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On The Porch

On The Porch: A Conversation with Vicki Newell of Chatham Literacy

Vicki Newell is in her 12th year with Chatham Literacy as the Executive Director. While staying home for six years to raise her three sons, she volunteered on the boards of Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services and the PTA of Pittsboro Elementary School. Vicki has a master’s degree in health communication from Johns Hopkins University and worked for six years with the Smart Start Initiative as a health specialist at the state level and as a program director at the Chatham County level. A former member of the Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vicki speaks French and Tshiluba (with a lot of effort). www.chathamliteracy.org

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Cheryl Chamblee and Selbe Bartlett of the Chatham Arts Council

This Week:

Cheryl Chamblee has 25 years of experience as a nonprofit leader, writer, educator, and theater artist. Now in her eleventh year of leadership at the Chatham Arts Council, she currently serves as Artistic Director. Cheryl led the launch of the Chatham Arts Council’s new identity in 2014, including the creation of their Chatham Artists-in-Schools Initiative, now serving 15 schools every year. Cheryl believes the arts save lives.

Selbe Bartlett is the part-time Managing Director for the Chatham Arts Council. A Chatham County resident since 2004, she served on the Chatham Arts Council board from 2016-2021. Then after 20 years of executive leadership in Healthcare IT, Selbe shifted her focus and is dedicated to finding ways to bring Chatham youth arts experiences that build a love of the arts, ignite the creative, and strengthen resilience. www.chathamartscouncil.org

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Brent Levy and Jennie Knowlton of The Quiltmaker Cafe

This week, Jennie Knowlton is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Quiltmaker Café, an upcoming nonprofit restaurant in the Pittsboro area that offers a full menu but no pricing. Having experienced food insecurity several different times in her life, Jennie’s top priority for the Café is to serve delicious, healthy, dignified meals in a supportive atmosphere.

Brent Levy is pastor of The Local Church, an unapologetically inclusive United Methodist faith community in Chatham County. As a board member for The Quiltmaker Café, Brent gets to lean into his passion for building beloved community through holy friendship and table fellowship.

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Melissa Driver Beard and Rebecca Hankins of CORA

This week, Melissa Driver Beard, Executive Director of Chatham Outreach Alliance (“CORA”), oversees all plans and programs within the Pantry.  Melissa has worked in the nonprofit sector for 28 years and has served in an executive capacity for the past 21 years. She has worked at the local, state, national, and international levels, championing basic human needs and rights issues. She has worked indirectly and directly in food insecurity since 2009.

Rebecca Hankins, Director of Development and Communications of Chatham Outreach Alliance (“CORA”), is a dedicated change agent. She has spent over 19 years honing her skills as a fundraiser, communication specialist, project manager, and invaluable Jane of all trades. Rebecca is dedicated to ensuring program and partnership sustainability and embraces creativity, collaboration, community, and technology.

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Tych Cowdin

Tych Cowdin is the Executive Director of Communities in Schools in Chatham County where he helps CIS achieve their mission “to surround students with a network of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.” Tych joined the CIS team in July 2014 as the organization’s first student support specialist and has served in a number of capacities with the agency, most recently as Director of School Based Programs. Tych came to NC from Topeka, Kansas after completing his MBA at Washburn University. He’s been an Operations Assistant with the UNC football team, a teacher, coach, and mentor, and is excited for the opportunity to utilize his people skills and passion for community development.

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Adam & Fiquet McIntyre, Part 2

Adam V. McIntyre is CEO of Vivus Viridis, LLC and a 23 year veteran of the environmental industry with a primary focus on ecological restoration. Adam is considered a national leader in ecological restoration. Adam is a watershed hydrologist (ecologist) and has used his understanding of the complexities of ecosystems to shape technical approaches, investment strategies, and policy decisions to further protect our natural resources. Fiquet B. McIntyre is President of Faircreek, LLC and is one of the Triangle’s most creative land experts having worked in multiple aspects of land use (farming, residential/commercial development, and conservation). Fiquet has developed a “landowner first” approach and has worked in many states to understand and implement land use techniques to maximize value and help clients achieve both their personal and financial goals.

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Adam & Fiquet McIntyre, Part 1

Adam V. McIntyre is CEO of Vivus Viridis, LLC and a 23 year veteran of the environmental industry with a primary focus on ecological restoration. Adam is considered a national leader in ecological restoration. Adam is a watershed hydrologist (ecologist) and has used his understanding of the complexities of ecosystems to shape technical approaches, investment strategies, and policy decisions to further protect our natural resources. Fiquet B. McIntyre is President of Faircreek, LLC and is one of the Triangle’s most creative land experts having worked in multiple aspects of land use (farming, residential/commercial development, and conservation). Fiquet has developed a “landowner first” approach and has worked in many states to understand and implement land use techniques to maximize value and help clients achieve both their personal and financial goals.

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Elizabeth Haddix, Part 2

Elizabeth Haddix recently served as the sole attorney and full-time staff person in the only regional office of the Washington DC-based Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, managing a full docket of voting rights, education, and environmental justice high-impact litigation until May 2022. From 2010 through 2017, Elizabeth was Senior Staff Attorney at the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights where she expanded the focus of the Center’s community-based advocacy and led the Center’s innovative environmental justice docket. Before 2010, Elizabeth practiced employment and civil rights law with the firm of Edelstein & Payne in Raleigh. Elizabeth grew up in Mississippi, earned her B.A. from Duke University, and taught public high school in Eastern North Carolina before earning a J.D. from the UNC School of Law in 1998. 

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Elizabeth Haddix, Part 1

Elizabeth Haddix recently served as the sole attorney and full-time staff person in the only regional office of the Washington DC-based Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, managing a full docket of voting rights, education, and environmental justice high-impact litigation until May 2022. From 2010 through 2017, Elizabeth was Senior Staff Attorney at the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights where she expanded the focus of the Center’s community-based advocacy and led the Center’s innovative environmental justice docket. Before 2010, Elizabeth practiced employment and civil rights law with the firm of Edelstein & Payne in Raleigh. Elizabeth grew up in Mississippi, earned her B.A. from Duke University, and taught public high school in Eastern North Carolina before earning a J.D. from the UNC School of Law in 1998. 

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On The Porch: A Conversation with Judge Todd Roper, Part 2

Judge Todd Roper is the District Court Judge for Chatham and Orange Counties. In his 30-years in Chatham County, Judge Roper has raised three children, coached children’s sports teams, participated in many community organizations, and litigated cases in the State Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court.

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