Immediately prior to joining NC Gives, Donna served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Center for Community Action in Robeson County, NC. Founded in 1980 with the goal of addressing the root causes of poverty on the community and county level, the Center is a multiracial organization dedicated to the use of community organization, research, policy advocacy, multi-cultural education, and multi-sector collaboration as methods of community development and change.
Although new to philanthropy, Arlene has worked extensively with the three target groups during her tenure as an administrator in government, university and nonprofit settings. She has spent most of her professional career as an academic advisor at NC State University and administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has also worked at the NC Council on the Status of Women. Most recently Arlene served as Director of Programs at a CDC in Culver City, CA before joining NCGives.
Arlene volunteers for a number of causes and is presently putting her new knowledge of the sector to work by organizing a giving circle. Arlene is a graduate of South Carolina State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Melinda Pearce initially came to NCGives in September 2007 as a Public Ally, filling the role of Communications Specialist. In July 2008 she became a full member of the NCGives team as Public Relations and Communications Director.
Prior to coming to NCGives, Melinda spent her first Ally year as a Faith Ministries Associate at the Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina. She is a 2006 graduate of Campbell University, where she studied Mass Communication-Public Relations and Spanish. In her free time, she is an advocate and volunteer for the cause of women's self-defense and rape prevention, and is active in Jubilee, a Triangle-based abolitionist group that works to combat human trafficking.
Adriana Horton is the latest member of the NCGives family, currently fulfilling the responsibilities of the Web Communications internship position. Before coming to NCGives, Adriana served as a volunteer for a number of non-profit organizations. She is an active member of S.A.T.E.L.L.I.T.E., a program run by NC State students which gives sophomores in high school, from rural areas of North Carolina, the opportunity to attend an engaging retreat which focuses on science and technology.
Adriana has recently returned from a semester studying abroad in England, as a way to broaden her education from a global perspective. She is currently studying Communication with a concentration in Public Relations, Business Management and Spanish, and will be completing her undergraduate degree in May of 2010.
NCGives Advisory Board
Dr. Denis Carter
University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Mr. Jay Chaudhuri
Office of the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina
Ms. Mickey Locklear
NC Commision of Indian Affairs
Ms. Mercedes Rodriguez
Community Economic Development Practitioner
Mr. Edgar Villanueva
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
Dr. Eugene Wright, Jr. (Chair)
Cape Fear Valley Health System
