The UNC Greensboro Foundation’s mission is to champion UNCG students and connect them with the resources and opportunities that will transform their lives. We envision a Board that leads the wider community to invest in every UNCG student’s success and build a foundation for lifelong connectivity.

In 1966, 42 local business and civic leaders joined forces to establish The Excellence Fund, Inc. as a North Carolina nonprofit. The charter stated that the fund would “promote, by financial assistance and otherwise, excellence in higher education, service, and research in the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.”

In the following years, the Excellence Fund grew, both in contributions and program support for the University. After a multi-year campaign to raise $1 million, the fund reached its initial goal in 1973.

Today this organization manages approximately $150 million in combined revenue and assets. Going through a few name changes over the years, The Excellence Fund, Inc. is now legally recognized as The UNCG Excellence Foundation Inc., and locally referred to as the UNC Greensboro Foundation.

The UNCG Excellence Foundation, Inc. is exempt from federal income tax under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations to The UNCG Excellence Foundation, Inc. are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Our Mission

To champion UNCG students and connect them with the resources and opportunities that will transform their lives.

Our Vision

A Board that leads the wider community to invest in every UNCG student’s success and build a foundation for lifelong connectivity.

Goal 1 | Strengthening Board relationships and communication with current students
Strategies

• Build an annual plan for intentional engagement between Board members and students.
• Add two student representatives as ex-officio members of the Board.

Goal 2 | Increasing Board engagement in donor calls, prospecting, and stewardship
Strategies

• Achieve 100% Board participation in annual giving and the comprehensive campaign.
• Leverage Board members to identify community members and businesses that could be strong partners for student projects and philanthropy.
• Re-imagine Stewardship Committee to operate as a Development Committee.

Goal 3 | Expanding Board capacity, development knowledge, and connectivity
Strategies

• Repurpose volunteer handbook created for the campaign to be shared with Foundation Board members that includes practical tips and approaches to help Board members engage with donors.
• Better understand and leverage the strengths of Foundation Board members through the creation of an interactive member directory.
• Create at least three opportunities throughout the year to bring the Foundation Board together for activities outside of business meetings.

Officers

The 2023-2024 UNC Greensboro Foundation officers are:

Board Chair | Phaedra Grove
Vice Chair | Brad Morton
Secretary | Dolores Davis Paylor
Assistant Treasurer | Ghazala Bibi
Assistant Secretary | P. Kevin Williamson
President | Beth Fischer
Treasurer | Robert Shea

The foundation board has four standing committees: the Executive Committee, the Governance Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Stewardship Committee. The president of the foundation serves as a non-voting member of all board committees. 

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is composed of the board chair, a board vice-chair, the secretary, the chairs of each standing committee, and other directors appointed by the board. The Executive Committee has the power to transact all regular business of the foundation during the interim between the meetings of the board, subject to any limitations that may be set forth in the foundation’s bylaws.

Committee members

Phaedra Grove, Committee Chair
Brad Morton
Dolores Davis Paylor
Terri Maultsby
Lascel Webley
Sarah Shoffner

Governance Committee

The Governance Committee is composed of a board vice-chair and other directors appointed by the board. It oversees the overall effectiveness of the foundation’s governance structure, committee structure, governance documents, committee charters, and governance procedures. The Governance Committee also oversees the foundation’s Conflict of Interest Policy and succession planning for officers and committee chairs; recommends a slate of officers annually; and recommends any new board members.

Committee Members

Brad Morton, Committee Chair
Terri Maultsby
Linda Higgins
Jennifer Morris
Justin Outling

Finance and Audit Committee

The Finance and Audit Committee is composed of directors appointed by the board. The treasurer also serves as a non-voting member of this committee. The Finance and Audit Committee manages, invests, and reinvests for the operating assets of foundation endowment funds that are not designated with The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Investment Fund, Inc. and makes recommendations for any actions that are necessary to the board. The Finance and Audit Committee also plans the foundation’s annual operating budget; controls the receipt and acceptance of irrevocable gifts sponsored by the foundation; is responsible for selecting the independent CPA firm and receiving the annual audit report of the CPA firm; and ensures that the foundation is employing sound fiscal and business principles in the management of its finances and operations.

Committee members

Lascel Webley, Committee Chair
Hank Cunningham
Mesha Kemp
Alan Overbey
Lisa Johnson
Bev Cleveland

Stewardship Committee

The Stewardship Committee is composed of directors appointed to the committee. The committee serves as a resource to the Foundation in its efforts to acknowledge, recognize, engage, and be accountable to donors. They serve as advocates to interpret and voice donors’ views regarding their continual relationship with the University and the Foundation. They will advise, support, and make recommendations to the Foundation on a broad range of stewardship issues, policies, and strategies that strengthen the donor engagement and stewardship program; review and make recommendations regarding the Foundation’s donor relations/stewardship program, especially as constituent groups in need of more personalized stewardship activities are identified; and when appropriate, engage directors in stewardship activities and initiatives.

Committee Members

Carrie Stewart, Committee Chair
Jason Caldwell
Gregory Williams
Cheryl McQueary
David Galbraith
Jana Wagenseller

Board Members

Members of the Board of Directors are appointed for a three-year term from July 1 through June 30 of the third year.

PHAEDRA J. GROVE

Phaedra J. Grove ’92, ’95 MPA has cultivated a 20+ year career in human resources and currently leads Talent Acquisition and Employer Brand at Reynolds American in Winston-Salem. Her commitment to civic service includes lifetime memberships in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., NAACP, and the UNCG Alumni Association. She is also a member of the Links Incorporated and Leadership Winston-Salem Class of 2021.

Phaedra Grove is the sitting board chair of the UNC Greensboro Foundation.

BRAD MORTON

Brad Morton is a certified public accountant and has more than 25 years of finance, accounting, and management experience. He is a partner and an investment committee member of Salem Investment Partners. Previously, he served as a member of NextGen CFO, providing CFO services for small- to medium-sized businesses.  Prior to that, he was an executive at LabCorp serving on the company’s management, operating, compliance, and disclosure committees.  He began his career at KPMG.

Brad Morton is the sitting vice chair of the UNC Greensboro Foundation.

DOLORES DAVIS PAYLOR

Dolores Davis Paylor ’79 has served North Carolina as a teacher and administrator for 40 years, and in 2018, she was honored by the state with a Marvin Pittman Champions of Education Award. She holds four degrees, including two master’s and a PhD. Currently, she serves on UNCG’s Guarantee Scholars and Human Environmental Science (now HHS) boards, and is a member of several other organizations. Her aim is to leave an indelible mark as a lifelong learner and community advocate for children, young adults, and families.

Dolores Davis Paylor is the sitting secretary of the UNC Greensboro Foundation.

BETH N. FISCHER

Beth N. Fischer is UNCG’s vice chancellor for University Advancement. Prior to joining the Spartan family in 2018, she was the executive director for University Development at UNC Charlotte, where she designed and directed the UNC Charlotte $218M Exponential Comprehensive Campaign. Beth was selected by the Charlotte Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” award winner in 2009 and subsequently received the “Women in Business” award in 2017. In 2020, she received the Triad Business Journal’s “Women in Business” award. She is an active member of Women Executives and Women’s Professional Forum and she serves on the North Carolina Gift Planning Board.

As president of the UNC Greensboro Foundation, Beth Fischer serves as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board.

DEBRA TURNER BAILEY

Debra Turner Bailey ’79, ’81 MPA retired from Corning Incorporated in 2013 as their global diversity officer. With a master’s degree in human resources from Cornell University, she has also held roles as a strategic HR business partner, an HR generalist, and a director of three HR Centers of Excellence. She worked for ten years in higher education administration at Cornell University, The University of Texas at Austin, and UNCG. She is vice president of the Children’s Homes of Iredell County Board of Directors and a member of the American Heart Association Circle of Red and the Circle of Giving organizations.

JASON CALDWELL

Jason Caldwell ’03 is the founder and senior consultant for Ubuntu Consulting and a full-time adjunct professor in the Department of Management at North Carolina A&T State University. He previously served as NCAT’s interim assistant dean for Student Success, appointed by the dean of the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics, and as community college strategic partnership manager for Western Governors University North Carolina. Jason is also the former executive director of Degrees Matter, a Guilford County initiative focused on postsecondary degree completion.

PATRICIA CHAMINGS

Patricia Chamings earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at the University of Florida before completing her doctorate in higher education administration at Vanderbilt University.  She served 10 years as a flight nurse in the Tennessee Air National Guard and 20 years in the Air Force Reserve in various nursing and administrative positions; she retired as a colonel. Her civilian career has included several university faculty positions. She came to UNCG from Emory University, and worked as a professor and dean at the UNCG School of Nursing. She retired from the University in 2005 and, from 2007 to 2011, she served as interim dean at North Carolina A&T University’s School of Nursing.

BRYAN CHAPMAN

Bryan Chapman is an executive leader and a current vice president of merchandising at Kontoor Brands, Inc. He is responsible for the product segmentation and go-to-market strategies for the Wrangler Traditional Business Unit in the North American market. In 2008, he relocated from New Jersey to North Carolina and immediately became an active member within the Triad community. He became a “Big” at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Piedmont, and in 2016, he joined the organization’s Board of Directors, where he still serves.

Bryan Chapman is the sitting secretary of the UNC Greensboro Foundation.

BEV CLEVELAND

Bev Cleveland is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Finance accountable for financial oversight for Cone Health Medical Group (CHMG) and Triad Healthcare Network (THN) under the Cone Health System. In addition, Bev oversees the financial operations for THN, an Accountable Care Organization, projecting operating revenues of over $45 Million for the fiscal year 2023. Bev is a recipient of Triad Business Journal’s Women in Business Award and has served in numerous community outreach efforts and local boards, including the recent Board Chair for Guilford-High Point American Heart Association. Bev is married to Odell Cleveland and is the proud mother of three sons and two grandchildren.      

DOUG COPELAND

Doug Copeland is the executive director of business development for the commercial division of Furnitureland South, the largest furniture store in the world. His past roles include 16 years as president and publisher of the Triad Business Journal, vice president of Cone Health, and chief of staff to U.S. Congressman Richardson Preyer. He has been honored with a National Leadership Award from the National Association of Community Leadership and the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award from Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas. In 2017, Doug was presented the Maleska Leadership Service Award from Leadership Greensboro “for a lifetime of work in the area of leadership and civic engagement.”

HANK CUNNINGHAM

Hank Cunningham is a certified mortgage banker. He founded Cunningham & Company in 1990, and after selling the company, now serves as senior vice president for Highlands Residential Mortgage. He is former chair and vice chair of the Greensboro Housing Development Partnership, former chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association Residential Board of Governors, former director of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and former president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas. In 2011, he was presented the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Distinguished Service Award and inducted into the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association Hall of Fame.

DAVID GALBRAITH

David Galbraith ’92 is Vice President of Global Brand and Marketing at Mack Trucks, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C. He was previously employed by Volkswagen of America, where he served as Senior Director of Experience and Brand Partnership Marketing. Prior to Volkswagen, David spent almost 20 years in the technology sector, serving in communications, strategy, and brand management at Dell and IBM. David earned his BA in information systems and management from UNCG and his MBA in international marketing from American University in Washington, D.C. David and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Camryn and Spencer.

LINDA HIGGINS

Linda Higgins ’72 was president and co-founder of One Design Center, a Greensboro interior design and space planning firm. Since closing the company with fellow UNCG alumnae Cyndi Folds and Anne Bowers in 2016, she offers services as an independent commercial interior design consultant. Linda served on the UNCG HES Foundation Board for more than 20 years, and was recognized as an Outstanding Alumni by receiving the HES (now HHS) Pacesetter Award. She was a charter member of the Construction Professionals Network (CPN) of North Carolina, and in 2008 CPN honored her with an Outstanding Service Award.

LISA JOHNSON

Lisa Johnson worked in marketing and management at IBM for more than 12 years before starting her event planning and design consulting business. Active in her community, she currently is serving her second term on the Weatherspoon Art Museum Advisory Board of Directors as secretary and on the executive committee. She has served for six years on the boards of the Music Academy of North Carolina and GreenHill, and she is past president of both boards. She has been involved with fundraising and chaired committees for many organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Greensboro Day School, Episcopal High School, and the Junior League.

MESHA BOND KEMP

Mesha Bond Kemp ’95 is the Chief of Staff for Silicon Valley Bank, A Division of First Citizens Bank. In addition to her Chief of Staff responsibilities, she also is Head of Strategy & Operations. Mesha has a commitment to diversity recruiting and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  She has been both a sponsor and speaker for Women in Leadership, Women in Information Technology, Military and Spouse Employee Resource Groups, Simmons Leadership for Women and a sponsor and company recruiter for National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Mesha is a proud US Air Force wife with four children.

TERRI MAULTSBY

Terri Maultsby is a former teacher, with experience at the Green Vale School (New York), Canterbury School, and Greensboro Day School. After retiring from K-12 education in 2013, she completed certification for health coaching and yoga instruction. Today, her business Think.Eat.Grow. provides wellness education programs, classes on healthy eating habits, and cooking instruction. 

CHERYL MCQUEARY

Cheryl McQueary previously served as deputy administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration with the U.S. Department of Transportation and as special assistant to the chief information officer at the US Department of Agriculture. Both positions were appointments from President George W. Bush. Cheryl also has 20 years of private sector experience at Bell Laboratories, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies. She has served on the TEDxGreensboro Leadership Team, the NCDOT Board of Transportation, and the boards of the Greensboro Transit Authority, NC Global TransPark, and the United Way of Greater Greensboro, among others.

JENNIFER MEE MORRIS

Jennifer Mee Morris ’86 is an international flight attendant with United Airlines and the former director of marketing and sales for Paces Construction Company in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently serves on the UNCG Alumni Leadership Board as vice president and as an executive committee member, and she has served as chair of the University’s Alumni Engagement Committee and as a member of its executive committee. Her volunteerism has also extended to the Sandy Springs Education Force, at her local public high school, where she has aided as a student mentor through the program Students Achieving in Life.

JUSTIN OUTLING

Justin Outling ’05 is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and a partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, L.L.P. Justin, a former Greensboro City Council member, is an alumna of UNC Greensboro and the Duke University School of Law. Prior to joining Brooks Pierce, Justin served as a federal law clerk to Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. of the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro. Subsequently, Justin practiced law at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton L.L.P. in New York City, where he represented financial institutions and multi-national corporations in securities and other complex litigation, as well as in criminal and regulatory matters. From 2018 to 2023, Justin and his wife, Cora, served as co-chairs of the Board of Visitors for UNC Greensboro.

ALAN OVERBEY

Alan Overbey ’86 is the leader of Kismet, a CEO/business owner peer group in the North Carolina Triad. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of Banyan Consulting Group, an employee benefits consulting firm operating in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Charlotte, NC.  He has served on the UNCG Bryan School of Business Advisory Board since 2020.  He was also appointed to the United Way of Greater Greensboro Board and chaired the Tocqueville Society campaign with his wife Lovelle ’91, ’04, ’08 MA. Alan and Lovelle have two sons and one Boykin Spaniel.

CAROLYNN RICE

Carolynn Rice ’97 MBA is the former director of quality improvement at Advanced Home Care and the wife of Cone Health CEO Emeritus Tim Rice. Named in their honor, the Tim and Carolynn Rice Center for Child and Adolescent Health is the largest facility for children in the Cone Health network. Carolynn is a former board member of Hospice & Palliative Care of Greensboro, and she previously sat on the National Conference for Community and Justice of the Triad Board of Directors.  

SARAH SHOFFNER

Sarah Shoffner ’62, ’64, ’77 PHD is professor emerita of the UNCG School of Health and Human Sciences, and she currently serves on three panels with the University’s Alumni Association board – the Alumni House Committee, the Vanguard Leadership Council, and the Woman’s College Tribute Project Committee. She is past president of the Human Environmental Sciences (HES) Foundation Board of Directors, and she now serves on the Executive Committee of the Excellence Foundation and the HES Legacy Committee. She received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the School of HES in 2006, and in 2013 UNCG recognized her with a Women of Distinction Award.

CARRIE HAGAN STEWART

Carrie Hagan Stewart is a life-long Greensboro resident. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill, she returned to Greensboro to pursue a commercial banking career with BB&T. In 2017, Carrie joined her husband and her brother in their commercial solar business, Green State Power, and is helping to grow Green State Power from a small solar business into a full renewable energy company. Carrie serves on the N.C. Council for Women, the Executive Committee of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women campaign, UNCG’s Light the Way Campaign Steering Committee, and the Greensboro Day School Alumni Board.

CAMILLE TOWNSEND

Camille Townsend ’65 AAS had a 40+ year career in health care and has volunteered with several community organizations. She was president of the American Cancer Society Greensboro chapter and served as a board member and officer to the Greater Greensboro Society of Medicine Alliance, the Medical Society/Alliance Endowment Fund, and the Guilford Medical/Dental Managers Association. She now serves on the UNCG Nursing Advisory Board, the Greensboro Sports Council, and the Earlier.org Board of Directors, a local breast cancer organization. Camille is an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro and volunteers as the coordinator for an outreach ministry called Hot Dish and Hope.

JANA WAGENSELLER

Jana Wagenseller ’76 has been president of her health care consulting business, Jana Wagenseller LLC., since 2004. She retired as associate director at the Duke Oncology Network, after being instrumental in the development of the Duke Cancer Center’s affiliation program. Prior to that, she worked as a registered nurse for Duke University Medical Center and became head nurse in the oncology department. She is the first UNCG School of Nursing graduate to preside as president of the University’s Alumni Association Board.

LASCEL WEBLEY

Lascel Webley ’94 is Director of Compliance Audit at Labcorp in Burlington, N.C. Previously, he worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. He earned a BS in finance from UNCG and his master’s in business administration and health administration from Pfeiffer University. A proud alumnus, he led the effort to establish the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.’s Mu Iota Endowment at UNCG. He served as Board Chair of Alliance Healthcare from 2012 to 2014 and was recently elected to the board of the Lincoln Community Health Center Foundation, which provides health care to medically underserved patients in Durham, N.C.

GREGORY REYNALD WILLIAMS

Gregory Reynald Williams ’95 is an attorney who was born and raised in Bolivia, N.C. He graduated with a BA in political science from UNCG, where he was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team. He pursued a career in financial planning services at Northwestern Mutual, focusing on individuals, families, and small businesses, and subsequently opened his own business, Williams Financial, LLC. He feeds his passion for basketball by working as a referee at the high school and junior college levels, Men’s Divisions, I, II, and III, and the NBA Developmental League (NBDL).

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