2013–2017 #LT30for30
Since 1992, Leadership Triangle has been a convener, educator, advocate, and amplifier for some of our region’s most engaged leaders and organizations. To celebrate our 30 year anniversary, we’re telling the stories of 30 Fellows from 30 years of programs. Each Fellow highlighted will represent one year of impact: from 1992, to 2001, to 2022.
Matt Bland (2013)
Matt grew up around the landscaping business and began working at Bland Landscaping during the summers as a teenager. After graduating North Carolina State University with degrees in business management, economics, and a Masters degree in accounting, he spent three years working in IBM’s finance department. Matt returned to Bland Landscaping in 2004 and is responsible for accounting, estimating, and the company’s overall financial management.
Matt is a Landscape Industry Certified Manager, Licensed Landscape Contractor, and a qualified individual for general contracting.
Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending time with his family, saltwater fishing, gardening, and all things NC State Wolfpack.
Matt currently serves on the Miracle League of the Triangle’s board of directors, Core Banks Surf Fishing Club’s board of directors is an active member of Leadership Triangle and a forum participant in the Entrepreneurial Organization.
Angeline Echeverria (2014)
Angeline is a passionate advocate for immigrant and worker rights, reproductive justice, and intergenerational civic engagement. She served as the executive director for El Pueblo from 2012–2021 and co-founded their affiliated organization, Fortaleza, in 2019. Prior to working with El Pueblo, she served as an organizer, outreach paralegal, and program director for different projects supporting women’s and immigrant worker organizing in the southeast and beyond.
Angeline’s roots are in Cuba, upstate New York, and the Piedmont region of South Carolina and she has lived in Raleigh since 2012. She credits Durham-based Student Action with Farmworkers for setting her on her path toward social justice work through an undergraduate internship program in which she participated while earning her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Students from the University of South Carolina-Columbia.
In her free time, Angeline enjoys Zumba, soccer, and spending time in the outdoors.
Fred Royal (2015)
Fred Royal is the Town Engineer of the Town of Pittsboro — the county seat of Chatham County, NC. In a vibrant, small, and historic town that is on the verge of experiencing unprecedented growth, Fred’s highest priorities are infrastructure improvements, transportation, and smart growth. He has a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University as well as a BS in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. One of his current projects for the Pittsboro is a new stormwater program — an extension of updating the town’s nearly 100 year old water and sewer infrastructure. “Pittsboro is growing rapidly. Probably the fastest growth projections in the state, perhaps only second to Raleigh. We have every challenge a civil engineer only dreams of and we discover new challenges every day,” said Fred.
Eugene Washington (2016)
Currently, Dr. Washington is Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and CEO of the Duke University Health System. Just prior to Duke, Dr. Washington served from 2010–2015 as Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences, Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Chief Executive Officer of the UCLA Health System. He was also a Distinguished Professor of Gynecology and Health Policy at UCLA. Earlier in his career, Dr. Washington served as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) from 2004 to 2010. He co-founded UCSF’s Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations in 1993 and served as the director from its establishment through July 2005. He was Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences from 1996 to 2004. He also co-founded the UCSF-Stanford Evidence-based Practice Center and served as its first director from 1997 to 2002. Before joining the faculty at UCSF, Dr. Washington worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
A respected clinical investigator and health policy scholar, Dr. Washington has been a national leader in assessing medical technologies, developing clinical practice guidelines and establishing disease prevention policies, particularly for women’s health.
Jes Averhart (2017)
Jes Averhart is a 4th generation entrepreneur, creator of 28 Days of Reinvention, and a best-selling author. She advises high-performing individuals and corporate teams as a leadership development and confidence coach. With over 20 years of cross-industry corporate engagement, Jes has worked with Research Triangle Park companies, Google for Startups, Fidelity Labs, Wells Fargo, Coastal Credit Union, Lincoln Financial and the American Underground to name a few.
In 2015, Jes co-founded Black Wall Street Homecoming, a nonprofit aimed at closing the funding gap for Black and Brown tech founders. Earlier in her career, she provided production management services for the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals & Cleveland Browns (NFL), Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), the Procter & Gamble Company and Pepsi Cola North America.
Originally from Evansport, Ohio, Jes moved to North Carolina in 2005 with her son Tre’. When she’s not working, you can find her cheering on The Ohio State Buckeyes.
Read her most recent article on WRAL TechWire about Distinct Choices, Change Courses.
