Governor Cooper Announces State Boards and Commissions Appointments | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Gov. Cooper has nominated the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture:

• Ben A. Shelton III of Olin as a representative of dairy and cattle interest. Shelton is a cattle and dairy farmer and the Owner of Rocky Creek Dairy in Iredell County. He was recognized as the Iredell County Farmer of the Year in 2022. Shelton is also a veterinarian and offers a range of services to area dairy farmers, including providing herd health, reproductive works, microbiological lab services and a bioPRYN lab to determine pregnancy through blood samples. Shelton was originally appointed by Governor McCrory in 2016 and is being nominated to serve an additional term.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Bar Council:

• Damon M. Seils of Carrboro as a public member. Seils is the outgoing mayor of Carrboro. He is also a clinical research communications specialist for Duke University's Clinical Research Institute.
   

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following members to serve on the Catawba Indian Nation Foundation Board of Directors:

• Omar A. Porter of Shelby as a member at-large. Porter is the Director of Community Engagement at Cleveland County Community College.
• John Searby of Belmont as a member at-large. Searby serves as the CEO of the partnership between Catawba Riverkeeper and Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, and is the Executive Director of both organizations.
• Phillip W. Glover of Shelby as a member at-large. Glover is a retired State Trooper with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and is the owner and operator of Safe Lane Driving School, LLC. Glover served for 17 years on the Cleveland County Board of Education.
• J. Newton Craver II of Shelby as a member at-large. Craver co-founded Legion Brewing Company in Charlotte in 2014, where he remains involved as a principal investor. Craver is also President of Shelby Loan & Mortgage Corporation, a real estate investment firm he manages in Shelby.
• Deb Hardin of Shelby as the County Commissioner from Cleveland County. Hardin has served on the Cleveland County Commission for the last five years.
• Nicole Braswell of Gastonia as an enrolled member of the Catawba Indian Nation. Braswell is a Service Parts Manager for the Husqvarna Group and a board member of Catawba Corporations, the economic arm of the Catawba Indian Nation.
• Brooke Richey of Waxhaw as an enrolled member of the Catawba Indian Nation. Richey is a Tax Manager at Cherry Bekaert.
• Lacey Edwards of Havelock as an enrolled member of the Catawba Indian Nation. Edwards is a teacher in Havelock.
• Jennifer Beck Walker of Concord as an enrolled member of the Catawba Indian Nation. Walker is the Vice President of Product Management at WALKER.
• Harvey Godwin, Jr. of Pembroke as a member at-large. Godwin is a former Tribal Chairman for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following members to serve on the Edenton Historical Commission:

• Virginia Gardner Vinson of Edenton as a member at-large. Vinson has worked as the Director of Adult Education for the College of Albemarle, Director of the EHC's Penelope Barker House, Heritage Tourism Development Officer, and Executive Director of the Chowan Hospital Foundation.
• Elizabeth Scott of Rocky Mount as a member at-large. Scott is a real estate broker and has served in various preservation roles in the past including a preservation planner for the City of Rocky Mount, a member of the Rocky Mounty Historic Commission, and the president of Preservation Rocky Mount.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Forestry Advisory Council:

• The Honorable Weyling J. White of Ahoskie as a representative with experience in city and regional planning. White is the Mayor of the Town of Ahoskie and a Practice Administrator for the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force:

• Dr. Basheerah Enahora of Durham as the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Representative. Dr. Enahora is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist focused on Nutrition Education and Behavior in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Dr. Enahora has experience as a Registered Dietitian working primarily with underrepresented minority adults and teenagers.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following members to serve on the Historic Hillsborough Commission:

• Jennifer Dene Gephart of Hillsborough as a member at-large. Gephart is a former assistant caretaker for the Historic Ayr Mount before launching her own landscaping business.
• Rodney Mayo of Chapel Hill as a member at-large. Mayo is a former managing consultant for 360 Cloud Solutions of Raleigh.
• Lesley Hope Thurling of Hillsborough as a member at-large. Thurling previously worked at the Lorenzo State Historical Site in New York as a historic interpreter.
• Melinda A. Meschko of Hillsborough as a member at-large. Meschko is a GreenLake Cloud Specialist for East GreenLake Cloud Services Sales.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board:

• Dr. Janet F. Davidson of Wilmington as a member at-large. Dr. Davidson has been the Cape Fear Museum Historian since 2005. Previously, she was a historian and exhibition curator for the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Internship Council:

• Rebecca Nussbaum of Winston-Salem as a representative of a college or university with less than 5000 students. Nussbaum works as the Director of Career Readiness & Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision:

• Michelle S. Cofield of Raleigh as a member at-large. Cofield is the Deputy Chief of Staff for the 16th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board:

• Kaitlin E. Mullins of Fairview as a public member. Mullins is the Intercept Clinical Manager for Strategic Partnerships of Youth Villages, Inc.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Pesticide Board:

• Catherine Elaine Savinelli of Greensboro as a representative of the agricultural chemical industry. Mullins is the Stewardship Team and Pollinator Lead for Syngenta Crop Protection. She was previously Technical Product Lead for Insecticides.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following members to serve on the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission:

• Albert D. Kirby of Clinton as a member at-large. Kirby is an attorney in Clinton at his own practice. He is a former Superior Court Judge, Sampson County Commissioner, and professor.
• Terry E. Garrison of Henderson as a member at-large. Garrison is a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, where he represented Vance and Granville counties.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice:

• Norlan Graves of Raleigh as representative of the Department of Adult Correction. Graves is the Chief Deputy General Counsel at the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction and a former Superior Court Judge.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following members to serve on the Underground Damage Prevention Review Board:

• Jacob Harrison Joplin of Morehead City as chair. Joplin is the CEO & General Manager of Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative, where he has worked since 2000. Joplin was serving as vice-chair of the board prior to this appointment.
• Timothy W. Williams of Charlotte as a representative from a cable company. Williams is the Vice President of Construction for the Carolina Region and Area Vice President for Charter Communications.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina Zoological Park Council:

• Kimberly N. Reynolds of Raleigh as a member at-large. Reynolds is the Founding Partner of Maven Strategies, a female-led political and public affairs firm which partners with non-profit organizations to develop strategic plans and build successful goals.

    Contact:

    Phone: (919) 814-2100  •      Email: govpress@nc.gov