On the Porch: Terri Mitchell – Mentoring Women in Tech

This Week: Carl Nordgren is a best-selling novelist, a teacher, and an imaginal cell. After 25 years as an entrepreneur, he taught Creativity at Duke for 14 years. He’s a two-time TEDx speaker and hosts the weekly radio show ‘Exploring your Creative Genius’ on 97.9 The Hill. His calling is to help each of us and all of us grow our creative capacities and develop our entrepreneurial instincts and behaviors, a calling that informed his book "Becoming a Creative Genius (again)". His new book, "Common Ground for US" continues that work and offers new perspectives on governance and policy making for political and community leaders. You can attend his book launch event at Golden Fig Books in Carrboro on June 4, by clicking the show title above.

This Week: Tiffany Muller is the President of End Citizens United. She has helped grow the group into a nationwide organization with more than 4 million members and 1 million grassroots donors. Before leading End Citizens United, Tiffany was Deputy Political Director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where she worked with top Senate races. She also served as chief of staff to two members of Congress, ran a political research firm, and was Vice President of Political Operations at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. As a member of the Topeka City Council, she led successful efforts to expand anti-discrimination protections. 

This Week: Graig Meyer is the Executive Director of the NC Justice Center where he will continue to "prioritize decisions and policies that make our state safer, healthier, more fair, and more prosperous". Meyer brings more than a decade of leadership in the North Carolina General Assembly, where he served in the House of Representatives beginning in 2013 and most recently in the State Senate representing Orange, Person, and Caswell Counties. Throughout his legislative career, Meyer championed strong public education, access to health care, economic opportunity for working families, and policies that strengthen communities across the state. Before entering public office, Graig spent sixteen years working in North Carolina’s public schools. A trained social worker and longtime public-school advocate, Graig has focused his public service on helping families connect to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. 

This Week: Lisa Sorg is the North Carolina reporter for Inside Climate News. A journalist for 30 years, Sorg covers energy, climate environment and agriculture, as well as the social justice impacts of pollution and corporate malfeasance. She has won dozens of awards for her news, public service and investigative reporting. In 2022, she received the Stokes Award from the National Press Foundation for her two-part story about the environmental damage from a former missile plant on a Black and Latinx neighborhood in Burlington. Sorg was previously an environmental investigative reporter at NC Newsline, a nonprofit media outlet based in Raleigh. She has also worked at alt-weeklies, dailies and magazines. Originally from rural Indiana, she lives in Durham, N.C.

This Week: Holly Lux-Sullivan of Heartwood Death Doula & Bereavement Care is a trusted end-of-life guide, grief counselor, and board-certified chaplain with 18 years of experience supporting people through illness. She is a respected death doula whose passion is caring for those at life’s margins, particularly during severe and terminal illness, and normalizing conversations about mortality. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she serves people facing the end of life across central North Carolina. HeartwoodDeathDoula.com

This Week: Deana Joy has spent her career working in the nonprofit sector with victims of crime. She began by working with victims of sexual violence then, in 2006, she was promoted to Executive Director of a local Children’s Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center. In 2014, Deana began working as the CEO of Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina, the state chapter for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). In 2017, Deana became a national accreditation site reviewer for National Children’s Alliance, the accrediting body of Children’s Advocacy Centers. Deana currently serves as the Chair of the Children’s Justice Act for the Governor's Crime Commission and is on the NC Human Trafficking Commission, the NCDHHS Safety Design Team, the central region Citizen Review Panel, and the statewide Mass Violence Committee.

This Week: Chef Arlena Strode is a culinary education expert and the founder of the Children's Culinary Institute. With a passion for nurturing young talents, she established the institute to inspire children to explore the art of cooking. Her award-winning curriculum is taught in over a dozen places worldwide, and she is the author of five amazing children's biographies about chefs in history who changed our culinary world. Chef Arlena's innovative approach combines interactive, hands-on experiences with a strong emphasis on education and creativity. Under her leadership, the institute continues to cultivate the next generation of chefs and food enthusiasts.

This Week: Rebecca Sommer-Petersen was born and raised in Winston-Salem and Chapel Hill. She spent her adult years in New York and Massachusetts, where she earned 2 master's degrees from Boston University School of Theology. Rebecca has worked in a variety of church and social service settings, including early childhood, youth development, camp and conference program design, and adult services. Rebecca returned to NC in 2021 and became the Director of The Salvation Army service center in Chatham County, fitting her skills in Social Services and Ministry. She lives in Chatham County with her husband and her dog Ivy.  Julianne Kluk is a South Carolina native and proud University of South Carolina alumna who is passionate about helping others overcome difficult moments. She has worked with The Salvation Army for the past year and a half as a Case Manager Specialist, where she leads the Pathway to Success program. Through this program, Julianne supports individuals and families experiencing crisis, helping them access resources, build stability, and take meaningful steps toward a more secure and hopeful future.

This Week: Rhonda Jean is the founder of Nearby Nearby, a local discovery platform built specifically for rural communities. After struggling to find accurate, up-to-date information when she moved to Pittsboro, North Carolina, Rhonda began building tools that make it easier to discover nearby businesses, events, parks, trails, and community resources all in one place. Nearby Nearby shows results based on what’s actually nearby, using location and community-verified information rather than paid ads. Rhonda is a rural innovator and community advocate focused on strengthening local economies, civic pride, and community resilience through better access to local information.

This Week: Jordan Jones is a musician, educator, and business strategist from Durham, NC. Throughout his career, he has worked as a performing musician, studio engineer, and educator. He has played with many groups including the US Army National Guard, Royal Jelly, and Liquid Pleasure. Recently he marched in the 2026 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena,CA. He now focuses on helping creative spaces and entrepreneurs develop sustainable revenue models around their work. Outside of his professional work, Jordan enjoys bowling, fishing, painting, and spending time with his family.