RALEIGH, NC -- On June 10, 2024, Governor Roy Cooper announced Boards and Commissions appointments.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Brain Injury Advisory Council:

• Joy B. Futrell of Ahoskie as a director of a local management entity of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services. Futrell is the CEO of Trillium Health Resources. She is the former CEO of Roanoke-Chowan Human Services.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Credit Union Commission:

• Deborah H. Trotter of Concord as a member with three years' or more experience as a credit union director or in management of state?chartered credit unions. Trotter is the President and CEO of Charlotte Fire Department Credit Union and has over 40 years of experience in the credit union industry.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Emergency Response Commission:

• Mary Beth Newns of Currituck as a representative of emergency managers in North Carolina. Newns is the emergency management director for Currituck County, where she has worked for 22 years.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Board of Registration for Foresters:

• Caela D. Brooks of Oakboro as a registered forester. Brooks is a forester at Gelbert, Fullbright & Randolph Forestry Consultants, working with both private and industrial clients.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs:

• Saira Estrada of Charlotte as a member at-large. Estrada is the Language Access and Immigrant Integration Coordinator for the City of Charlotte. She is the former director of outreach and language access for the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network.
• Ricardo Bello Ball of Bryson City as a member at-large. Bello Ball is the Executive Director of UNIDXS, a nonprofit working to address social, economic, educational, and cultural inequities in Western North Carolina.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees:

• Avril Pinder of Asheville as a county manager of a county participating in the North Carolina retirement system. Pinder has been the Buncombe County Manager since 2019. She is the former Deputy County Manager of New Hanover County.
• Benjamin F. Bobzien of Rocky Point an active or retired member of the Firemen’s and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund. Bobzien is a fire captain with New Hanover County Fire Rescue and has over 24 years of experience in fire service.
• Mathew M. Calabria of Fuquay-Varina as a county commissioner participating in the retirement system. Calabria has served nearly a decade on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. In 2015, the Triangle Business Journal named him one of the Triangle’s “40 Under 40.”
• Wilson Weaver of Winston-Salem as a law-enforcement officer whose employer participates in the North Carolina retirement system. Weaver is the Assistant Chief of Police for the city of Winston-Salem. He has served in this role since February of 2014.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Marine Fisheries Commission:

• Alfred L. Hobgood IV of Atlantic Beach as a person actively engaged in recreational sports fishing in coastal waters in North Carolina. Hobgood is the Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor at Hobgood Peatross Investment Group of RBC Wealth Management. He has over 24 years of financial services experience.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Morehead City Navigation and Pilotage Commission:

• Charles Herty Piner III of Morehead City as a representative of maritime interests. Piner retired after over 20 years as a Quality Assurance Specialist for the North Carolina State Ferry Division. Piner has an extensive career as a tug master and docking pilot at the Morehead City Port.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Ports Authority Board of Directors:

• Jennifer Mundt of Raleigh as a member at-large. Mundt is the Assistant Secretary for Clean Energy Economic Development at the North Carolina Department of Commerce. She represents North Carolina in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources and the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council:

• Franklin Gomez Flores of Siler City as a rural county government representative. Flores is a Chatham County Commissioner representing District 5. He is a member of the Chatham County Board of Health.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice:

• Berenice Malagón of Chapel Hill as an appropriate representative from local and state government, academic institutions, and research or advocacy groups. Malagón is a public relations and communications specialist for El Centro Hispano. She is an Emmy award-winning journalist and social justice advocate with more than 20 years of experience working in Latin America and the United States.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service:

• Natalia Mejia of Concord as a member selected among local educators. Mejia is a teacher at CC Griffin Stem Middle School in Cabarrus County Schools and was named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2023 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor's Western Residence Board of Directors:

• Linda Marshall of Asheville as a member at-large. Prior to her retirement, Marshall was the budget assistant for the UNC-Asheville Athletics Department. She is also the former medical staff development coordinator at Rutherford Hospital and co-founder of Carolinas Association of Physician Services.
• Kelsey Owle of Cherokee as a member at-large. Owle is a school counselor at Cherokee Central High School.
• Stiles Rader Rockey of Asheville as a member at-large. Rockey is the Dean of Students and a humanities teacher at the French Broad River Academy. She is an outdoor educator and former lead wilderness instructor with the North Carolina Outward Bound School.