Our Board

Dr. James A. Anderson was raised in Washington, D.C., and majored in psychology at Villanova University. He later earned a doctoral degree in the field of cognitive psychology from Cornell University and upon completion, accepted an appointment in the Department of Psychology at Xavier University in New Orleans. He served for 11 years as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs at North Carolina Central University prior to being recruited by Texas A&M University where he took on the roles of Vice President and Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity. He held that post until 2005 when he joined the University of Albany as Vice President for Student Success, Vice Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity, and Professor of Psychology. He then served as Chancellor and Professor of Psychology at Fayetteville State University beginning in 2008. There he expanded the global footprint of the university by expanding international initiatives in China, Africa, India, and Europe. These initiatives are focused on degree program completion, reciprocal program development, summer institutes, and faculty/staff residential exchanges. He also helped establish real-time, web-based academic courses that FSU students were able to share with students from China and India. Dr. Anderson has consulted with over 350 colleges and universities addressing topics such as teaching effectiveness, retention and persistence, and the assessment of student learning and diversity.

The Hon. Christopher Brook grew up in Raleigh and attended UNC for both his undergraduate and law degrees. He is currently a partner at Patterson Harkavy focusing on the areas of appellate advocacy, civil rights, and employment law. He recently ended a term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Governor Roy Cooper appointed him to that position in 2019, and he served through the end of 2020. Before that, he served as the Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina from 2012 through 2019. Earlier in his legal career, Chris practiced in the Raleigh office of Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog. He then worked as a staff attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham. From 2007 to 2011, Chris served as an adjunct professor at Carolina Law. Chris remains active in the community and in his time away from practicing law, he serves as the Chair of the Board of Transplanting Traditions Community Farm.

Dreama J. Caldwell (Secretary) is the co-director of Down Home North Carolina, a grassroots organizing group that is dedicated to serving communities in small towns and rural areas across the state. She is a native of Alamance County where she attended school and raised her children. Prior to assuming leadership at Down Home, Dreama spent over 20 years in early childhood education and hospitality. After a negative experience with the Alamance County criminal justice system, Dreama joined Down Home as a member working in the Stop Criminalizing the Poor working group helping to start the Alamance Bail Fund. She later ran for County Commissioner as the first Black woman to run in the county.  Down Home NC is her political home and it is where she first learned more about local, state and national politics. Using her own lived experiences and uplifting the experiences of others, she is focused on building poor and working-class power and fighting for racial justice. 

Matt Case (Co-Chair) is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice in Carrboro. He has a long history of social change work and justice-focused philanthropy, especially in the areas of economic justice, fair elections, dialogue, and access to health care. He is on the board of the Pro Bono Counseling Network and he and his wife operate ClearWind Farm, a mission-driven business offering equine-assisted psychotherapy and other opportunities for experiential learning and growth.

Sam Cone (Treasurer) is a Financial Consultant with Pinsker Wealth Management, an independent wealth and tax planning firm in Greensboro, NC. Sam practiced law before joining Pinsker Wealth Management. Following law school, he was a law clerk to Justice Mark Martin of the NC Supreme Court, after which he practiced in the litigation group of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles, CA. Sam is active in the community and is presently involved with several non-profits devoted to youth health, gender equality, charitable giving within the Jewish community, and other causes. Sam earned his JD cum laude from the New York University School of Law in 2008, and his BA with the highest distinction in mathematics and philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and the NC Bar Association.

Drew Erteschik is a partner with the Poyner Spruill law firm, where he leads the firm’s Government and Constitutional Litigation Practice Group as well as the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. His cases frequently involve a strong policy component, and he has successfully litigated some of North Carolina’s most sensitive and closely watched cases involving matters of public law. He also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to pro bono work. Drew serves on a number of boards and commissions focused on improving the quality of justice in North Carolina.

Yazmin Garcia Rico, Director of Community Engagement and Impact, joined the Foundation in May 2024. Throughout her career, she has been a tireless advocate for the Hispanic/Latinx and historically marginalized populations in North Carolina through different roles in the nonprofit, health, and government sector. Born in México and raised in Alamance County, Yazmin draws on her lived experience navigating complex systems as an undocumented immigrant who later benefited from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and eventually became a permanent resident and a naturalized U.S. citizen to inform her work advocating for those at the margin. Yazmin comes to the Foundation after serving as the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ (NCDHHS) Director of Hispanic/Latinx Policy and Strategy for the last three years. Yazmin earned her Bachelor’s degree from Guilford College in 2011 and graduated in 2018 from UNC Chapel Hill, with a Master of Social Work with a community, management and policy practice concentration. 

Flor Herrera-Picasso is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Casa Azul de Wilson, a community-focused organization that champions social justice and education equity. After years in the fashion industry, Flor became disillusioned with its superficiality and global inequalities. This shift inspired her to return to her hometown, where she now applies her industry-honed organizational and leadership skills to create an inclusive space for Latinx families. Alongside her sister Elizabeth, Flor has built Casa Azul into a beacon of empowerment, dedicated to the advancement and success of their community. 

Dr. Chi Huang is a distinguished physician, healthcare leader, and social entrepreneur. Civically, between 1997 until 2015, he founded and ran the Bolivian Street Children Project/Kaya Children International which addressed the needs of thousands of children on the streets. Throughout his career, he has also worked at tertiary care hospitals, community hospitals, and critical care hospitals. Dr. Huang has collaborated within hospital systems to create new service lines and develop more efficient hospital inpatient system which has translated in millions of dollars of annual savings. He spearheaded innovative health care initiatives such as Hospital(ist) at Home in 2020 and Virtual Hospital in 2021. Dr. Huang is currently the Advocate Health Southeast Region Hospital Medicine Specialty Medical Director, Section Chief of Hospital Medicine, and Associate Professor in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Atrium Wake, and Advocate Health.

The Hon. Robin E. Hudson served on the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 2007 to 2022, becoming the first woman elected to either appellate court in North Carolina without prior appointment. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Court, she served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 2001 to 2006. She practiced law in Raleigh and Durham until her election to the Court of Appeals, concentrating on workers’ compensation and civil and criminal litigation. She served on the Family Court Advisory Committee from 2001 to 2022 and is currently a member of several other committees and organizations of lawyers and judges. Additionally, she played key roles in founding the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and has been actively involved in various legal committees and organizations, notably as the national co-chair of the Judicial Independence Committee for the National Association of Women Judges.

Irving L. Joyner, a professor at North Carolina Central School of Law since 1982, is a renowned expert in civil rights and race law. He served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 1984 to 1992. In 2006, he was honored by NCCU law students as Professor of the Year. With three editions of his book, “Criminal Procedure in North Carolina” published, Joyner has left a lasting legacy in legal education. He is also known for his extensive community involvement, serving on state commissions and as Vice-Chairperson of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. Joyner’s influence extends to media, where he co-hosts the acclaimed show “Legal Eagle Review” and is a regular commentator on legal and civil rights issues. Over the years, Joyner has received numerous honors and awards for his work as a professor, a civil rights and criminal law litigator, as well as his work as a community and political activist.

Steve Levitas is a leading renewable energy lawyer in the Southeast, specializing in solar and biomass development and environmental regulatory matters such as wastewater and wetland permitting, remediation, and water quality policy. He served as Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources from 1993 to 1996. Prior to his tenure as Deputy Secretary, he served as Director and Senior Attorney of the North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund, which he helped found in 1987. Mr. Levitas has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America®  and Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” since 2003, as well as Chambers USA since 2004, ranking #1 from 2011–2016. His accolades include being named a “Mover and Shaker” by Business Leader Magazine and a North Carolina “Super Lawyer” since 2006. He holds an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been honored in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.

Rev. Tami Forte Logan is the Equity Missioner of Faith 4 Justice Asheville—“faith leaders in the Asheville region provoking justice for and with Black and Brown-bodied people through faith and racial equity work.” Her methodology is rooted in her faith, is trauma-responsive, somatic, and utilizes popular education, history, and compassionate truth-telling. Tami now resides in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and for over twenty years has advocated for and facilitated racial and economic justice in schools, nonprofits, foundations, government systems, and churches across Western North Carolina and throughout the state of North Carolina. Tami believes that confronting and interrupting white supremacy culture in all systems while cultivating collective liberation is vital in attaining justice for all.

Dr. Allen Mask is well-known throughout North Carolina for his long tenure as the medical reporter and commentator for WRAL-TV/NBC News in Raleigh, where he has covered health and medical news for more than 25 years. Combining his role as a physician and journalist, he has won numerous awards for his medical stories which appear on the evening newscasts. Dr. Mask is an internist as well as an anesthesiologist. He completed two residencies: the first at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and the second in anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina, where he attended both college and medical school. He practiced anesthesiology with Burlington Anesthesia Associates in Alamance County for several years. Mask is also the medical director and founder of the Raleigh Urgent Care Center, one of the oldest urgent care centers in North Carolina. In addition to his primary practice, he is also the physician for the City of Raleigh, and physician to the artists for LiveNation Entertainment.

Letha Muhammad (Co-chair) is the Co-Executive Director of the Education Justice Alliance (EJA), based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Letha is working to advance the organization’s mission to dismantle the School to Prison and School to Deportation Pipeline and to advance equity in public education across North Carolina. She believes that working with parents, students, and families that are directly impacted by inequity is one of the most effective ways for her to contribute. As such, her work includes engagement and leadership training with parents, students, and community members to ensure they know their rights and how to advocate for themselves and students. Working with other community stakeholders and organizations to bring awareness to the issue of school pushout and the criminalization of Black and Brown students is another one of her key roles as co-executive director. Letha represents EJA and serves as co-chair on the coordinating committee for Every Child NC, a statewide coalition working to ensure equitable funding for North Carolina public schools. Letha is a member of Muslims for Social Justice (MSJ). She is a wife and the mother of one school-age child and two young adults and is a proud grandmother to one grandson.

The Hon. David Price represented North Carolina’s Fourth District, the Research Triangle region, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987-94 and 1997-2022. He is a Polis Distinguished Fellow at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, and a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Duke. A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Price chaired the subcommittees on Homeland Security (2007-10) and Transportation – Housing and Urban Development (2019-22). He particularly focused on investments in mass transit and passenger rail and on enhanced funding for housing for the elderly and people with disabilities, protecting and improving manufactured housing communities, and the Choice Neighborhoods program. Price also chaired the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a bipartisan commission he initiated to work peer-to-peer to support and strengthen representative institutions in emerging democracies. He worked extensively with Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, N. Macedonia, Kosovo, Mongolia, Indonesia, Kenya, Tunisia, and Peru, among other partner countries.

Michael Schley is the founder of FM:Systems, a company that provides workplace software and technology. He led the company as CEO until his retirement in 2017 and today serves on FM:Systems’ Board of Directors. Before founding FM:Systems, he was a registered architect in Texas. He has a Master of Architecture degree from the College of Design at North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Case Western Reserve University. He is currently a director of the Michael and Karen Schley Foundation, a private foundation with a focus on education and justice. He is an elder at Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and is the founding chair of that church’s Social Justice Committee.

Aimy Steele, PhD, spearheads The New North Carolina Project, a program that launched in October 2021 to expand voter engagement and access in North Carolina. Aimy is leading this coordinated statewide field program to ensure North Carolina’s voting body is representative of its diverse population. Through the NNCP, Aimy plans to leverage her expertise in North Carolina politics, voter registration and education administration to lift the voices of the disenfranchised.  As an educator and school principal for over 10 years, Aimy combined her love of education and leadership to run for the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2018 and 2020. She came in a close second, losing by less than 2,000 and 3,000 votes each election cycle. Aimy is also CEO of Reach Consulting, which supports students to aim higher as they apply for college, earn scholarships and prepare for the SAT/ACT.

Kerrie Stewart serves as the Special Assistant to the Council on University Community, the Chancellor’s advisory committee on campus diversity at UNC Charlotte. She coordinates the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund and works with the ADVANCE FADO to promote diversity within the faculty. Kerrie is originally from Louisiana and graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. She received an MA in Sociology from UNC Charlotte, where she assisted with research on race and gender composition and academic achievement and the impact of diversity on student outcomes. She is passionate about many social justice efforts and is active in advocacy for the well-being of women and girls.

Dean Patricia Timmons-Goodson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech in 1976. She received a Juris Doctor in 1979 from the University of North Carolina School of Law. In 2014, she received a Master of Laws degree in Judicial Studies from the Duke University School of Law. From 1981 to 1983, she served as an assistant district attorney for the Office of the District Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial District in Fayetteville, North Carolina. From 1983 to 1984, she was a staff attorney for Lumbee River Legal Services. She was named a District Court judge in 1984; she was subsequently elected to four-year terms as a district judge in 1986, 1990, and 1994. In 1997, she was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She retired from that court in late 2005. In 2006, Governor Mike Easley appointed her to the North Carolina Supreme Court. Upon taking her seat in February 2006, she was the first African American woman to serve on the Court. She was elected by the voters to remain on the Court in November 2006. She made it known in November 2012 that she would resign her seat before the end of the year. In 2014, President Barack Obama appointed her to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She has served as the Vice Chair of that Commission since 2015.

The Hon. Terry Van Duyn has a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. Following a successful career in data processing, Terry refocused her energy on her community, serving on several non-profit boards, including Pisgah Legal Services, the Council on Aging, and the North Carolina Autism Society.  After witnessing the draconian cuts made by the North Carolina Legislature to essential programs that support underserved North Carolinians, she decided to run for office and served three terms in the North Carolina Senate. Terry lives in Asheville with her husband Ted.