Advisory Council

Advisory Council members support PEA's strategy and programs by sharing expertise, supporting staff, and creating community connections. 

Eric Aft
CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC

Michael Banner
Founder, Island CultureZ

Michael "Magneto" Banner is the founder of Island CulturZ, a group working to build grassroots infrastructure and community resilience in East Winston, with a focus on urban farming and land reclamation. A self-described "Original from Da Island Community," Michael plays an important role in the local dialogue around sustainability and community self-reliance and has created an inspiring narrative from his rallying call of #NoSleepTilIsland.

William M. Barnette
Director, Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection
Forsyth County

Minor Barnette serves as Director of the Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection.  He has been employed by Forsyth County government for over 33 years, working to protect public health and the environment in the local community.

 

 

Iris L. Cole
Partner, M Creative

Iris is a social entrepreneur and Founding Partner of She Raises the Bar, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability consulting firm, and Do Good Artist, a social impact design firm. Her background includes 20+ years of experience working as an executive and CSR/sustainability consultant in both the public and private sectors. Iris currently serves as the Co-President of the REACH Women’s Network and immediate past Board President for the Hispanic League. She also serves on the boards of Piedmont Federal Savings Bank, Reynolda House, Leadership Winston-Salem, Arts Council, Flywheel Foundation, Senior Services, WS/FCS Equity Advisory, and the Forsyth County Early Childhood Education Task Force. 

Dr. S. Shree Dorestant
Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Greensboro

Shree leads the continued development of the City of Greensboro Office of Sustainability and Resilience with varied programs and initiatives, and is responsible for transforming the shift toward a more sustainable future for City operations and beyond. Shree has a broad professional background in the public sector encircling agricultural conservation, biological sciences, sustainability and overall environmental analysis. Before relocating back to NC in May 2022, Shree worked for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a Stormwater Management Program Plan for all major boroughs of NYC. Shree earned her doctoral degree in Environmental and Social Sustainability from Colorado Technical University. She loves upcycling, eco-art projects, eating farm-to-table meals, and exploring nature’s natural oasis.

Sharee Fowler
Director, Nonprofit Management and Community Leadership Program, Salem College

T. Sharee Fowler is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Nonprofit Management and Community Leadership Program at Salem College and serves as a co-director for Salem's Center for Women's Political Engagement and Public Service. She has 20+ years of experience working to advance meaningful social change through community organizing, advocacy, and systemic transformation strategies. In addition to teaching, Sharee is a certified facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage and Renewal and currently co-facilitates Circle of Trust© gatherings for individuals working in the nonprofit and public sectors. She also serves on the Forsyth Freedom Federation’s steering committee, the 18 Springs Community Healing Center’s advisory board, and is a member of the Voices of God’s Children, a multi-racial community choir dedicated to the preservation of African-American spirituals as a musical art form.

Gayle Goldsmith 
Environmental Attorney/ Director of Global Stewardship

Gayle has been working on environmental issues since the late 70s.  She has a master’s degree in environmental science; and is an attorney with a master’s degree in environmental law. Concern for environmental issues has been a driving force and impetus for her work with citizen groups, and with governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations. She is currently on the board of International Human Rights Consortium (IHRC) as the Director of Global Stewardship and is the Chair of NC Climate Solutions Coalition.

Will Hendrick
Environmental Justice Director, North Carolina Conservation Network

As Environmental Justice Director, Will works to ensure the meaningful involvement and fair treatment of impacted community members in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, rules, and policies. Before joining NC Conservation Network in 2021, Will worked as a litigator and policy advocate with Waterkeeper Alliance, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

Megan Hoyt
Executive Director, REACH Women’s Network

Megan Hoyt (she/her) is the Executive Director of REACH Women’s Network, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing economic development and promoting gender equity in the workplace. Megan has over a decade of experience in nonprofits as a fundraiser and in higher education as a networking and career coach. As a macro social worker, Megan is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in her professional roles and personal life. Deeply rooted in Winston-Salem, Megan grew up here, earned her Bachelors of Arts from Wake Forest University and her Masters of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She and her husband, Cody, are proud to be raising their two young children, Rosemary and Leo, in this community. A lover of icebreakers, podcasts, and ice cream, in the middle of a good conversation is Megan’s favorite place to be.
 

Allen Joines
Mayor, City of Winston-Salem

James Allen Joines earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Appalachian State University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Georgia, and an honorary Doctor of Law from Wake Forest University. First elected mayor of Winston-Salem in 2001, Joines has been re-elected seven times, most recently in 2024, making him the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. His leadership has focused on economic growth and community unity. During his tenure, more than 30,000 jobs have been created through the recruitment or expansion of 70 companies. His vision is for Winston- Salem to rank among the nation’s top 50 metro areas and be recognized for innovation and adaptability.

Stan Meiburg
Executive Director Emeritus, Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability

Stan Meiburg is the retired Executive Director Emeritus of the Andrew Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University. His three years as Executive Director of the Center followed five years as the Director of Graduate Studies in Sustainability and a 39-year career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Meiburg served as EPA’s Acting Deputy Administrator, the agency’s second highest position. He also served in senior career positions as EPA’s Deputy Regional Administrator in the Southeast and South Central regions of the United States, as well as EPA offices in Research Triangle Park and in Washington, DC. Dr. Meiburg served on the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission between 2017 and 2021 (Chair 2019-2021) and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He holds a B.A. degree from Wake Forest, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins University.

John Morrison
Climate Capital Executive Staff, Self-Help Credit Union

John is a 45 year veteran in the energy industry, devoting his career to making the supply and use of energy more affordable, safer, and cleaner. His career has included time working with solar energy start-ups, government, utilities, non-profits and academia; conducting research, developing and
implementing policy, and bringing new technologies to market. A colleague once called him the “decathlete of clean energy,” but truth be told he just gets easily bored. In his current role at Self-Help he is helping the financial non-profit expand consumer and commercial lending for clean energy (e.g. solar, EV’s, energy efficiency.) John was a founding member of the Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance and the first chair of its Political Action Committee, at a time when the combination of favorable state policy and scrappy start-ups vaulted North Carolina to a #2 ranking of states deploying solar energy. He has spent time in Washington and Raleigh, lobbying legislators, meeting with White House and the Governor’s staff and testifying before the US International Trade Commission. John is a long-time resident of North Carolina, living in Chapel Hill with his wife Dr. Mary Anne Dooley. He has degrees in Engineering from Yale and Stanford Universities, and earned an MBA from Harvard
University.

Margaret Norfleet 
Co-Founder/CEO of Beta Verde

Margaret Norfleet Neff is the Co-Founder/CEO of Beta Verde, a multi-pronged creative collaborative with sustainable food at the core of its programming.  Margaret takes on challenging projects that create synergy and economy in target communities where food, people and creative thinking are key players. Margaret’s extensive experience in creating for profit and nonprofit businesses (including landscape architecture, a theatre company, an award winning jam and pickle line, and the Cobblestone Farmers Market) has led her to consulting on adaptive reuse development projects across the country that embrace essential food components such as kitchen incubators/accelerators and food markets, each responding to the need for job opportunity and greater access to sustainably produced food.

Stephen Sills
CEO, Innovative Research Insights 

Dr. Stephen J. Sills is CEO of Innovative Research Insights (IRI), a research and evaluation firm specializing in housing policy, community development, public health, and social equity. With over 20 years of experience as an applied sociologist, he brings deep expertise in program evaluation, mixed-methods research, and community-based participatory approaches to complex social problems. As Founding Executive Director of the Center for Housing and Community Studies at UNC Greensboro (where he retains affiliated researcher status), Dr. Sills established himself as a leading voice in housing and community resilience. Through IRI, Dr. Sills leads applied research for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and foundations across the nation. Beyond consulting, Dr. Sills drives community impact as a board member of the ACLU of North Carolina, Triad Health Project, and Partnership for Prosperity. He co-chairs the Forsyth County Humane Housing Network, bringing research rigor to local housing equity initiatives. 

Russell Smith
Professor of Geography at Winston Salem State University

Dr. Russell M. Smith is a Professor of Geography in the Department of History, Politics & Social Justice at WSSU and the Faculty Lead for the Spatial Justice Studio at the Center for Design Innovation (SJS @ CDI). His research interests include a variety of topics related to spatial (in)justice including: local government boundary change and urban sustainability.  Dr. Smith supports projects, programs and initiatives aimed at addressing spatial (in)justice issues on campus and in the local community.

Terri LeGrand
PEA Co-founder and Climate Reality Project Leader

Terri LeGrand is a lawyer, college administrator, and community advocate who lives in Forsyth County, North Carolina, with her family. She currently serves as the Director of Enrollment Integrity and Optimization at Wake Forest University, where she specializes in compliance and student information systems. A passionate community advocate, Terri is the co-founder, past-President, and former Executive Director of Piedmont Environmental Alliance. Terri received training from Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in 2019. Since that time, she has shared Vice President Gore’s slide show dozens of times.  Terri looks forward to sharing with you this presentation and to answering your questions about the existential threat of our time, Climate Change.

Kyana Young
Professor of Engineering at Wake Forest University

Dr. Kyana Young is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering and Department of Biology at Wake Forest University.  She is a member of the Center for Functional Studies and a faculty member of the African American Studies program. Her interests include water treatment (drinking, stormwater runoff), human rights, disaster relief, education, social action, K-12 outreach, and more at the intersection of environmental engineering and public health, with previous water treatment technology projects in Haiti, India, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, and China. Dr. Young currently serves as the Water and Health Committee co-chair, and a Governing Councilor in the Environment Section with the American Public Health Association and as the co-Director of the Girls as Citizen Scientists program in Forsyth County. She was also involved in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as an executive editor for the Global Water Pathogen Project at Michigan State University.

Nancy Young
Retired Public Relations Professional

Nancy Young worked in all areas of public relations for more than 40 years, including serving as director of corporate affairs for Sara Lee Personal Products, corporate vice president of communications and community relations for Russell Corporation, and retiring as director of public and media relations at Winston-Salem State University. She has served on the board of numerous nonprofits locally, as well as the Centers for Nonprofits in North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.