Governor McCrory Announces Appointments | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     The Office of Governor Pat McCrory announced the following appointments today:

N.C. Interpreter and Transliterator Licensing Board

  • Donnie Dove (Mecklenburg County) - Dove is an American Sign Language Lab and Instructor Assistant. He is a native user of American Sign Language. He has been an active member of the Deaf Community in Charlotte where he has offered his leadership and organizational skills for a number of events within the Charlotte Association of the Deaf (FAED), Carolina Athletic Association of the Deaf (CAAD), and North Carolina Association of the Deaf (NCAD). He is a graduate of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, and he attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf for a year.
  • Bethany Hamm-Whitfield (Wake County) - Hamm-Whitfield is a board certified Sign Language interpreter with ASL Links. This is a reappointment.

    The purpose of the board is to examine and determine the qualifications and fitness of applicants for licensure, renewal of licensure and reciprocal licensure; to issue, renew, deny, suspend, or revoke licenses and carry out any disciplinary actions. It also conducts investigations to determine whether violations or grounds for disciplining licensees exist; and adopts rules for continuing education requirements.

North Carolina Railroad Board of Directors

  • Jake F. Alexander, III (Rowan County) - Alexander is a member of the Board of Transportation, representing Division 9, which includes Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Rowan and Stokes counties. He has 25 years of experience in managing transportation-related issues in both the public and private sectors, including successful leadership roles as a Deputy Secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation and Vice President of the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation.
  • Douglas L. Stafford (Stanly County) - Stafford is a Principal and co-founder at Griffin Stafford Hospitality in Charlotte where he is responsible for development and acquisition of hotel and real estate properties. Stafford helps secure construction, semi-permanent and permanent financing for Griffin Stafford Hospitality's projects. He has previously served as Executive Vice President of Charlotte Motor Speedway, as Director for two community banks and as President and Chief Executive Officer for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
  • The Honorable John E. Skvarla, III (Wake County) - Skvarla is the North Carolina Secretary of Commerce.

    The board oversees the operations of the North Carolina Railroad Company.

North Carolina State Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners

  • Krista Rose (New Hanover County) - Rose trained at the Chris Logan Pivot-Point Cosmetology School in Florence, S.C. after attending Francis Marion College and the University of South Carolina. She was licensed in 1979 and worked for six years in Florence, S.C. before relocating with her husband to Wilmington, N.C. in 1985. In 1987, she opened her own business, The Mane Event Salon, and has worked behind the chair for thirty six years.

    The board examines and determines the qualifications and fitness of applicants for licensure and renews, denies, restricts, suspends, or revokes licenses. It also conducts investigations of alleged violations of this Chapter or the Board's rules. The board also approves new cosmetic art schools and establishes a curriculum for each course of study required for the issuance of a license.

Domestic Violence Commission

  • Helen Tripp (Johnston County) - Tripp has been a paramedic with Durham County EMS for more than 24 years and has treated many victims of domestic violence. Tripp works with Durham County's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) which focuses on behavioral health and substance abuse problems. She is a licensed professional counselor associate (LPCA) and completed a Master of Arts in Professional Counselor in 2014. Her emphasis is trauma-informed counseling with the intent to be an advocate for victims of trauma. Tripp teaches Mental Health First Aid in her community and lectures on first responder stress to public safety groups taking CIT training.

    The commission assesses statewide needs related to domestic violence and assures that necessary services, policies and programs are provided to those in need. The council also coordinates and collaborates with the Council for Women in strengthening existing domestic violence programs and establishing new domestic violence programs.

North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Advisory Council

  • Sue M. Gray (Durham County) - Gray serves as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Horse Council, as Secretary of the North Carolina Horse Foundation and as Vice President of the North Carolina Arabian Horse Foundation. She formerly worked as a Managing Partner of Grayland Farm, LLC, a full-service horse breeding, boarding and training farm. Gray also served for 25 years as both the Director for Healthy Student Behaviors and as Associate Director of the Student Health Center at UNC Chapel Hill. Gray is a member of the North Carolina Animal Welfare Coalition and Treasurer of the Chapel Hill Friends of the NRA Committee.
  • George W. Ragsdale (Guilford County) - Ragsdale is the owner of The Wrennovation Companies in Jamestown. His company acquires and rehabilitates properties and manages the construction, re-development and leasing. Ragsdale previously worked for BB&T, where he managed a loan portfolio in excess of $100 million. He is the Chairman Of the Jamestown Deep River Trail Committee and the Katherine A. Ragsdale Scholarship Foundation. He is also a member of numerous other boards, including the Guilford Tech Community College Foundation Board of Directors and the Jamestown Land Development Ordinance Committee.
  • Travis F. Stephenson (Beaufort County) - Stephenson is the Executive Vice President of Flanders Corporation in Washington, N.C. He is responsible for the sales, R&D, IT, and CS departments and has managed five consecutive years of growth with the company. Stephenson has previously worked for Brunswick Corporation Marine Division and Dougherty Equipment Company, and also founded Bass Fever magazine. He was a member of the 1993 NCAA National Championship UNC basketball team and was a founding member of the Eric Montross Father's Day Camp, which has raised $1,500,000 for the N.C. Children's Hospital.
  • Wendell H. Murphy, Jr. (Duplin County) - Murphy has been named as Chair of the Outdoor Heritage Advisory Council by Governor McCrory. Murphy was appointed to the Council by North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler.

    The council shall advise State agencies and the General Assembly on the promotion of outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, horseback riding, boating. sport shooting and archery, bird watching and wildlife watching, camping, swimming, hunting. trapping, and fishing in order to preserve North Carolina's outdoor heritage for future generations.

North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council

  • Kelly Hollis (Wake County) - Hollis is Head of Surveys and Observational Studies for RTI-HS and has a strong background in survey research and a proven track record in the successful design, implementation, and leadership of global research studies. During her 12 years at RTI International, she has provided successful leadership and oversight of research in a number of areas. She has expertise in planning and managing large-scale prospective observational studies, including health economic and epidemiologic studies, patient outcomes research, risk management programs, and patient registries. This is a reappointment.
  • Gloria Whisenhunt (Forsyth County) - Whisenhunt is a former County Commissioner of Forsyth County and member of the National Association of Counties' Large Urban County Caucus and NACO's Healthy Counties Initiative Advisory Board. This is a reappointment.
  • Donald Beaver (Catawba County) - Beaver is the Owner/President of Beaver Sports Properties. Beaver began working in the business office of Watauga Hospital full time after graduation, and followed that job with a seven-year stint as an administer at Frye Hospital until 1973. In 1975, he founded the Brian Center Corporation, where he was CEO until 1995 when it was merged with Living Centers of America. Over the years, he's been in the health care business in several capacities, and is currently president of Universal Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Concord. This is a reappointment.
  • Kurt Jakusz (Buncombe County) - Jakusz is President of Health & Home Services, Inc. He has been a long-term donor and former board member of Women's Resource Center. The fund will be known as the "Mama Shirley Fund." After serving for four years as a Hospital Corpsman in the US Navy, he worked as a Respiratory Therapist and upon receiving his nursing degree he was employed in the areas of Pediatrics, Medical Surgical, Critical Care, Post Anesthesia Care, Home Health Care Provider and as a Case Manager. Jakusz has a BSN graduate of Winston-Salem State University. This is a reappointment.
  • Dr. Prashant Patel (Wake County) - Dr. Patel is the owner of Cary Internal Medicine & The Diabetes Center. He is also active on several medical related boards, including service to this board since March 2010. He was in an accelerated seven year BS/MD program and completed his Doctorate in Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island, New York. His residency was completed at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. This is a reappointment.
  • Valarie Jarvis (Durham County) - Director of Nursing Tower Nursing and Rehab. Valarie attended the University of Virginia and received a Bachelor's degree in Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse.
  • Brian Lucas (Mecklenburg County) - Lucas is a High Education Services Specialist at Ricoh - USA, a global information and technology company strategically focused on development of state/local government and higher education.
  • Dr. Thomas Pulliam (Forsyth County) - Dr. Pulliam is a Gastroenterologist at Wilkes Regional Gi in North Wilkesboro. In addition, he is Medical Director of Pulliam Medicine and Technology Consultants, LLC in Winston Salem. He earned his medical degree from Wake Forest University and undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
  • Stephen DeBiasi (New Hanover County) - DeBiasi is CEO of OrthoWilmington, a medical group with 18 specialists, 18 mid-level providers and more than 200 employees created by the 2012 merger of Atlantic Orthopedics and Wilmington Orthopedic Group. Stephen attended Virginia Commonwealth University received a MHA in Health Administration.
  • Rekha Parikh (Wake County) - Parikh helps run an Orthopedic practice for her husband. She joined the Kiran Board in June 2014. She brings years of experience in coordinating the Hindu Society of North Carolina Health Fair and other community events. She has worked over 250 hours on the Kiran hotline and helped many Kiran clients with different services. She volunteers for many of the Kiran events and is also a well-established member of the community.

    The State Health Coordinating Council develops a draft state medical facilities plan that is recommended annually to the Governor, The council holds hearings on the draft plan and responds to public comments received. There are 29 members on the board, each serving a three year term. The governor appoints all members.

North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control

  • Dr. Ruth Petersen (Wake County) - Dr. Petersen serves at the N.C. Division of Public Health as the Section Chief for the Chronic Disease and Injury Section. She has worked in a variety of public health positions including research, administration, teaching and clinical care. She is a North Carolina native and received her MD and MPH from UNC. This is a reappointment.
  • Dr. Karyn Stitzenberg (Orange County) - Dr. Stitzenberg is a surgeon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Rex Healthcare and University of North Carolina Hospitals. She received her medical degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and has been in practice for 15 years. She is one of 52 doctors at Rex Healthcare and one of 28 at University of North Carolina Hospitals who specialize in surgery. This is a reappointment.
  • Kristie Foley (Mecklenburg County) - Foley is a Professor of Social Sciences & Health Policy and Director of Cancer Prevention & Control at Wake Forest University Health Sciences. Prior to her employment at Wake Forest she was the Associate Professor at Davidson College. She received her PhD in Public Health at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
  • Angela Alistar (Wake County) - Alistar is a Assistant Professor of Hematology & Oncology Comprehensive Cancer Center. Alistar graduated from the Univ De Med Si Farm luliu Hatieganu, Fac De Med, Cluj Napoca, Romania in 2001. She works in Winston-Salem, N.C. and specializes in Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Alistar is affiliated with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
  • Ian B. Buchanan (Orange County) - Buchanan is Vice President of Cancer and Children Services, and is responsible for the strategic direction of a 250 bed N.C. Children's Hospital. His focus was health care administration and health care quality. He completed his medical school training and MPH at UNC-Chapel Hill. He began his UNC Hospitals' career in the Performance Improvement department, where he was responsible for the Core Measures reporting initiative.
  • Helen F. Edwards (Hoke County) - Edwards is Health Director for Hoke County Health Center. She is also Chief Executive Officer for the Hoke County Health Department, managing an operating budget of $3.2 million. She earned her M.S. in Clinical Nutrition from East Carolina University, and a BSPH in Nutrition/Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

    The committee recommends to the Secretary of the N. C. Department of Health and Human Services a plan for the statewide implementation of an inter-agency comprehensive coordinated cancer control program and identifies and examines the limitations and problems associated with existing laws, regulations, programs and services related to cancer control. The committee also examines financing and access to cancer control services for North Carolina citizens.

    North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame Board of Directors

  • Ronald F. Stell (Wake County) - Stell is retired from the N.C. Department of Transportation as a highway dedication coordinator.

    The purpose is to select nominees for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame and to set policy.

    North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board

  • Christopher W. Mitchell (Wake County) - Mitchell is an Account Manager at Ewing Irrigation Products in Raleigh. In the past, he has worked as a Sales Representative for John Deere. He received his BS in Horticulture Landscape Design from NC State. This is a reappointment.

    The purpose of the board is to promote professionalism in the landscape industry and to inform the public that it is unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation in this state to use the title "landscape contractor" or to advertise as such without first obtaining a certificate issued by the board.

  • Contact: Crystal Feldman
  •     govpress@nc.gov

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Charleston Tour Guides Challenge Licensing Law Press Releases: Elected office holders, Op-Ed & Politics, Bloodless Warfare: Politics Governor McCrory, First Lady Light Mansion Blue for World Down Syndrome Day

HbAD0

 
Back to Top