challenge, a founding director of the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute (NCCAI), and a founding member of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. Joan currently serves on the boards of the Hershey Trust Company, the Milton Hershey School, NCCAI, the Executive Service Corps of the Greater Triangle, and DonorsChoose NC. She began her career as a secondary school English teacher.
Educational background: English and education (Wellesley College, University of Connecticut, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). back to top >>
Karah Manning
Operations Manager
kmanning@mdcinc.org
Karah is responsible for all MDC's information technology issues and managing the organization's outside technology vendors. She also will be working with senior staff to manage the renovations of MDC's new home in Durham, as well as coordinating the various elements of the move itself. After the move, she will be responsible for working with all of MDC's vendors and managing the organization's new convening space. Karah and her family moved to North Carolina in 2009 after she and her husband both completed enlistments in the U.S. Air Force. While serving on active duty, Karah filled a variety of roles to include writing and editorial endeavors, communications, and public relations at home and during two deployments. During this time she also worked toward her bachelor's degree and subsequently graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors. Before joining MDC in May 2010, Karah taught English in the Wake County Public School System.
Educational background: English (Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi).
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Linda McKinnie
Office Manager
lmckinnie@mdcinc.org
Her previous experience includes serving as the administrative secretary for West Durham Baptist Church and Day Care Center and as unit administrative assistant at Duke University Medical Center.
Educational background: Business administration (North Carolina Central University). back to top >>
Kate Mitchell
Program Manager
kmitchell@mdcinc.org
Kate manages program development efforts for the Work Supports Initiative, a national partnership that connects low- and moderate-income families with tax credits, public benefits, and student financial-aid through a web-based program called The Benefit Bank. She also supports the Partners for Postsecondary Success project through on-site community coaching and tool development. Before joining MDC, she managed online advertising portfolios for Google in San Francisco and New York, and worked as a marketing consultant for small automotive businesses in North Carolina. Her academic work includes research on the impact of Ghanaian World Bank loans on small cocoa farms.
Educational background: American studies and social work (Wesleyan University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). back to top >>
Abby Parcell
Program Manager
aparcell@mdcinc.org
Abby is responsible for the analysis and synthesis of lessons learned across the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative. Before joining MDC in 2008, she worked as a program evaluator and research analyst within local and state government and in the nonprofit sector, including the North Carolina General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division, the N.C. Department of State Treasurer, Retirement Systems Division, and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. Abby has also worked as a coordinator of GED and adult basic education programs in North Carolina and New York and has extensive experience as an editor of university-level distance learning courses for both UNC-Chapel Hill and Brigham Young University.
Educational background: English, public administration (Brigham Young University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) back to top >>
Maggie Schmid Shelton, EdD
Senior Program Director
mshelton@mdcinc.org
Maggie is responsible for managing MDC's Achieving the Dream team while also working with the new Developmental Education Initiative, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which includes 15 Achieving the Dream colleges and six Achieving the Dream states.
She began her academic career at The American University before moving on to Montgomery College, a three-campus community college in Montgomery County, Md., in 1990. She began as a counselor and then provided leadership in the roles of chair of the Counseling Department, acting dean of student development, and acting dean of humanities. She also assisted with curriculum development for the college and community relations for the Takoma Park Campus.
In 2001, Shelton was assigned to assist with the leadership of the private art college Maryland College of Art and Design as the dean and help coordinate its acquisition and transition into the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College. She served as the new program's Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, in charge of a $1.2 million budget, 21 full- and part-time faculty and staff. After leaving Montgomery College in 2006, she received her Ed.D. from the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas-Austin and served as an intern at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, N.C.
Educational background: Psychology, student development in higher education, educational administration (Frostburg State College, American University, University of Texas at Austin) back to top >>
Terri Smith
Chief Financial Officer
tsmith@mdcinc.org
Terri directs the overall financial function of the organization, establishing and implementing effective controls, practices and standards in finance and human resources. She is a key member of senior management working to ensure the financial integrity of the organization across all grants, projects, and activities. She provides strategic counsel on matters of fiscal agency and responsibility, and on operational feasibility of new work and mission related opportunities.
For nearly 22 years, Terri worked at Nortel Networks, starting as a senior financial analyst in the sales and customer service organizations and later becoming Assistant to the Controller and Manager of General Accounting Services. Before leaving Nortel in 2003 to work for a nonprofit, she became Senior Manager of Finance for Carrier Networks Manufacturing Operations, responsible for financial management of a $206 million cost center, and later Senior Manager of Vendor Relations-North America Training and Documentation Services, responsible for leading the consolidation of more than 60 training programs into a few, core organizations.
Educational background: Business administration, accounting (Elon University, Georgia State University) back to top >>
Cay Stratton
Senior Fellow
cstratton@mdcinc.org
Cay joined MDC as a senior fellow in 2010, following her return to the U.S. from London where she held leadership positions in workforce development policy and delivery. While in the UK, Cay served as special advisor to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, as special advisor to three Secretaries of State for Employment and as director of the National Employment Panel. Before moving to the UK, Cay served as associate secretary for Economic Affairs under Governor Michael Dukakis, and as founding executive director of the Boston Private Industry Council. In addition to her work with MDC, Cay is chair of the Board of Public/Private Ventures, a national nonprofit organization helping young people in high poverty communities make the successful transition to adulthood.
Educational background: Stanford University back to top >>
Tiki Windley
Program Manager
twindley@mdcinc.org
Tiki works as a program manager for MDC's EITC Carolinas. While still a college student, Tiki served as an administrator at River City Community Development Corporation and quickly realized her calling in the nonprofit world. She subsequently moved to Greensboro, NC, to work as operations manager for Gate City Community Development Corporation and then returned to her family home in Belhaven, NC, where she was a program manager for Community Developers of Beaufort-Hyde. In that position, she taught financial literacy at the local high school and provided free tax preparation for families in need.
Educational background: Business administration with a minor in economics and finance (Elizabeth City State University).
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Toni Womack
Executive Assistant
twomack@mdcinc.org
Antoinette (Toni) Womack serves as executive assistant to MDC's president and vice president, responsible for management of schedules, travel, working relationships with board of directors, staff and public officials, and other aspects of executive management support. Before joining MDC, Toni served as the executive assistant to the president and CEO of Achieving the Dream, an independent, national nonprofit organization that was incubated at MDC and created through the management support of MDC and its other founding organizations.
Toni was a legal executive assistant for 15 years at two prominent international law firms in Connecticut and at a major state utility. She was facilities and telecommunications manager of a national provider of clinical research and staffing resources located in Durham, N.C., and was office manager for a Raleigh-based real estate land acquisition development company, where she provided senior level executive assistance and office management support to the president/CEO, vice president, project managers, and staff.
Educational background: Administration of justice (Pennsylvania State University)
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Bonnie Wright
Senior Fellow
bwrightassoc@gmail.com
Bonnie contributes to projects in philanthropy and education. She has her own consulting firm based in Durham, N.C., that focuses on leadership and organizational coaching, capitalizing on 30 years of experience as a social entrepreneur--starting new enterprises and bringing them to scale. She is particularly skilled at identifying the crux of thorny situations, finding the solution to complex problems, and helping people accomplish ambitious goals. She is a certified mediator and diversity trainer, is proficient in Spanish, and is qualified to do a wide range of assessments and simulations, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Leadership Versatility Index, and the Conflict Development Profile.
Bonnie was a co-founder of the Self-Help Credit Union in 1984 and worked there for eight years before creating her consulting firm, Bonnie Wright and Associates. She also was a founder and executive director of the Maureen Joy Charter School in Durham and has served on a number of education-related and government boards and committees, including the KIPP N.C. Board of Directors, Governor Mike Easley's Education First Committee, Durham's Human Relations Commission and Housing Advisory Committee, and the Fund for Southern Communities. When she's not addressing critical community issues, she designs and crafts silver jewelry.
Educational background: Davidson College, Yale University, Honorary Doctorate of laws from Davidson College.
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Alyson Zandt
Program Associate
azandt@mdcinc.org
Alyson was MDC's 2009-2010 Autry Fellow and is now a program associate. Her primary focus is MDC's work readiness programs and the Developmental Education Initiative (DEI).
As a student, she was co-chair of the UNC Chapter of Nourish International, a student organization that explores innovative solutions to global poverty by connecting socially engaged college students with entrepreneurial developing communities. Alyson was part of a team of Nourish students that worked with the community of Ciudad de Dios, Peru, and the organization MOCHE to construct a potable water system spanning over three kilometers and promoted a continued partnership between MOCHE and Nourish to improve the health and sanitation of the area. Alyson also completed a field study program in the Balkans on the role of international organizations in post-conflict societies, and spent a semester interning with the City of Cape Town's Office of Social Development.
Educational background: Political science, international studies (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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