Introducing the Leadership Triangle Transforming Leaders 2020 Goodmon Fellows
Welcoming 24 new Alumni into our Goodmon Fellow community.
In the midst of everything going on this Fall— a global pandemic, an election cycle, and public reckonings with systemic racism, these 24 Triangle leaders spent three hours every week for 2.5 months investing in their leadership development, in support of leading our community well. In this post, we uplift their spirits, their passions and their work. We celebrate the commitment and courage that it takes to show up for personal transformation. We hope you all will connect with and support them as they join our alumni community of 900+ Goodmon Fellows positively impacting the Triangle through their leadership.
Amanda Ronan is the Director of Programs for the Research Triangle Foundation. She leads all events and program activation efforts within the Frontier RTP campus, including Boxyard RTP which is set to open in 2021!
Anjali Boyd is a marine ecologist, educator, entrepreneur, newly elected public servant (Durham Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor), and a #DurhamNative. She is fueled by her love for science, her desire to improve the world around me, and her aspiration of increasing diversity in the aquatic sciences and environmental literacy among minority communities.
Bobbie Denise Cole serves as the Assistant Vice President of Student Life and Director of Residence Life and Housing for William Peace University. Bobbie is passionate about educational equity and access, authentic leadership, and the dynamics of confidence, self-worth, and women’s leadership. Bobbie is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and shares her voice on topics related to identity, leadership, community, and education as a cohost of The Meeting After The Meeting Podcast.
Brantley Atkinson is the Associate Director of Communications and Marketing with the Division of Enrollment Management and Services at NC State University. He’s proud of his team’s efforts this year to launch a new virtual tour experience (visit.ncsu.edu) and to create an online commencement ceremony for the 2020 graduates. Connect with him on Linkedin to talk about drones, cameras or the Carolina Hurricanes!
Chip Sudderth is a life-long North Carolinian in his eighth year of working in communications for Durham Public Schools. He previously worked for the Wake County Public School System.
Collin McColskey-Leary is an Implementation Specialist at the National Implementation Research Network/Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute where he supports the scale-up of evidence-based practices and programs. Prior to joining NIRN, he held leadership roles at state-wide and community-based non-profit organizations. He has dedicated his career to walking alongside children, youth, and families to ensure equitable educational, social, and justice outcomes.
Danila Degno is the Meeting Facilities Supervisor at RTP Headquarters. Danila brings an accomplished background in property management operations and extensive customer service experience to the Research Triangle Foundation. “Dani” is originally Italian and moved recently to North Carolina, she has a master’s degree in Modern Languages for Communication and International Cooperation with a minor in Hospitality Management from UCSC of Milan.
Devin Desjarlais is the Director, Marketing and Storytelling at United Way of the Greater Triangle where she’s leading the organization’s creative branding, communications strategy, and equitable storytelling initiatives. She lives in Cary, NC with her husband Jacob, daughter Amelia, and three rescue dogs — one of whom is a “tripawd.”
Hannah Parker is the Program Director for the nonprofit Band Together, where she combines an affinity for music and event planning with a passion for community service. When she’s not on the work grind, you can likely find her on a bicycle, in the woods, writing short stories or indulging her green thumb.
Jeymi Dubon is the Semillas Youth Coordinator at SEEDS and the Executive Director for Pupusas For Education. Before SEEDS she was a community specialist at El Centro Hispano. Currently, Jeymi is working on helping students create a Youth Food Council to bring community gardens into areas with the most need in Durham.
Joy Spencer is the Executive Director of Equity Before Birth, a Black mental health charity organization. She is driven by passion and is an avid supporter of authentic community engagement and community based solutions.
Julia Da Silva is a native Southerner who moved to North Carolina in 2009 to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. It was during undergrad that Julia began advocate for survivors of sexual violence and has served several organizations in the Triangle with this mission. She currently serves as Board President for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. Now a triple Tar Heel with her masters of social work and public administration, Julia is the Scholarships Officer at Triangle Community Foundation where she manages scholarship and designated funds.
Kendall Davis is the VP, Innovation: Finance Workforce of the Future at Credit Suisse. Her leadership purpose is to notice the self-limiting or culturally imposed beliefs she holds about herself, and work on reframing them towards possibility and meaning, so that she can help others do the same.
Kenneth Brown Jr. is a fellow for the A.J. Fletcher Foundation working to do his part to make North Carolina a more equitable and inclusive state for all. He is a graduate of Elon University and a native of Greensboro, NC.
Lakeisha Minor is Director of Family Services at Habitat for Humanity in Durham. She and her team are responsible for homeownership preparation, including education, connecting resources, and life skills for the Durham community of buyers through Habitat. She and her husband, Harry reside in Durham.
Omar Ali is the Manager, Consulting Services Delivery Lead at Red Hat. He’s an expert in navigating and shifting organizational culture, building relationships, and working collaboratively to address business needs.
Patricia Powers is the Crisis & Continuity Manager at GlaxoSmithKline, where she facilitates crisis and continuity plan development and maintenance with all business areas operating in 150 countries. Her passions lie in advancing public health and building community partnerships.
Queron Smith is Director of Underwriting at Redwoods — a mission-driven insurance carrier that was explicitly founded to create safe communities for all, and to prevent harms such as child sexual abuse and drowning. Queron (Que) believes in the importance of community, and currently serves on the boards of Mission Triangle and Durham’s Partnership for Children. Most recently, Queron has been recognized as one of the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award winners.
Rachel Salzberg is a program analyst at the NC Pandemic Recovery Office, where she supports local governments in using COVID relief funds. A data nerd with a love for community organizing, her strength is in translating information into narratives for social change. She is developing a relational leadership style focused on equity, integrity, and team problem solving.
Randy Martin is the Decontamination Process Supervisor at Medicago, managing a team of 3 as well as all manufacturing waste streams and waste stream treatment equipment. He is team focused and passionate about helping people grow. His leadership philosophy centers on creating an environment where people can discover who they are and where they want to go in their careers.
Roz Dodd is the Senior Property Manager at Research Triangle Foundation. Roz is a driven, energetic and extremely motivated performance leader with more than 16 years of management-level business insight in the commercial and residential real estate industries. Skilled at developing positive, productive relationships, she prides herself on her ability to come to equitable solutions through intentional listening and expert problem solving. Roz is thrilled to be working in the collaborative, high-energy environment that RTP offers and play a role in its evolution on the Frontier RTP campus.
Tarkisha Poole is the Community Engagement Manager at Coastal Credit Union. She has experience with development strategies, outreach, engagement projects, partnership developments and implementing plans that impact the Community. She thrives off of challenges and loves utilizing her creativity, tenacity and leadership to make a difference.
Dr. Trina Clayeux has led operational excellence in the areas of education, workforce development, public safety, and affordable housing and serves as Chief Operations Officer for Durham Children’s Initiative, a cradle to career collective impact collaboration. Inspired by Leadership Triangle’s commitment toward change leadership, Trina co-founded C-Suite Executive Solutions, LLC with an aim of operationalizing success.
Valerie Whidden is the Planning and Materials Manager at Medicago, where she is the sub-team lead of a coronavirus vaccine onboarding team, helping support development and manufacturing for clinical trials.
