Chapel Hill Magazine May/June 2020

HOW WE LIVE NOW M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 0

CHAPEL HILL • CARRBORO • HILLSBOROUGH • ORANGE COUNTY

M AGA Z I N E

Dana Gelin

Sgt. Bell

Kevin Foy

Doug Pierson

Stephanie Haines

P. H. Craig

Melissa Chappell

Lance Sawyers

Dr. Jeff Furman

Joanne Fiore

Renee Bosman

Sage Rountree

Lauren Rivers

Torey Mishoe

Nancie McDermott

Neighbors share: New realities of day-to-day life at home Page 18

Plus: Meet this year’s Women of Achievement honorees Page 48

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Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Hillsborough, Durham

CHAPELHILL MAY/J U NE 2020

C H A P E L H I L L M AG A Z I N E .CO M

Cape Lookout National Seashore

E DITO R

Jessica Stringer EDITORIAL E X E C U T IV E MANAG I N G E D I TO R

Amanda MacLaren

ASS ISTANT E D I TO R

Hannah Lee

Congrats.

You just found the historic lighthouse on the Crystal Coast.

Now it’s time to BookTheCoast.com and visit North Carolina’s Southern Outer Banks.

E DITORIAL ASS ISTANT & D I G I TA L E D I TO R

Marie Muir

E DITORIAL I N TE R N S

Janet Alsas, Katie Barham, Cam Edson, Anna Elsasser, Iyana Jones-Reese, Sterling Roberts, Maddy Rideout, Lindsay Rusczak, Anne Tate CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Callaghan, Mark Derewicz, Brandee Gruener, Moreton Neal, Jillian Ohl, Rachel Rockwell, James Stefiuk, Morgan Cartier Weston, Matt White ART C RE AT IV E D I R E C TO R

Kevin Brown

P H OTOGR A PH E R

Beth Mann

GRAP H IC D E S I G N E R

Lauren Wilkinson

North Carolina’s

southern outer banks

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C O R P O R AT E C H IE F OP E RAT I N G O FFI C E R

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V IC E P RE S IDE NT O F PLA N N I N G & DE V E LO PM E N T

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P U B L IS H E R , H EA RT OF NC W E DDI N G S

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V IC E P RE S IDE NT O F FI N A N C E & ADMINISTR AT I O N

Amy Bell

MARK E T ING M A N AG E R

Charlotte White

DIST RIB U T ION/E VE N TS D E LI V E RY

Caleb Rushing

Chapel Hill Magazine is published 8 times per year by Shannon Media, Inc. 1777 Fordham Blvd., Ste. 105, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 tel 919.933.1551 fax 919.933.1557 Subscriptions $38 for 2 years – subscribe at chapelhillmagazine.com

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L ET TE R F R O M TH E E DI TO R

Going the Distance

or me, springtime is marked by the start of Fullsteam Ahead! Run Club in Durham in March.

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This would have been my seventh season participating in the Wednesday night club and post-run beers at Fullsteam Brewery. And by the time May rolls around, Executive Managing Editor Amanda MacLaren and I would have completed a few of the 15 runs we need to earn a free pint glass and T-shirt.

But with run club canceled for the foreseeable future, I’m missing my usual routine, and I’m not alone.

Readers share how they adjust to life at home as we all social distance, starting on page 18. The anecdotes range from milestone anniversaries and spontaneous rooftop weddings to humorous looks at working at home. Some tug on the heartstrings.

In addition to our weekly runs, I share an office with Amanda, and for six years, she’s been the person I ask for help with a clever headline or a recommendation for a cool spot in the Bull City. I cannot wait to resume our Fullsteam runs (OK, jogs), but for now I have been inspired watching her run our virtual editorial meetings this past month to create a combined May issue of Chapel Hill Magazine and Durham Magazine.

This collaborative issue was a clear choice since there’s so much crossover in our communities and nowhere more so than our annual Women of Achievement issues. Some women commute from one county to work in hospitals and governments of another county, and others have ties to Chapel Hill or UNC, but now work in Durham. I’m proud to live among these trailblazers, educators and advocates; you can read more about them, starting on page 48. Discovering how 22 women pursued their passions, faced challenges and continue to contribute to their community is the lift I know we could all use this month.

 jessica@chapelhillmagazine.com

T HE COVER G ra p h i c by Kevin B rown I l l u strati on by J illia n O hl 4

MAY/JUNE

CO NT ENTS

CHAPELHILLMAGAZINE.COM

VOLUME 15 NUMBER 4

WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 48 Nida Allam

Commissioner Elect, Durham

County Board of Commissioners 50

Dr. Andrea Hayes-Jordan Surgeon-in-Chief, UNC Children’s Hospital; Division Chief, Pediatric Surgery, UNC School of Medicine

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Aissa Dearing Co-founder, Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative

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Jenny Levy Head Coach, UNC Women’s Lacrosse

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Angela Lee Executive Director, Hayti Heritage Center

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Miriam Slifkin Activist

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DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS 4 Editor’s Letter 6

Get Offline, Go Online Exhibits, classes and performances to enjoy from home

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Noted What we’ve heard around town

14 Rising Tide

Acme owner and chef Kevin

Callaghan shares his perspective

on the unity of the Carrboro community 16

Carolina on Our Mind UNC researchers lead the charge against the coronavirus outbreak

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Meals to Make at Home Moreton Neal’s recipe for cabbage and cucumber salad, roast pork rack recipe from Sam Papanikas of Bleu Olive Bistro and a shakshuka recipe from Jamil Kadoura of Mediterranean Deli

140 Engagements

Mark Anna & Katie Wintermeier

Roy Hawkins & Chelsea Whitfield

Zena Howard Principal and Managing Director, Perkins and Will

142

Weddings Brooke Archambault & Shane Barclay David “Sport” Durst & Renee’ Martin Innes James Broughton & Arwen La Dine

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Katie Ziglar Director, Ackland Art Museum

INC. 120

Biz Briefs

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Tracey Hawkins Founder, Thriving on the Spectrum LLC

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Ellen Perry Activist and Educator, Advocacy in Action

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Real Estate’s Response to Stay-at-Home Orders Residential and commercial real estate brokers share the many changes and challenges to their businesses since the pandemic began

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Jessica M. Bottesch & Ronda Williams Co-founders, Empower Personalized Fitness

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Thea Barrett & Mae McLendon 2020 Pauli Murray Award Winners

Leadership Development and Training in the Time of COVID-19 When times get tough, people look to the top for guidance. These companies help evolve the skills that businesses need to succeed.

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Peggy Walters President, Watts College of Nursing

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Tanya Moore Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Communications, UNC

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Marla Thurman Chef de cuisine, Pizzeria Toro

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Dr. Mandy Ghaffarpour Cosmetic and Family Dentist, Studio G Aesthetic & Family Dentistry

Illustration by Jillian Ohl

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Ursula Mead Founder and CEO, InHerSight

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Tiffanie Sneed Police Senior Legal Advisor, Town of Chapel Hill

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Rev. Heather Rodrigues Lead Pastor, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church

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Mary Patricia Peres-da-Silva Compact Math Teacher, McDougle Middle School

PEOPLE & PLACES 8 University Baptist Pastor’s

Retirement Celebration

FEATURES 18 How We Live Now

Our neighbors share personal

stories – the good, the bad, the

real – of their daily experiences

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Orange Chatham Association of Realtors Awards Gala

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Orange Literacy’s Writers for Readers

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SPONSORED CONTENT 104 Adopt A Pet

Meet a pup and a cat waiting on

their forever homes with the Animal

Protection Society of Durham

Closer Together We checked in with a few families whose homes we’ve featured before to find out how they are using their favorite spaces while social distancing

106 Our Top Dentists

GET OFFLINE, GO ONLINE *EV EN TS A R E SU BJEC T TO C H A N G E ; C H E C K W I TH O R G A N I Z E R S P R I O R TO ATTE N DI NG

Compiled by Maddy Rideout

FRANK Gallery Virtual Exhibit frankisart.com Explore FRANK Gallery’s virtual exhibit featuring the work of member artists and painters Carroll Lassiter and Nerys Levy, along with chairs, benches and tables by furniture artist John Parkinson. All pieces displayed are available for sale.

Girls on the Run Virtual Spring 5K gotrtriangle.org/5K Now in its 20th year, Girls on the Run of the Triangle, a positive youth development program for girls in third through eighth grades, has adapted to the coronavirus pandemic by offering a virtual event for the community. Registration is free, and everyone is invited to complete the 3.1 miles anytime, anywhere, through May 25.

“Women in Education and Business” burwellschool.org Meet the notable women who have shaped education and business in Orange County through a virtual exhibit hosted on the

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Burwell School Historic Site website. Read about these trailblazers, such as Peggy Long Faribault, who was born in 1840 and served

for years as a midwife for Hillsborough women of all races.

ArtSchool Online artscenter.live/artschool Learn a new skill with The ArtsCenter during your time at home by enrolling in a range of online courses, from pastel painting and macramé to introduction to monoprinting.

‘What Lies Beneath’ whatliesbeneathconcussion.com Photographer Martha Hoelzer illustrates the visual impairments that many concussion patients experience with her photo and

video series, “What Lies Beneath.” The project includes resources like flashcards and videos to aid patients and medical providers in diagnosing visual issues related to brain injuries.

Carolina Performing Arts at Home carolinaperformingarts.org Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) launched

CPA at Home, a new initiative in which CPA posts content related to its 2019/20 season to its website. Follow #CPAatHome on social media to catch live performances from artists such as Grammy-nominated Nathalie Joachim of Flutronix and New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels with the ‘Queen of Bounce music’ Big Freedia.

PEOP LE & P LACES

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University Baptist Pastor’s Retirement Celebration Mitchell Simpson delivered his final sermon as senior pastor at University Baptist Church (UBC) on March 1. Mitchell, a UNC alumnus, a Morehead-Cain Scholar and longtime Carolina basketball and football fan, took his position with the church in 1990. State Rep. Verla Insko and State Sen. Valerie Foushee presented him with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is awarded to individuals who have shown extraordinary service to North Carolina. Following the service, church members enjoyed a celebratory lunch during which Mitchell was named pastor emeritus of UBC. Barry Jones, former pastor at Park View Baptist Church in Durham, is serving as the church’s interim pastor.

Photography by Matt White

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1 Tonya Malinowski, Aaron Simpson, Betty Simpson, Mitchell Simpson, Ellie Bautista and Ezequiel Bautista.

2 Josephine Branham, 12, Brandi Branham, Matt Branham, Peyton Branham, 7, Freddy Branham, 7, and Ryan Branham, 10.

3 Paul Caldwell, Ashley Davoli and Phillip Smith.

4 Joe Bray and Andrew Simpson.

5 Pepper Hines, Austin Bell and Sue Adams.

P EO PLE & PLACES

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Orange Chatham Association of Realtors Awards Gala

1 Johnny Wehmann and Catherine Wehmann.

The Orange Chatham Association of Realtors (OCHAR) held its Casino Royale Awards Gala in March at Governors Club, which featured casino games, music and a photo booth. The night’s award winners included Jackie Tanner of Allen Tate Realtors (Realtor of the Year), Gayle Claris of Fonville Morisey (Broker in Charge of the Year), LaTanya Davis of TD Realty (Community Service), Paula Hoge of Franklin Street Realty (Organization Service), Marcia Vaughn of Allen Tate Realtors (Rising Star) and Robby Oakes of Robby Oakes Mortgage Team at CIMG (Affiliate of the Year). The Realtor’s Choice award, which is voted on publicly by other professionals, went to Debbie McCormick of The McCormick Team. Finally, Gary Saleeby of Debi and Gary Saleeby Real Estate won The Milestone award for his 40-plus years in the industry.

Writers for Readers On March 8, Orange Literacy’s 13th annual Writers for Readers event at The Carolina Club brought community members together to explore the connection between music and literacy with a program called “Our Universal Language: How Songs Move Us to Read.” Bill Ferris, Grammy winner and senior associate director of emeritus at UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South, moderated a panel discussion with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt and gospel singer and educator Mary D. Williams. Author Daniel Wallace emceed the event, which raised funds for Orange County adult and family literacy. Photography by Trevor Holman Photography

2 Matt Sawaia, Emma Claris, Gayle Claris and Woody Claris.

1 Diane Sasson and Brenda Rogers.

2 Daniel Wallace, longtime emcee of the annual fundraiser.

3 John Sherer, María Estorino, Thomas Grasty, Mary D. Williams, Tift Merritt, Karen Eldridge and Bill Ferris.

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NOTED. ON THE MOVE PHOTO BY BRIANA BROUGH

On April 16, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Board of Education approved

the resignation of CHCCS Superintendent Pam Baldwin; her resignation will go into effect on June 30. She has been in this role since 2017, and during her tenure, she has lowered the opportunity and performance gaps in schools for underserved students between 3%-5.8%.

SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals welcomed Georgie Clemens as its volunteer

services manager on March 2. She manages the volunteer program and oversees the Family House’s expansion.

IN OUR SCHOOLS Several UNC graduate programs received high rankings on the 2020 U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” list in March. The Eshelman School of Pharmacy was ranked the No. 1 pharmacy school, the School of Medicine ranked No. 1 for primary care and ranked in specialty areas as well. The School of Nursing, KenanFlagler Business School, the School of Law, the School of Education, the School of Government’s Master of Public Administration program and The Graduate School were also named on the top 100 list.

UNC School of Law professor John V. Orth went viral on Twitter in late March for recording his class lectures in an empty classroom with only a Pinocchio doll.

John has taught at 12

WHAT WE’VE HEARD AROUND TOWN …

UNC since 1978 and used his late wife’s doll to break the ice for online classes.

Ashley Quick-Hooker, a fourth grade teacher at Northside Elementary School,

was awarded the 2020 Reckford Teaching Prize. The $2,000 prize is awarded annually to an outstanding Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teacher who has been in the school system for at least three years.

Carrboro High School senior Fred Larsen

was selected as a member of the Jazz Band of America, a national honor ensemble.

Fred is a trombone player and a member of the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble and the Durham Jazz Impressionists.

day ended in a virtual dance-off bracket with UNC Football Coach Mack Brown, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles encouraging supporters of CFTK. In March, Durham Technical Community College donated medical supplies to UNC Health to aid coronavirus efforts. The group donated more than 3,000 individual supplies, including gowns, masks, protective eyewear, disposable gloves and hand sanitizer. Pictured is Melissa Oakley Ockert, dean of health and wellness, and Penny Gluck, executive dean of Orange County operations.

Teresa Fang, a

seventh grader from Smith Middle School,

covered Super Tuesday on March 3. Teresa has been a writer for the Scholastic Kids Press since 2018 and has also covered a rally in Durham for Bernie Sanders, a campaign event for former Vice President Joe Biden and interviewed former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

GIVING BACK Carolina For The Kids Foundation (CFTK) hosted its UNC Dance Marathon virtually

in March due to the spread of COVID-19.

CFTK raised more than $250,000 for patients and families at UNC Children’s Hospital. Participating dancers were asked to raise $24 in honor of the 24 hours they would have stood at Dance Marathon. The

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools served over 17,000 meals to more than 1,000 students during a week in March.

CHCCS partnered with bus drivers and local organizations to ensure that children in the district were fed. Partner groups include The Chapel of the Cross, Christ United Methodist Church, Church of Reconciliation and other faith communities.

Chapel Hill-based real estate company Real Estate Experts intends to plant 5,000 trees to help reforestation efforts. For each real estate transaction made, the company will donate $50 to American Forests, and clients will receive a certificate at closing stating the trees were planted in their name.

Services Association (CCSA) on March

30. The $25,000 grant will fund Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children, a CCSA program aiming to reduce obesity in young children in Durham and Orange counties. In its three years, the program has reached more than 2,500 people by targeting low-income families with children in early childhood programs. the Petco Foundation during a ceremony at the Chapel Hill PETCO. The grant will help license, microchip, vaccinate and spay/neuter free-roaming cats in Orange County and reduce pet overpopulation.

Chapel Hill High School student Perry Tseng won third prize for Best Handel TOPO Distillery began producing the

World Health Organization’s recipe for hand sanitizer in March. TOPO sells the hand sanitizer to local businesses and uses the revenue to support its free program for health care workers and others working on the front lines such as the Carrboro Police Department.

Also in March, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County

donated unused gloves, hand sanitizer, goggles and masks from its construction site to UNC Wellness for UNC Health.

Construction Manager Jesús Gutiérrez oversaw the donations.

Performance at the online Great Composers Competition on February 23.

Dr. Laura Patel was named a fellow of the

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the highest honor that a physician can receive, on March 21. She completed her residency at UNC Hospitals and serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the UNC School of Medicine.

Sarah Johnston, a Chapel Hill native and founder of Briefcase Coach, was named

“Top Voice” on LinkedIn’s Top Voices List in December. The list highlights professionals who build communities and start conversations through their articles, posts, videos and comments on LinkedIn. Dr. Douglas Phanstiel, UNC assistant

Holocaust Remembrance Writing contest hosted by the Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill. She received $250.

Miriam Abramowitz, a junior at East Chapel Hill High School, placed second and received $125.

professor of cell biology and physiology, was awarded a $3.5 million dollar grant to study genetic contributors to Alzheimer’s disease.

The five-year grant will assist his team in identifying genetic variants and genes that contribute to Alzheimer’s risk.

In March, Orange County Animal Services staff members received a $40,000 grant from

Duke Health awarded the Building Healthy Communities Grant to the Child Care

WHAT AN HONOR Ember Penney, a junior at Woods Charter School, won first place in the annual

BOOKIN’ IT Author Kristen Rademacher will release her latest book, “From the Lake House: A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love,” on July 21. The book follows her journey through motherhood and how she settled in Chapel Hill. Kristen is an academic coach and ADHD specialist at UNC and has lived in the community since 2002.

IN OTHER NEWS Marilyn Payne joined Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership as its

new marketing and communications manager. Marilyn, a UNC graduate, formerly served as a studio host for “Carolina Postgame Live” and a sideline reporter with the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Local nonprofit Amina’s Gift, founded

by Terrence Brayboy, partnered with photographer Burk Uzzle in February for a fundraising lunch. More than a dozen Chapel Hillians attended the event in Wilson, North Carolina.

Susan G. Komen North Carolina Triangle to the Coast named Krista Park Berry as its executive director

to lead the fight against breast cancer. With more than 20 years of nonprofit experience, Krista will create new partnerships with donors, breast cancer survivors, breast cancer researchers, physicians and breast cancer care supporters. She transitioned into her new role on March 16.

— Compiled by Iyana Jones-Reese CHM 13

Carrboro United masked staffers practice staying 6 feet apart before meal pickups begin.

Rising Ti de

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Acme’s owner and chef shares his perspective on the unity of the Carrboro community during hard times

By Kevi n Cal l aghan

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PHOTO BY DAVID JESSEE

years old and, oh, only 8,300 miles from my home. For at least an hour, I stared in disbelief as they went about t was my third day in Hong their day.

Kong, and I’d been oddly drawn During the last few weeks, I’ve to the many small boats that thought a lot about the Tankas. were woven together like a net.

I thought about their shared People walked among them and fierce commitment to home easily in flip-flops. There was the and community; how, literally, urgent hum of commerce – fish their lives are lashed together on being sold, along with T-shirts Cars line up in front of Cat’s Cradle to get preordered meals. a very fluid foundation and the and onions. The Tankas, or fact that they made it work. For “boat people,” had lived on this a millennium. vast flotilla of boats – their floating homes – for centuries. What As stay-at-home orders took hold in North Carolina to combat dumbfounded me was the fact that most of them would spend their COVID-19, there was a new and palpable shared sense of place in entire life among these boats without ever once setting foot on land.

Carrboro. Home was no longer a mere structure in a neighborhood Not once. That was their choice; nothing kept them from venturing or a place where you parked your car – and your ass – after work. onto land. The mere 100 feet between us was farther than these men Home quickly morphed into a network of people and businesses and and women would travel in their entire lives. And there I was, 21 interests. The fluid foundation of this community became bound

Kevin Callaghan unloads produce and a family meal from the truck.

together by shared hopes and fears. Social distancing became a language of respect and patience and mutual care. Gloves and masks became our collective haute couture.

Monday, March 16, was a hard day at Acme. That morning I sat in a stall in the men’s room and cried into my hands. I was scared for all of our jobs and our future. I was the guy who was supposed to have answers but had none. In less than a day, 75% of our staff were laid off. Indefinitely. Our business as we had known it for 22 years no longer existed. Poof! It was heartbreaking.

But within hours, a tireless team started working 100-plus hour weeks to retool a new business, Acme To-Go, from the old one. And then they jumped in to build our local food hub, Carrboro United, from the ground up, to support other local food businesses and feed our hungry neighbors. It was a big lift. Overnight, the coronavirus had undermined much of what we thought of as our home and our craft.

But it certainly didn’t take the fight out of us. No way.

Then this community showed up. And showed up. And kept showing up. People sent us letters of support from San Francisco and Boston and Nebraska. The Acme kitchen kept cooking, meal after meal. Carrboro United really began to find its footing, serving thousands of meals a week. Kids in masks waved from the back seat as we put their dinner in the trunk of the car. And for the first time, people used the twohanded heart symbol, and it didn’t feel completely cheesy to me. This community wasn’t giving up on us. Or on one another. The knots tying our boats together were just getting stronger.

Clearly, this pandemic is far from over; hard times are ahead for all of us. There is so much about our collective tomorrows that we do not understand and certainly won’t for the next several months. That’s not easy to hear, and it’s scary to write. But in this first month, the tenacity of this town’s spirit has been remarkable. It’s given me the sincere faith that we will get to the other side. And that we’ll do it together. In 30 years, I’ve never been more proud to call Carrboro my home.

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CAROLINA ON OUR MIND HAP P ENIN G S AT U N C

U N C Re se archers Lea d t he C h a rg e Ag a inst the Co ro nav irus O ut b re a k Melissa Miller and her team sprung into action early to develop a test for COVID-19.

By Mark Derewi cz

D

uring the SARS outbreak in 2002, Melissa Miller was a postdoctoral fellow at UNC working on a diagnostic test in case the outbreak turned into a pandemic that would affect North Carolina.

Thankfully, it didn’t. She did the same for MERS and H1N1, also known as swine flu or pandemic flu. North Carolina did not end up needing increased testing capabilities, but she was ready for those outbreaks, too.

In 2019, Melissa, now a professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, saw a new coronavirus appear in China. When the World Health Organization created a laboratory assay to test people for the infection, Melissa reacted well before the virus captured the attention of the world. For weeks, as director of the Clinical Molecular Microbiology Labs at the UNC Medical Center, she led a team of technicians to develop a test for coronavirus disease 2019.

She focused on identifying the new virus’ unique genetic sequence, and when she succeeded, she worked to verify her results and ramp up UNC Health’s capacity to test many samples in one day.

On March 16, the Food and Drug Administration allowed UNC Health to use Melissa’s test, in accordance with its guidance for individuals who meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria.

The FDA allowance limits the use of Melissa’s test for patients at UNC Medical Center, UNC REX Healthcare in Raleigh and UNC 16

Health affiliate hospitals across North Carolina, as well as a select number of UNC Health clinic locations. Use of this test by UNC Health entities allows for increased testing capacity at the state health department and LabCorp in North Carolina, and Melissa has applied for official FDA approval of her test under the Emergency Use Authorization authority.

On day one, Melissa’s lab had the capacity to process 120 samples for COVID-19 testing. By the end of the week, the lab was up to 300 a day, and UNC Health had purchased new equipment to boost testing capacity to 500 samples a day.

“Quickly creating and validating tests for emerging pathogens has always been part of my passion and commitment, ever since I was a fellow here during SARS,” Melissa says. “We have developed a highquality test, we have the infrastructure to roll it out, and [we] are ready to help the people of our state.”

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HOW WE LIVE NOW 18

Our neighbors share their stories – the good, the bad, the real – in the midst of the quarantine Stories have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

‘Smiling and laughing helps lighten the load’ Dr. Jeff Furman has practiced family medicine in Chapel Hill since 1985. He lives with his wife (“and high school sweetheart”), Janet, off Old Greensboro Road.

His grandson, Adam, lives nearby. “He calls me Zayde.

I am in heaven.”

D

ifficult times bring out the best and worst in us.

During this pandemic, I have been most impressed by the best parts I have seen. While reaching out to patients to be sure they are OK, I have been humbled by the concern they have shown for me and our staff. They ask how

we are doing and if there is anything they can do to help. Some have shared personal supplies and protective equipment with our office. The increased expression of gratitude and concern has softened the harshness of how our lives have changed.

I greatly enjoy the humor people are unleashing within messages and Facebook posts. Smiling and laughing helps lighten the load. I admire the creativity of people in the face of change and disruption of routine.

Dealing with change, uncertainty and chaos is definitely stressful. I worry most about those more vulnerable – those who are alone, and especially the children. Seeing a child playing or hearing them laugh is great medicine for me!

Our lives are fragile, and many of us take much for granted. I am lucky – I have a loving wife and family, a grandchild who lights up my life, dear friends, and music to strengthen and support me. My blessings are not lost on me! I hope all of us can find and cherish the blessings in our lives, and we will come through this difficult time stronger, wiser and even more caring.

‘All things considered, we feel blessed’ Tiffany Griffin and husband Dariel Heron, owners of Bright Black candle company, live in the University Estates neighborhood in Durham with Elena, their 2-year-old.

Here, Tiffany shares some reasons for her gratitude:

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e have shelter. We have safety. We have food. We have our health. Our business still exists, and we have each other. But this is not normal. All of our spring markets were canceled, and [we rely] on social media to get the word out about [the] company we are so passionate about.

We’re also still very much in the midst of finding our routine, trying to carve out mental and spiritual downtime. Elena has gone from screen time being a weekly call

a great husband to my wife, and great dad to my two young boys, but my mind wanders often to payroll and payments. Working 70 hours a week to 15 hours a week overnight. … Wow. Watching my business struggle to stay afloat is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with. When I can sleep, I wake up scared. I often catch myself wondering how long we can wait for the “lifeboats” of government bailouts and how many passengers they can really hold.

Some small businesses will go down with the ship. We plan on making it to a lifeboat and bringing others along with us. with Grandma, to 30 minutes of something educational each day and video calls to stay connected with our friends and family. Most meals are home cooked (with Elena’s help!) except once a week we get delivery/takeout at restaurants like Zweli’s, Alpaca Chicken, Only Burger and Saltbox Seafood Joint.

Daily walks. Teaching Elena how to ride a bike. Lots of chalk and bubbles and tantrums.

Overnight work sessions. Traversing SBA loan land. Water, coffee, pinot – wake up, repeat!

‘We plan on making it to a lifeboat’ Chas Pippitt is the founder and CEO of Baseball Rebellion and Softball Rebellion on Bennett Memorial Road in Durham. He and his wife, Megan, and two sons, Bryant, 6, and Tyson, 3, live in Durham’s Grandale/ Fairfield neighborhood. The outbreak is taking its toll:

‘This is the good stuff’ Kris and Scott Selig live in Durham’s Surrey Green neighborhood where they raised their four children: Kevin, 30; Anna, 28; Sam, 27; and SarahBelle, 23. Here, the couple shares some of their discoveries brought about by sheltering in place:

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n this new era, the good stuff tastes better.

Take the time to savor the flavor. This is what we are doing.

Order the tortellini alla panna from Pulcinella’s, our Woodcroft treasure. Pair it with your best red wine. Share it with your housemate or online with your Zoom freunde.

Experiment with pimento cheese (it’s good

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anuary and February were the best months in the history of Baseball Rebellion. Then, the virus.

Now, we’re in the same boat as restaurants, barbershops, nonessential retail. That boat feels like the Titanic.

My small business is in lockdown. The social distancing from my clients has me feeling socially distant [from my family]. I want to be 19

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with chopped dill pickles on fresh Guglhupf bread or melted over a steamy baked potato).

Start your workday routine a little slower than normal. Notice the change in the light and the quieter world. Doesn’t this year’s spring colors seem more vibrant? Sit on the porch. Wave at your neighbors and see if they don’t slow down a bit and stop to chat from afar.

Get a start on summer. Create great yard art. Plant flowers together in a pot or the yard (being a little dirty is fun sometimes) and appreciate finding just the right sprinkler from Triangle Ace Hardware.

Turn off the news early. FaceTime your family or friends to see how their day went.

Take the dog for a late-night walk; listen for the crickets and frogs.

This is the good stuff.

‘We have been crushing our TV shows’ Colin Starnes and wife Jessica Starnes live in Chapel Hill’s Kings Mill-Morgan Creek neighborhood with their children, Ginevieve, 14, Finnegan, 11, Ezra, 9, and Beaux, 7. Colin runs Grey Star Woodworks and Design LLC, and Jessica works for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School while managing Grey Star. Colin shares how this has affected his work and family:

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t Grey Star, we have been humbled by this whole pandemic. Seeing how strong our community is has once again reassured my family that we are raising our four children in the right town. This community has come together in an overwhelming way over the past four weeks. Our suppliers at Fitch Lumber [& Hardware] have rearranged their whole operation, and that keeps us moving forward. I love Chapel Hill, and I know that we will come out strong as ever.

[On a personal note, our family has been] eating lots of meals together. We have been crushing our TV shows. Lots of playing on the trampoline and hikes to Morgan Creek to let the kids swim. I have also been doing some 20

work on my 1963 Mercedes-Benz Unimog.

Our older two kiddos have helped me do some work on our property near Camp Clearwater. I have been doing all of our shopping solo wearing nitrile gloves and a bandana face mask. Ready for the light at the end of the tunnel, for sure.

‘We decided to elope on our apartment roof’ Nicole Cogan and now-husband Gregory Cogan met after they both moved to the area three years ago. After proposing during a trip to Asheville last year, the couple planned to host their wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains in October.

But with the outbreak, they opted for a sunset ceremony on the rooftop of their apartment in the Old Bull building at the Apartments at American Tobacco. Nicole recalls the reasons behind their decision:

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t was the one occasion we thought would bring our loved ones under one roof, or rather, onto one dance floor. In the midst of uncertainty in so many aspects of our life, whether that be health, the complexity of

crossing country borders on a work visa, or the thought of putting our dearest friends at risk traveling to celebrate with us, we decided to elope on our apartment rooftop. Our tone for the day was summed up in our vows: “I look forward to being able to celebrate our lives together with our loved ones one day, and to travel together again. But until then, I am just thankful that I get to spend my days with you. Happy, healthy and full of hope for the rest of our lives together. I love you, now and always.” Our dog, Max, stole the show, laying on my dress for most of the ceremony.

‘I am mad’ Bill Toole is the director of sales and marketing at the Hilton Durham near Duke University. He lives in North Raleigh with his wife, Cindy. They have two children: Son BJ, 25, lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and daughter Laura, 21, recently moved back after her senior year at Purdue University was cut short. “She is mad, too,” he says.

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almost feel callous using a business situation to describe the issues of the last three weeks. People are sick and dying.

However, the economic pain of this event will

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go on for quite some time. Having been in the hotel business more years than I would like to count, I thought I had seen it all. Ours is an industry used to the ups and downs of a fickle economy. We learn to ride it out.

This was different; in 72 hours, we went from a thriving, busy hotel with more than 100 fellow associates, to watching my coworkers leave our facility one by one, not knowing when they were going to come back, not knowing how they were going to pay their bills, not knowing how they were going to keep their health insurance and not knowing what the future holds.

I am in charge of sales and revenue. I have always known that if I want to slack off and ignore what needs to be done, that there are people on the line who might not get their hours next week or the week after. I am now more dedicated than ever to helping get my fellow associates back to work. It is not because I have been cleaning rooms; it is because I am mad. I am mad at this situation, and I am mad at this virus. Until three weeks ago I was quick with a joke ... a happy sales guy. I can’t wait to be that person again. That will not happen until I see every one of those team members back to the jobs and the hotel that they love.

‘Doing our work ... in very comfy clothes, sans makeup’ Jodee Nimerichter, executive director of the American Dance Festival, and husband Gaspard Louis, founder and artistic director of Gaspard & Dancers, live in the Trinity Ridge neighborhood with daughter Dahlia, 12, who attends Durham School of the Arts, and Preston, 9, who goes to Central Park School for Children.

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ife at [our house] has gotten very cozy these last few weeks! We are, for the most part, hunkered in doing work … me with American Dance Festival, Gaspard with Gaspard & Dancers, and Dahlia and Preston

with school. We each have our favorite location for doing our work, in PJs or very comfy clothes, sans makeup. The highlight of our day is when we go for a 90-minute walk as a family. We are all loving the ability to stay up late – we are night owls – and easing into our daily activities. I’m cooking more than ever, Gaspard is creating dances in the living room with the kids, and all of our screen times have gone up to a crazy level. But we are safe and healthy and finding blessings in being together during this terrible crisis.

‘I’m an alcoholic and an addict’ The author asks to remain anonymous.

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he only reason I’m not using and drinking today is because of a 12-step program of recovery, which requires daily action – usually that means meeting with other alcoholics and staying connected. COVID-19 is all about social distancing.

Overnight, our normal recovery program was stood on its head. There are no more 12step meetings like before. Prior to coronavirus, meetings were where we shared our experience, strength and hope with other alcoholics and addicts. It meant a lot of face time.

At first blush, social distancing is incompatible with recovery and sobriety. As it turns out, the two are coexisting.

Zoom enables meetings to continue, with the added bonus of being able to “attend” meetings all over the world. Texting, social media and phone conversations keep us connected. While

those were available and used before, they are now essential tools in this new normal.

Well, it took me a while to thank my higher power for this experience, but I have.

Turns out the principles of the 12 steps do not change with the times, and one of the program’s many promises is we will face calamity with serenity if we maintain our spiritual fitness.

While our method of staying connected, which helps fuel our spiritual growth, has changed, maintaining contact with other alcoholics and addicts is what keeps us sane and sober. How we alcoholics and addicts in recovery live now is different in form, but not in substance.

‘I got to teach my son how to ride a bike’ Shannon Healy is the owner of Alley Twenty Six and a co-owner of Crook’s Corner. He lives in Durham’s Duke Park neighborhood with his wife, Andrea Edith Moore, a classical singer and voice teacher, and their son, Michael, age 4.

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esterday, I taught my son how to ride his pedal bicycle. It was a big day for Michael … and me. It wasn’t without challenges. There was that mailbox that snuck up on him when he was looking the other way. But he got back on the bike.

Later, his back tire slid out from under him while he was making a turn and sent him to the ground, but he got back up on his bike. I was proud.

I could write about how it felt to furlough almost 60 people: Shitty. Or 21

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the creditors that I have had to ask to defer payments to until … well … who knows when?

It is one thing to have that conversation with a utility or some larger financial institution, it is another to have that with a small business who depends on your prompt payment for their survival. Or [I could write on] the confusion about the avalanche of acronyms the government has sent to help us – SBA, PPP, QIP, EIDL, PPE, NCDES – and the quicksand of changing rules or understanding of each.

I deal with all that, but how I live now is … yesterday, I got to teach my son Michael how to ride a bike. He faced something new, it was challenging, he kept getting back up, and I was there. I am so proud of him.

‘The work expands to fill each day, not that I have any idea what day it actually is’

‘Each day seems a little bit easier’

t seems like this would be a great time to get stuff done – no commutes, no carpools, no sporting events, no social events, no dentist appointments, no last-minute scrambles for the missing ingredient to complete the project that’s due tomorrow.

And yet. Finding the time to write a few paragraphs about life in a pandemic while navigating said life did not prove to be easy.

“WFH” for me and “remote learning” for a middle schooler and a high schooler all feel like those pellets you put in water and watch slowly grow into dinosaurs or cows. The work expands to fill each day, not that I have any idea what day it actually is.

As many cope with incredible sadness and loss, I recognize how fortunate I am to be navigating mere inconvenience. It’s mind-boggling to think about the ripple effects of this time, but I’m determined that some will be positive.

Melissa Chappell is the executive director of the Durham Technical Community College Foundation. She lives in Durham’s Woodcroft.

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ach day seems a little bit easier to integrate structure and variety into the stay-athome life. On the work front, it’s been encouraging to see how well the community has responded to support our students with technology and food. Personally, I’ve used the extra time and beautiful weather to work more in my yard – it needed some TLC. I found handmade fiber hearts embedded with wildflower seeds on Etsy, and I’m planting them and sharing them with friends by mail!

Dana Gelin lives in Glen Lennox with her kids, East Chapel Hill High student Atticus, 15, and Culbreth Middle student Sawyer, 13. Dana works as associate director of UNC Athletic Communications, most recently from her living room.

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As we ease back toward normal – that is to say, when I wear something other than sweatpants and my kids watch fewer than four episodes of “The Office” per day – I vow to appreciate in-person conversations from closer than six feet (but also keep up the Zoom happy hours with far-flung friends and family who have been a genius bright spot in this bizarre time). I will savor the return of my kids’ school sporting events, even when it feels stressful to leave the office early enough to get there on time. And I will never again take for granted the luxury of buying toilet paper any time I choose.

‘I fear restaurants will be given last priority’ Daniel Sartain owns Durham’s Bar Virgile (“Which will hopefully turn 6 this year,” he says.) and co-owns Annexe (“which was five days old when we shut down”). He’s a single father of Naomi, 9, and JoJo, 5. They live in Forest Hills. The following is a Facebook post (“It’s a snapshot of my emotions.”) that Daniel is allowing us to reprint, with his added comment: “I stand by my words, but I feel it’s important to note: Cuisine and dining are a huge part of a society’s culture, and I see the places that house this form of art as being essential. We are giving it a go – we are problem solvers – and people seem to be really grateful that we are.”

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don’t think bars and restaurants will be able to reopen in 2020. Man, I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think it will happen. I fear we will be considered high-risk areas and will be given last priority in reopening. This will 22

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decimate the industry. I read of someone saying that this is OK because there will be a second wave of entrepreneurs ready to take on the new challenge. Umm, what? Who? The people who own quality dining establishments have dedicated the majority of their lives to this craft. You don’t take classes for this. Sure, there are business classes and culinary school, but the real-life chops that are required to sustain a healthy business and quality work environment are intangible. It’s not like other businesses, not by a long shot.

I’m not groveling or pouting. I’m deeply concerned. I’ve come to know and love so many great bars and restaurants. To think that they might not be there on the other side of this is gut-wrenching. To think of all of the spokes associated to the hub that is the hospitality industry is mind-boggling.

The so-called second wave might be handbooks on how to build and operate an Applebee’s or a Bojangles’. No ingenuity, no culture, no artistry. No offense to those who appreciate Bojangles’ once in a while.

Applebee’s can take a hike.

I hope for the best and have all of my friends and colleagues in my heart.

P.S. I’ve worked in restaurants my entire life, starting as a dishwasher, and worked my way up to busser, waiter, bartender, manager, owner. It’s literally all I know how to do.

‘We’re an at-risk family, so we’ve been in total isolation’ Rebekah Miel, creative director at Miel Design Studio, and husband Shayne Miel, director of software engineering at American Efficient, live in Duke Park with their twins, Emeline and Henry, 7. Rebekah describes their life in insolation:

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he most challenging part of this transition is feeling disconnected from my community and family. We’re an at-risk family, so we’ve been in total isolation for a couple weeks longer than most folks. It was surreal to not be able to help other people transition into this new reality.

I’ve been checking in with individuals impacted

‘I guess I needed a bit of Halloween’ Lindsay Gordon-Faranda, senior public relations specialist for Duke Children’s Development, and husband Jon Faranda, a dental hygienist at Carousel Dentistry, live in Boone Place and have been Durham homeowners since 2017, “though we like to say that we have been Durhamites in everything but address since 2010 or so.”

Lindsay describes their “Quarantine-O-Ween:”

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his was a social media movement organized

by Halloween lovers on March 31.

Participants staged mini Halloweens to bring some much-needed magic to this uncertain time. My husband and I are Halloween devotees – we transform our home every fall and host elaborately themed Halloween parties – but by the [April 10, 2019, Durham gas] explosion to ensure that they have what they need and supporting other causes where I can. Still, the reality is, I can’t do much.

As a family, we’ve been in isolation before, so we have a system, but this time it’s different because we have kids. We expanded our garden, got baby chicks, and I’ve had more time to teach the twins how to cook. I jokingly refer to our house as “The Little House on the Beaver Dam.” I tell my kids I’m going to replace their Switch with a rag doll or a pig bladder balloon; instead we’ve been doing silly things like kitchen dance parties and making party hats for our baby chicks. I’ve been trying to keep some sense of normalcy for them.

We’re privileged to not only be able to work from home, but we’ve both kept our jobs. It’s not easy balancing work with homeschooling and finding groceries and sustaining a small business and showing up for our community.

But that is an OK problem to have. I know so many in our community are suffering.

We are lucky.

when friends told me about Quarantine-O-Ween, I wasn’t feeling it. Like many people, my mood and energy have been low these past few weeks.

But when March 31 rolled around, I pulled together a quick Halloween scene around our fireplace and mantle. Put on the soundtrack to “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Threw on my cat kigurumi. And it was amazing how much better I felt. I guess I needed a bit of Halloween enchantment on the last day of March to make these safe-at-home days a bit brighter. For now, we’re keeping the fireplace decorated; it reminds us of spookier and, hopefully, happier times to come.  23

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‘Acts of kindness … make a difference’ Sondra Komada is the director of community relations and special events at the SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals.

She recently moved to Henderson Woods from Lake Hogan Farms with her husband, Mike, and their two pet goldendoodles, Sophie and Hallie. They have three kids – Leah, 25, Alex, 23, and Anna Grace, 18.

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arch 29 was the birthday of our son, Alex, and our daughter Anna Grace.

Alex came home from Charlotte to quarantine with us, and Anna Grace has been quite bummed that her senior year at East Chapel Hill High School has been cut short with no prom and probably no graduation ceremony or Project Grad (of which she is the student co-chair). To top it off, both of them had to cancel birthday plans due to quarantine and social distancing orders. However, a few families from our old neighborhood did stop by (observing social distancing) and broke into the birthday song from the sidewalk while dropping off cookie cakes and treats (all containers disinfected).

It made their day! These acts of kindness in a time of crisis and uncertainty make a difference.

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‘Artists are essential for our well-being’ Heather Cook is the executive director of NorthStar Church of the Arts. She lives in the Colonial Village neighborhood with her husband, Phil Cook, and children Ellis, 8, and Amos, 4.

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ime feels like science fiction right now, every day a little more warped and webbed than the one before.

The adrenaline is wearing off, the long view is coming in, and my eyes are too strained from staring at checklists for my own relief applications to make any sense of it all.

There’s a lot of talk right now about what is essential, and I believe that artists are, and have always been, essential to the well-being of our community. We look for their poems, their songs and their interpretations of the moment to help us contextualize what is happening. We look to them for comfort and inspiration, [which] are vital right now. We need to be investing in them accordingly.

For the past three weeks, I’ve lived in a parallel universe where I felt extremely clear on how to show up for my family and our community. At home, Phil and I created a daily schedule. I set up a work desk on the front porch, we planted seeds and spent more time together as a family than we have in years. On March 12, I launched the Durham Artist Relief Fund through NorthStar and began planning a telethon

with my co-conspirator Kym Register [of The Pinhook], hurling us both into a crash course in millennial-level interneting. We hosted “What the Hell-a-Thon” on April 4 and raised more than $8,000 for the fund.

It’s 4 p.m., and despite it being a stunner of a day outside, [my children] have been playing video games for hours while I catch up on work. We’re having leftover Pie Pushers for dinner; I’ve got a John Prine record cued up and am headed for a glass of wine. I’m counting my blessings and recommitting to rest so that I can continue to show up for the long game.

‘Dance has helped offer some routine to her day’ Torey Mishoe, executive director of Hillsborough Arts Council, shares how To The Pointe (TTP) dance company has brought joy to her 8-year-old daughter, Lila, via virtual dance classes:

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ila has been dancing with TTP for three years now. They are very focused on encouraging skill building and supporting the kids’ growth as dancers.

The recent social distancing order meant closing the studio to dancers, and she was pretty devastated to be missing her favorite weekly activity – in addition to everything else. I was thrilled when Lauren Bolick, the owner and one of their teachers, announced

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appear – garden gnomes, dinosaurs, monkeys and tigers also adorned the neighborhood.

Baylis found 80 friendly faces on her first walk. We’re all looking for reasons to smile.

that they would be offering classes for free on Facebook. Lila often tunes in to them live or will go back and watch a replay later. While [adults] are all trying to navigate this strange new life we’ve all recently found ourselves living, I’ve noticed that our kids are struggling to settle in. Dance has helped offer some routine to her day, as well as a glimpse of her “normal” life that was upended.

‘Looking for reasons to smile’ Maggie Healy, a personal trainer, shares how her neighborhood organized a stuffed animal scavenger hunt. She is married to Kevin, vice president of regulatory affairs and quality at Enzyvant, and together they have four children: Baylis, 10, Elizabeth, 13, Margaret Ann, 15, and Taylor, 18.

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dults and children alike jumped at the opportunity to join in a neighborhood bear hunt in our Placid Valley neighborhood in North Durham. Residents were asked to place teddy bears in their windows or other visible places of their houses during a week in April. Families toured the neighborhood searching for furry friends. Bears were not the only creatures to 26

‘I pray and say thanks for our leaders …’

P. H. Craig is a UNC School of Law graduate, 26-year Navy veteran, bornand-bred Orange County resident, former president of the Chapel Hill Rotary Club and recipient of North Carolina’s highest award, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

He also owns “about 20” classic cars.

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fter realizing how tragic and sad everything was, I decided to act.

I’m staying busy on projects in the house or on my hobby, restoring classic cars.

Fortunately, my home, office and hobby are located in one place. I organize my office, sweep my shops and try to keep my vendors and contractors who really need work employed. [A contractor I hired] who has two

small kids did not even have money to buy gas to get here. Do you need landscaping, tree work, grading, cement work, deferred maintenance on house or car? Hire someone.

I don’t think I’ve ever been busier in my whole life. I am prepping cars for the North Carolina Transportation Museum. I just sandblasted and primed a ’56 Chrysler. I walk much more, I pray and say thanks for our leaders, first responders and medical teams. I sit in my car in the sun, I enjoy the beautiful scenery.

‘I lift my oar and do my part’ Joanne Fiore is a vice president at American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She shelters in Carrboro with her wife, Deb, a school nurse at East Chapel Hill High. Their three adult children, Tommy, Molly and Emma, live in the area.

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am fully here, in this moment. Not here or there, doing this or that. It makes me appreciate it here. The beauty and safety of this place, and my place in it. With my coshelterer, whom I seem to love more with each day of doing less.

Here and now, I rise early for an hour of spiritual perspective-getting and gratitude-giving.

Next, a run through streets full of closed stores.

Main Street. Franklin Street. The birds, rabbits and foxes have claimed them for their own. Till we return.

Work is more meaningful these days. We are stripped of our armor and artificial emotion,

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playing online games with children and grandchildren, working the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle together with family members across town via video. But we have also looked for ways we can stay socially connected with friends and neighbors.

Our patio is at the back of our villa and faces the woods. When we sit there, we

embracing community and people-ness. It’s as if a force of good picked us up, put us in an ark, pointed in one direction and said, “Start rowing.”

I lift my oar and do my part. My family and friends are healthy, safe and taken care of.

In my confinement, I find freedom and a new lightness in being. I laugh more easily, care less about the little stuff. I Zoom in, reach out, lend an ear and connect to those I love but rarely talk to.

My spirit soars from a sense of spaciousness inside.

‘We converted our driveway into a patio’ Joan and Kin White have lived in the Carolina Meadows retirement community since 2015. Kin was a professor of educational psychology at UNC for 34 years, and Joan was a stay-at-home mom at their Briarcliff and Stoneridge homes in their early years here. Joan taught at Ephesus Elementary School while the children were growing up and then was a real estate broker for 30 years. The couple shares their recent efforts to stay in touch with neighbors:

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taying socially connected in the time of a pandemic when you must stay at least six feet apart has been interesting, challenging and sometimes a little scary.

We have stayed connected with family and friends using the now-traditional virtual connection methods – FaceTime chats,

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interact with the birds and squirrels – a great setting for reflection and calming the soul.

But in our current situation, we need more than ever to be with people. So, we converted our driveway in the front of our villa into a “front-of-the-villa patio.” We can sit on our front-of-the-villa patio and chat with friends and neighbors as they walk by, wave at delivery drivers and have outdoor picnic lunches six feet apart. With our front-of-thevilla patio, we stay connected with people in our neighborhood, reaffirm community and feel that our social world still exists.

‘I needed to pick it up a bit’ Randi Emerman moved to Chapel Hill in 2016 to launch Silverspot Cinema at University Place. More recently, she cofounded the popular Film Fest 919, an annual showcase for films. “I found a community here that had a similar passion for the arts and cinema and wanted to create a new event experience that would give them access to the best films of awards season and the chance to connect directly with the artists,” she says.

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his one-time social butterfly has been organizing, cleaning, and I even made a mean seared tuna. Is it possible that I can become a domestic diva?

For the past month I’ve been selfquarantining, which has had its challenges.

I have been extremely lonely, sad, confused, frustrated, worried, terrified of getting sick and, like everyone else, worried about losing my job.

I needed to pick it up a bit. My beloved Film Fest 919 needed my attention, and a confession – sitting on the couch watching endless TV was starting to drive me crazy. A voice inside me said, “It’s time to get to work, be productive and be creative!” In fact, each day that little voice grew louder, and as it did, my creative juices started working.

So now that I’ve had my spin at the domestic goddess thing, I needed a plan to stay in shape, keep my mind working and our movie-loving community engaged. With the gym closed, I started to walk. Which is a great time to ponder and stop stressing over all these grants and loans that are impossible to secure. Hence, our Social Distancing Film, Song & Photo Festival was imagined.

Something that gives everyone a chance to have some fun by simply posting their work on our social platforms. Next, calls to a few friends, and we have our first virtual film series.

So, what’s next? I stay home, stay safe and continue to figure it all out and maybe keep up the cooking thing. I’m actually getting good at this.

‘The new normal is a constant push-pull’ Carrie Blattel lives in the Watts-Hillandale neighborhood with her husband, Gregg Wagner, and their 20-month-old daughter, Camille Wagner. Carrie is the owner of Semaphore Marketing and a board member of Nido: Coworking + Childcare.

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ast night I stayed up past midnight browsing Netflix and eating popcorn. I needed a moment of solitude to brood about sleep deprivation and missing my friends. Earlier yesterday, I was breastfeeding 28

“Saying ‘hi’ to our friend Xiaoting Wang from the safety of Belmont Park,” Carrie says. “Camille was a flower girl in her recent October wedding.”

our toddler in the bathroom when my spouse walked in and surprised us.

Which of these challenges are the ones that normally accompany new parenthood? Which is the result of forced isolation and increased anxiety during the current crisis? The many doubts and insecurities I carry with me as a new parent have now snowballed – and are compounded by the loss of childcare and the community of coworkers and friends we normally rely on.

The new normal is a constant push-pull of emotions and obligations. Spend extra time with our toddler or cram work into stolen minutes? Enjoy the outdoors or feel anxious about social distancing? Practice mindfulness or engage in unhelpful thought spirals?

I know we are incredibly lucky – we have financial security, a supportive community and our health. I can’t control the uncontrollable, but I can control my actions and choose to follow health and safety recommendations, provide support to loved ones and, above all, make time to poop alone.

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‘Reading and cooking’

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Food writer and cooking teacher Nancie McDermott is the author of 14 cookbooks.

She and husband Will Lee live near Timberlyne in Chapel Hill.

’ve been doing two daily Facebook Lives – one cooking, and one reading aloud – since St. Patrick’s Day. I started with cooking Irish Soda Bread and reading aloud from “Charlotte’s Web.” Have since read “Everything on a Waffle” and finished “Stuart Little” last night. 

‘Making breakfast feel special’ Stephanie Haines and her husband, Alex Caterson, live in Chapel Hill’s Colony Woods neighborhood. Alex, a photographer, snapped this photo of a recent breakfast at home, and Stephanie explains:

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orking from home the past few weeks has been a strange experience.

The days start to blend together.

So, when I had the day off for the [Easter] holiday weekend, it kind of took me by surprise. I would have normally made plans to take my two stepkids, Sevi, 11, and Amália, 7, to a science museum or around the neighborhood to play with friends, but our options are so limited these days.

This morning, without any particular idea of what to do today, I woke up to the smell of ... doughnuts! I walked into the kitchen to find my husband and the kids ready to make home-decorated doughnuts from Rise. The kids were excited to make (and more excited to eat) the doughnuts, and had a fun time doing both! It was a great way to make breakfast feel special and give the kids a treat before heading down the street to go egg hunting at their grandma’s house.

This Place.

You’ll arrive on Bald Head Island by ferry, then explore by golf cart, bicycle or your own two feet. As your pace slows, you’ll notice little things…a painted bunting flitting through the brush…a ghost crab skittering across the sand…three, no, four dolphins leaping in the surf…and you’ll feel more serene and more alive than you have in a long while. That’s the simple magic of this place, if you’ll allow it.

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zero income overnight. My wife, Melonie, and I ordered almost 60 balloon bouquets to tie to every porch in the neighborhood.

This instantly brightened up our community and provided some much-needed cheer.

This neighborhood surprise was fulfilled with the help of Balloons & Tunes in Carrboro!

Families around the neighborhood enjoy going on balloon walks, and I hope are inspired to get creative on how to help small businesses!

Activities include working on the house and site; checking out fish in our stream; walking to the old 1930s community Sparrow Pool ruin in our woods; having a picnic; homework; bike rides and walks.

‘Balloons for business’ Suzanne Evans lives in Carrboro’s Claremont South neighborhood with her wife, Melonie Orr, and their 3-year-old son, Adrien Evans, pictured.

Tonight, we start “Because of Winn-Dixie.”

This keeps me focused on a daily action, doing things I enjoy doing: reading and cooking.

‘Stay-at-home retreat’ Carrboro architects Doug Pierson and Youn Choi of pod architecture + design and their kids, Oscar, 18, and Sora, 15, live in a temporary townhome on Smith Level Road while they wrap up on a custombuilt house they designed in Carrboro near South Green. Doug writes:

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e are expecting our certificate of occupancy for our new house in a couple weeks, but it has been a challenge to finalize with the pandemic and stay-at-home requirements in place.

So, as we prepare for our eventual move, we are using our property as a “stay-at-home” retreat where we have family outdoor time.

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nce the crisis began to affect our community, I wanted to find a creative way to help local businesses that went to

‘Our community surprised us by pouring love back out to us’ Ashley Sherman is the counselor at Ephesus Elementary School and helped plan a staff car parade that drove through neighborhoods of students and their families. She lives in Durham’s Pope’s Crossing neighborhood with her husband, Matthew, facilities director at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA.

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t was important to us that the route we took covered all areas of Chapel Hill zoned for our school. We sent out parent communications with our full route so that families could plan for when we were driving by their area. I invited my husband and some YMCA youth staff members to participate in the parade on a YMCA bus, since the Y programs also serve many of our students. We have all missed seeing our students and families every day, so we were excited about a way to safely see them while maintaining social distancing.

It was fun decorating our cars, and I was anticipating that families would wave at us from their porches or windows. When we came around the first curve, and we saw that very first family on the sidewalk holding up a huge sign that said, “Roadrunner strong,” I was overwhelmed with emotion. As the route continued, families were out with sign after sign showing their love and support. All of the staff thought we were creating an event to give

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There is a Tupperware of chalk next to it, or people can feel free to bring their own chalk if they don’t want to touch the communal chalk.

There is hand sanitizer in the box.

My daughter Naomi came with me – she attends Glenwood Elementary. She wrote the name of a friend of hers, Carina Ann, who also lives in our neighborhood. We

visited the board with Carina and her mom (walking at a safe distance!), and Carina wrote Naomi’s name, too. It was very sweet. I wrote that I was grateful for outdoor exercise.

The gratitude board has made a positive impact on our neighborhood; visiting the board and contributing has given folks a way to come together. 

back to our community, and our community surprised us by pouring love back out to us.

The parade was beautiful and emotional.

‘The gratitude board’ Renee Bosman lives in Chapel Hill’s Kings Mill-Morgan Creek neighborhood with her husband, Peter, and their kids, Isaac, 13, Laurel, 11, and Naomi, 8.

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e’ve been taking advantage of proximity to the creek daily. Also, the gratitude board – a chalkboard [where] anyone can come write on it – was started by neighbors Laura and Bob Moore.

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‘I thought I was going to deal with my 50th birthday in a real COVID-y way’ Lauren Rivers lives in a neighborhood off of Franklin Street with her spouse and their two kids, Olivia, 14, and Lachlan, 9. Lauren is the founder and owner of Rivers Agency, a 40-person advertising, design and public relations agency based in Chapel Hill.

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his month I am especially thankful for my surprise driveway party. I thought I was going to deal with my 50th birthday in a real COVID-y way – no dinner with friends and certainly no party. When close friends and family began gathering in my driveway that evening, I realized that fun can still be figured out, even in these strange times.

PHOTO BY BETH MANN

‘Just decided to throw a mask up there’ Lance Sawyers is the owner of Studio 71, a framing shop and pop culture art gallery on South Churton Street in Hillsborough; he recently added a mask to an original mural on the side of its building. Lance lives in Hillsborough with his wife, Janet.

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ith my wife being immunocompromised due to C. diff and rheumatoid arthritis, I’ve

really taken mask-wearing seriously, both in my home and at our business. We started wearing masks over a month ago. I was hanging around the shop one day with [employee] Kylene Babski Figle and [intern] Morrigan “Mo” Mancour, talking about it, and just decided to throw [a mask] up there.

We cut a huge piece of foam board into the mask shape, and then we added metal duct tape to create the nose clip.

The original muralist, Wes Flanery, did a phenomenal job on the [Bride of Frankenstein] mural, and we’ve got folks from the town who really love how we’ve changed this space since moving in. It’s been pretty fun – we’ve seen a bunch of people stop and take a picture in front of it, including a few motorcyclists. And we did do it for fun, but also to bring attention to the need for all to wear masks during these times. We have to be careful and follow the suggested protocols, so we can protect those who are most vulnerable.

‘We made social distancing a real party’ For their son Richard’s 40th birthday, Patty and Rick Kreiselman had planned a trip to Hawaii, the last state on his U.S. travel checklist. Patty shares how they turned canceled plans into an unforgettable front yard celebration in Durham’s Heather Glen subdivision:

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e needed to celebrate. Rick got on Amazon and ordered a few gifts. I sent an email blast to encourage a birthday greetings barrage. Signs were painted on cardboard encouraging honking and placed in the yard at night. April 2 – the weather was fantastic. Richard woke to signs outside every window, and the FedEx truck honking all the way around our corner! Families walked up and chalked on the driveway. Richard sat and waved from the front yard all day. Even the mail carrier had fun with it! We made social

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distancing a real party. At the end of the day, Richard’s comment was, “this was the best birthday ever!”

‘Our fitness trackers seem impressed by our daily steps’ Sage Rountree is the co-owner of Carolina Yoga Company. She lives in Carrboro’s Lloyd Square neighborhood with her husband, Wes, who works as a biostatistician at Duke Human Vaccine Institute, and their children, Lillian, 19, and Vivian, 16.

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he studios are closed, and my business partner and I have been busy navigating the resources available to support small businesses through the shutdown. It’s more time consuming than the regular work of running the studio when it’s open! We have a robust library of professionally recorded classes online, and many of our teachers are offering livestream classes, too. All the proceeds go to the teachers.

Meanwhile, I’ve started working on updates to my [recorded] online courses for yoga teachers. I had planned on recording in my older daughter’s room after she returned to college. Now she’s home through the summer, so I was motivated to clean up my home office for use as a video set.

I’m glad [my husband’s] and his colleagues’ [talents] can contribute to finding a solution. We are walking [together] a lot every day, mostly in the Carolina North Forest, near our home.

Our fitness trackers seem impressed by our daily steps. 

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been disorienting. I have to give myself space and grace to not feel anxious. The dance studio is closed, but we adapted quickly, moving to online classes within five days. My greatest joy was giving a 3-year-old a virtual hug because she couldn’t understand how dance class was going to be in the computer!

Seeing the students enjoy class and the teachers thrive is so exciting. I have prepared content for our YouTube channel and will be launching it soon!

‘A silver lining to this’ Magan Gonzales-Smith is the executive director of the Durham Public Schools Foundation. She lives in Durham’s Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood with her husband, Ryan Smith, and their daughter Sophie, 10 months.

D

PS Foundation is organizing meal delivery to thousands of families weekly.

This is possible because of incredible partners, including restaurants, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, KidBright, Book Harvest, Student U and hundreds of volunteers. The biggest learning curve for me though has been working from home with my 10-month-old assistant, Sophie! Working from home with her – while hard! – is a silver lining to this all.

My hardest challenge is the decisions I must make around contract workers due to low enrollment and tuition decreases. I find that I have to invent/reinvent ways of connecting that are kinda old-fashioned, like a phone call or a letter. During this time, I appreciate the “checking in” messages and emails I get.

‘We canceled the surprise party, but ...’

Michelle Snyder Honeycutt planned a surprise car parade to help her parents, Jack and Barbara Snyder, celebrate 50 years of marriage. On April 11, 70 people showed up for a car parade around their cul-de-sac. Friends and family cheered while Barbara and Jack sat together at the end of their driveway.

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y brothers and I didn’t want [their anniversary] to pass without some serious celebration! They met on a blind date back in college and were so in love that my mom skipped her college graduation ceremony to get married and follow my

Nicole Oxendine is the owner of downtown Durham’s Empower Dance Studio and founder of her own nonprofit, the Empower Dance Foundation, in addition to numerous other entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors.

A

s an entrepreneur, I manage a lot and have very organized systems to get things accomplished. The past three weeks have

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PHOTO BY BETH MANN

‘I have to give myself space and grace’

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dad as he began his career in the Navy. Not only are they great spouses, but they are also phenomenal parents, grandparents and friends ... all of whom were invited to come celebrate their 50-year love story! We had to cancel the surprise party we had planned for them, but we tried to get creative as to how we could still do the event justice. We came up with a surprise parade in their Durham neighborhood, Treyburn, simultaneously held on Zoom so that others unable to come could still attend. It was amazing ... my parents were so surprised! They didn’t expect to be able to celebrate at all, so it really meant a lot that so many came out, decorated their cars and made signs all to honor them!

‘The outcomes of a few have consequences for all’ Sheldon Mitchell is the executive director of Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) and has lived in the area for seven years with his wife, Cassandra, and their children, Justin, 22, Wesley, 18, and Isaiah, 12.

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he past few weeks have been challenging.

I am thankful that UMD leadership took this virus seriously early on and began to plan for how our agency could effectively provide food, clothing and shelter to 140plus residents. This emergency has again demonstrated that homeless and low-resource individuals are at a significant disadvantage

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when faced with crisis situations – and often more adversely impacted.

I feel the pandemic has highlighted the value of UMD’s work. It has also shown just how fine the line is between having sufficient money for housing and food and suddenly having your life upended by unforeseen circumstances.

Once this crisis recedes, it is my hope that the community will continue to work together – I believe it is clear that we are in this together, and the outcomes of a few have consequences for all.

‘I was still determined to run 50 miles’ Lesa DePeal and husband Thomas live in Bent Creek/Woodberry Forest in Durham.

Lesa is a social work case manager at the Durham VA Health Care System and was supposed to run her first 50-mile race at Umstead State Park in early April, but the race was canceled.

I

was devastated because of all the training I put in. However, I was still determined to run.

I hatched the idea [that the race would continue] with my husband, Thomas, and coach Faith Raymond Strafach of Run Long Run Strong Endurance Coaching. We settled on the American Tobacco Trail, with several out-and-back trips to get my 50 miles.

I was fortunate to have five friends support me in my efforts at various points in my run – Tracy Cox, David St. Laurent, Kristen Gulish, Robin Buhrke and Shawn Glidden.

We were apart during the run, but in the spirit of the event, everyone helped create something truly memorable.

As with every race, the medal at the end is the crowning achievement. My husband reclaimed an old cymbal. He put the medal around my neck (it was ungodly heavy), and upon close examination of it – it says, “Made in Wuhan”! Oh, the irony! So, while the actual race didn’t occur, my running

tribe banded together to help me achieve my goal. While we were cautious to keep socially distant, we were able to share an experience like no other.

My body is a bit sore, but my heart is full.

‘Recently a young man appeared in court … visibly struggling’ Mark Kleinschmidt is clerk of superior court and judge of probate for Orange County and former mayor of Chapel Hill. “I lead a troop of essential personnel keeping the justice system open and operating.

I live at the top of Shady Lawn Road in Chapel Hill with my partner, Matt DeBellis, and Ellie, our dog, who’s very confused now that she has virtually no alone time anymore.”

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eing present to observe the variety of human responses to threats to one’s life, liberty and treasure is the everyday experience of working in a courthouse. The stakes here are profound.

But something happened when COVID-19 arrived. These threats, previously experienced

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mostly by criminal defendants and civil litigants, were now present realities for the professionals who worked here. The confidence – OK, the ego – of legal professionals suddenly no longer insulated them from the threats previously faced only by those involved in the justice system.

We are all living in a new world.

In the old world, clerks were the behindthe-scenes utility players on the courthouse team. But we have a commitment to be kind and to care, especially in these troubled times. Recently a young man appeared in court, keeping his social distance and wearing a mask. He was visibly struggling with the recent death of his mother and complained about the failure of a local bank to recognize papers I had issued. He was confused and upset.

We understood and took our time. We intervened. We found a way to make the world work for him again.

Scientists may not have found the cure for COVID-19 yet, but courthouse clerks have had the vaccine for the psychological symptoms for a long time. Admittedly, I’m not quite as good at administering it as those I work with, but we’ll keep distributing it here. For free. Until this is over. And beyond.

I lead a community of 287 sixth graders as their assistant principal, and I had questions.

I wanted to know what options families had for child care and food, what support systems they would need to get through this period, and whether I would be healthy enough to responsibly be there to wish students well before our last day in the building. It turns

out that I, and many of us in the weeks since, have encountered more questions and fewer answers.

One answer came from the Durham community. People from all over our city have answered the call to support families by donating countless dollars and signing up for nearly 1,000 volunteer shifts with

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‘I have seen Durham’s best’ Matthew Hickson is the assistant principal at Neal Middle School and has been a Durham Public Schools educator for six years. He was the 2016 Durham Public Schools Beginning Teacher of the Year. He is also the founder of Bull City Schools United, a project aimed at equipping teachers and students to create safer schools for LGBT students.

He lives in Croasdaile Farm.

I

was home sick out of caution when I heard the call that Durham would be closing schools for at least three weeks back in early March. As I sat home that day, my mind immediately shifted to every educator’s first priority – my students.

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people on the face of this earth. We are viewed, at times, as outcasts of society. If society could only catch a glimpse of exactly what we are capable of, then perhaps they can see that we are more than our mistakes. More than our shortcomings. More than they realize.” It’s heartening to know our residents feel safe, that they recognize their self-worth and that they have the security and confidence to know they can make it through this challenging time.

the Durham Public Schools Foundation.

During the first week of this program, I scheduled volunteers who wanted to be drivers and safely deliver meals to families of DPS students. I had more than 800 people to choose from. In these 800 were two of my former students who wanted to give back.

While this crisis is far from over, I have seen Durham’s best in our response. We are coming together as a community, even as we are physically apart.

providers and health officials, but as a peerdriven program, it is our TROSA residents modeling these new behaviors and procedures for one another. Residents are looking out for one another and leading by example. We implemented the TROSA Clean Team to model proper cleaning protocols, and it is co-led by a TROSA graduate who is now a staff member. He views his new Clean Team role as “just taking care of my family.” He also shared with me: “It’s our job as staff members to make sure the residents are well taken care

‘Just taking care of my family’ Kristin Pearson is the director of development at TROSA and has been working there for almost five years, helping to raise funds to promote its work in the community.

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am seeing everyone at TROSA come together in ways we never have before in order to make sure our 500 residents and staff remain healthy … and also to ensure everyone feels valued and connected.

Individuals with substance use disorders are especially vulnerable right now because of the need for social distancing and self-isolation.

Our senior staff leadership are members of the Task Force who implement new policies with guidance from our on-site health 38

of … but that’s not our only job. As staff, we have to also set an example of what it takes in a challenging situation, so that our residents know they are safe.”

A resident shared these thoughts in an email to staff and peers last week: “The procedures and protocols that have been put into place in a relatively short period of time, during this difficult time in the world, is nothing short of amazing! I’ve always said that we are some of the strongest, smartest, gifted and resilient

‘Officers jumped at the chance to participate’ The Chapel Hill Police Department found a fun way to connect with citizens, filming a video of officers reading a children’s book in various Chapel Hill locations that was then posted on its social media channels.

Lt. Johnnie Britt says:

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fficer Kay approached me with the idea.

We knew we found the perfect book in “Goodnight Carolina” [by Missy Julian Fox and Marie Myers Lloyd, illustrated by Elaine O’Neil]. Passing the book across frames let us include many officers and added some visual interest. Filming the officers was new to me and a huge learning experience. Officers – including Sgt. Bell, filmed at Sutton’s Drug Store (pictured); Officer Gim, in front of Gimghoul Castle; and Investigator Wright-Quick, at Coker Arboretum – jumped at the chance to participate in this project for our community. 

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‘My students are now both closer and more distant’

‘Working hard to stay connected at Immaculata’

Kevin Foy and his wife, Nancy, have lived in North Carolina for more than 30 years.

He was mayor of Chapel Hill from 2001-09 and teaches law at North Carolina Central University. “[We’re] staying inside and taking orders from Sophie, our 15-year-old standard poodle.”

Cara Ragusa is the director of communications for Immaculata Catholic School in Durham, which has 535 students from pre-K to eighth grade. She lives in South Durham with her husband, Kevin, who works for Duke, and children Nathan, 9, and Anna, 8, who also attend Immaculata.

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hutting down daily life in order to slow the spread of the virus has required adjustments, which create new concerns.

In my world, I teach law students, and all classes are now online. My students are now both closer and more distant; closer because when we discuss the law, they are each front and center on screen, while obviously physically separated. Nobody knows how students will learn, as they learn differently; in what ways teachers can teach better, as they communicate differently; whether some students will gain unanticipated advantages over other students.

I’m particularly interested in the third possibility, because natural disasters like this pandemic disproportionately impact people who are already at a disadvantage. Take a look at Hurricane Katrina: Socioeconomic status directly correlated not just with the ability to survive but also with resiliency afterward.

From my relatively protected place in an economically privileged community, I am able to carry on life nicely, although in an adjusted form. Not everyone is as fortunate. Who will and who will not suffer dire consequences from the pandemic was determined long before the virus came along.

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e’ve all been home together since March 14. There’s a lot of coordination that goes on, juggling school work with two full-time jobs. I ordered a white board and some visualschedule magnets to help my kids know what to expect for the day. We just try to check everything off our daily list and don’t assign times to anything – I have great intentions to do things in a certain order or by a certain time, but then I’ll have to jump on a time-sensitive project or my husband has to take a work call, so it becomes an impromptu recess for the kids. My daughter has special needs, so that throws another element into the mix, but we’re lucky that her resource teachers and therapists have been doing one-on-one video calls with her several days a week.

For St. Francis Day, students read to their pets – like first grader Ben Miller, here with his dog, Red.

Kindergartener Brooklynn Burns celebrates Pajama Day, when students were encouraged to eat breakfast for lunch while they video chatted with friends.

Third grader Laila Sutton.

I’m an introverted homebody so I don’t mind all the secluded at-home time, but it can also be incredibly stressful some days just trying to manage it all (my house is a mess!).

My kids have adjusted surprisingly well, but I think they miss the routine and their teachers and friends, and just getting out and about to playgrounds, restaurants, etc.

Like most schools in our country, Immaculata has transitioned to a distance-learning platform. We look forward to returning to campus as soon as possible but are working hard to stay connected as a community through virtual office hours with teachers, online prayer services, family-led morning announcements and even a virtual spirit week – families sent in photos like these each day.

Special Advertising Section Our local nonprofits, how they support the community and how you can get involved

Upcoming Events: • Stop Summer Hunger: June and July 2020 • Food Lion Hunger Relief Day at the N.C. State Fair: October 2020 • Students Against Hunger: October – December 2020

Our Mission Nourish people. Build solutions. Empower communities.

• Holiday Meals: November – December 2020 • Giving Tuesday: December 1, 2020

Brag Lines • The Food Bank is an affiliate of Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger relief organization.

• Last year the Food Bank distributed 83 million pounds of food, 60 percent of which was nutritious, perishable items like meat, dairy, and fresh produce. This is equivalent to providing 70 million meals.

Background The Food Bank has provided food for those facing hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for 40 years. They continue to provide food to people in need while building solutions to end hunger in our communities. The Food Bank works across the food system to provide access to nutritious food. Through partnerships, education, and programs, they empower communities to overcome hunger, creating an environment where North Carolinians thrive.

• Following Hurricanes Florence and Michael, the Food Bank distributed 15 million pounds of food and non-food essentials.

• For every $1 donated, the Food Bank can provide 5 meals.

The Food Bank is committed to supporting those hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis including children, seniors and many who have never had to seek out emergency food assistance. Please visit foodbankcenc.org/ covid19 to provide help or find help.

Wish List: • Donate money • Become a sustaining donor • In honor/memory of a loved one • Matching gifts through employer • Donate food • Hold a virtual food drive • Donate time • Administrative or warehouse volunteer • Sign up for the Food Bank’s email newsletter .

• Follow the Food Bank on social media .

Get in Touch!

Durham – Administrative Office and Distribution Center 2700 Angier Ave., Ste. A Durham, NC 27703 919-956-2513 foodbankcenc.org

Special Advertising Section Our local nonprofits, how they support the community and how you can get involved

Our Mission To enhance the quality of life for seniors, people with disabilities and other eligible citizens in our community who are unable to provide proper nutrition for themselves.

Help Feed the Need • Sign up to be a volunteer driver at mowdurham.org/volunteer.

• Donate items from our Amazon wish list to help us provide weekend meals for our clients and pet food for their pets year-round. View list at mowdurham.org/wishlist.

• Make monetary donations at mowdurham.org to provide food for our current clients and help us take individuals off the waitlist. $1,680 provides a year’s worth of meals for a client.

MWOD Welcomes New ED

Background

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Meals on Wheels Durham (MOWD) is

MOWD delivers to our clients Monday-Friday

celebrating 45 years of service in Durham! The

from 10am-12:30pm. In addition to meal delivery,

first volunteers served 12 elderly, disabled,

Meals on Wheels Durham provides comfort,

blind, convalescing, or undernourished clients

dignity, and the knowledge that the community

who were homebound or living alone. In the

cares. Many of our clients live alone so the daily

years since, Meals on Wheels Durham has

visit from the volunteers is just as important as the

grown dramatically. Today, the organization

meal. We provide seniors with the opportunity to age

serves more than 550 Durham county residents

gracefully and remain in their homes.

each weekday and delivers more than 132,000 meals annually. The core of our work has remained the same since 1975 – we help feed the need in Durham.

MOWD is excited to welcome their new executive director, Jason Peace.

Jason started on April 1st, 2020.

Peace, a Durham native, looks forward to helping further the organization's commitment to supporting the nutritional and safety needs of Durham residents. Peace received his master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with a certificate in nonprofit leadership

Get in Touch!

Phone: 919-667-9424 Website: mowdurham.org Email: comm@mowdurham.org Follow Us: @mowdurham 2522 Ross Rd. Durham, NC 27703

Special Advertising Section Our local nonprofits, how they support the community and how you can get involved

Our Mission

Hill Learning Center transforms students with learning differences into confident, independent learners. To fulfill our mission: • We deliver research-based practices to effectively teach students with learning differences and attention challenges.

• We provide educators with the skills they need to support these students wherever they go to school.

• We partner with others to reach and support the 1 in 5 students with learning differences and attention challenges.

Background Hill Learning Center was established in 1977 with a mission to provide an intensive remediation program for students with learning or attention challenges. Today, Hill serves a range of students, teachers, schools, and districts in four distinct program areas: School, Summer, Tutoring and Educator Professional Learning. Additionally, Hill reaches students across 7 states and more than 30 NC School Districts with the Hill Reading Achievement Program (HillRAP), a research-based intervention that supports individualized learning for struggling readers.

Brag Lines • 975+ students access Hill’s Student Programs.

• 2,500+ students receive reading instruction using the Hill Reading Achievement Program.

• 1,000+ teachers learn through Hill’s Professional Learning Program.

• Hundreds of parents, educators, and professionals gain practical strategies by attending free Community Education Series events.

• Partnerships with community organizations — including Augustine Literacy Project of the Triangle, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties, Durham Public Schools, Maureen Joy Charter School, and Students to Scholars — improve the lives of students needing support.

Upcoming Events

Hill hosts events throughout the year.

Visit hillcenter.org to learn about upcoming opportunities such as: • Community Education Series events which include lectures, film screenings, author visits, and more!

• Teacher training workshops • Tours & information sessions for school, summer, and tutoring programs • Other community events

Wish List

As a local Durham non-profit, we rely on contributions from the community to sustain our work. Your support in these areas will make a life-changing impact in the lives of students, their families, and educators.

• Financial aid for families in need • Tutoring program scholarships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties • Summer program scholarships for Student U and Students to Scholars students • Scholarships for public school teachers to attend in-person workshops or take online coursework For more information on making a gift to Hill Learning Center, please visit hillcenter.org/donate.

Get in Touch!

Hill can help! Get in touch with us to learn how we can support your student.

3200 Pickett Road Durham, NC 27705 Website: hillcenter.org Facebook: @DurhamHillCenter Twitter: @HillCenter Instagram: @HillCenter

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Our Mission

Upcoming Events

St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation’s mission is preserving and advancing the heritage and culture of historic Hayti and the African American experience through programs that benefit the broader community locally, nationally and globally.

Due to COVID-19, our program schedule is as follows: • The African American Quilt Circle Exhibition - TBD • Durham Symphony Orchestra Concert - TBD • Jambalaya Soul Poetry Slam/Spoken Word - TBD • Poetry and Jazz - TBD • Black Poetry Theatre May 8 & 9 • Green Book Exhibit July 7

Wish List: • New Sustainers • Program Sponsors • Increased Funding • More Support for Local Artists • New Dance Emporium Floor • A Commemorative Monument

Brag Lines Background

The historic Performance Hall has virtually flawless acoustics and is an intimate space

The Hayti Heritage Center was built in 1891 as

that seats up to 400. Hayti offers core

St. Joseph African Methodist Episcopal Church

programs in visual and performing arts

and was integral to the faith community. It was

including African dance and drumming, the

also central to the community activism for

Heritage Film Festival, artist exhibitions, a

which Durham was known, especially on the

music series and the Jambalaya Soul Poetry

heels of Jim Crow segregation. The Center is

Slam/Spoken Word Team. Hayti offers

part of the once thriving, economically

historic tours that help preserve her heritage.

sustained district that was dubbed “Black Wall

Hayti inspires all generations with shared

Street” by Booker T. Washington, and since

stories about her rich heritage, vibrant present

1975 has been a cultural hub for Durham and

and bright future. Over 59,000 visitors are

the African American community.

greeted annually. We love this place!

Get in Touch!

Hayti Heritage Center

Background Backgroun

804 Old Fayetteville St. FoundedFounded in 1992, Caring in 1992,HoC Durham, NC 27701

comfortable, comfortable, supportive suppo and

Phone: 919-683-1709 to Duke Cancer to DukeInstitute Cancer Ins pa Website: hayti.org Caring House Caring is House a 12,900-s is a 1 Email: info@hayti.org 18 private18rooms, privateeach rooms, withe

and more. and A fully-equipped more. A fully-e

guests. Common guests. Common areas incla

sunroom,sunroom, dining room, dining scre ro

Special Advertising Section

Our Mission Special Advertising Special Advertising Section Section

Caring House provides patients at Duke Cancer Institute with peace of mind by providing affordable housing, a healing environment, and a positive and supportive community.

Save the Date •

: January 30, 2021 at the Washington Duke Inn

• For ticket and sponsorship information, contact Sasha Zarzour at development_manager@

caringhouse.org.

Our Mission Our Mission

Save Save the Date the Date

Volunteer Opportunities

Caring House Caring provides House provides patients at patients Duke Cancer at Duke Cancer • • : January: 30, January •30,Guest Meal Program: Volunteers Institute Institute with peace with of peace mind by of providing mind by providing 2021 at the 2021 Washington at the Washington Duke InnDuke Inn are needed to provide weeknight affordable affordable housing, housing, a healingaenvironment, healing environment, and and evening meals for guests. Individuals • For ticket • For andticket sponsorship and sponsorship a positiveaand positive supportive and supportive community. community. or groups of 10 people or less are information, information, contact Sasha contact Zarzour Sasha Zarzour at development_manager@ at development_manager@

asked to plan well-balanced meals

. . caringhouse.org caringhouse.org

for approximately 25-30 people.

Meals can be prepared by volunteers

Volunteer Volunteer Opportunities Opportunities on-site or delivered in advance.

• Guest •Meal Guest Program: Meal Program: Volunteers Volunteers • Laundry Volunteers: Caring House is are needed aretoneeded providetoweeknight provide weeknight actively seeking laundry volunteers evening meals evening formeals guests. forIndividuals guests. Individuals on Mondays, Wednesdays and or groupsorofgroups 10 people of 10orpeople less are or less are Fridays for 3-hour shifts starting Wish Listasked to asked plan well-balanced to plan well-balanced meals meals at 9am. A minimum 1-day-a-week for approximately for approximately 25-30 people.

25-30 people.

• Paper towels commitment is preferred.

Meals can Meals be prepared can be prepared by volunteers by volunteers • Toilet paper • Young Professional Advisory Board: on-site oron-site delivered or delivered in advance. in advance.

• Dishwasher detergent If you are under 30 and looking to • Laundry • Laundry Volunteers: Volunteers: Caring House Caring is House is • Coffee (ground, regular & decaf) get involved in the community, then actively seeking activelylaundry seekingvolunteers laundry volunteers • Coffee creamer the Caring House Young Professional on Mondays, on Mondays, Wednesdays Wednesdays and and Advisory Board may be the place • Kitchen size (30-gallon) trash bags Fridays for Fridays 3-hour forshifts 3-hour starting shifts starting for you. The Young Professional WishWish List List at 9am. Aatminimum 9am. A minimum 1-day-a-week 1-day-a-week Advisory Board helps support the Brag Lines Background • Paper • towels Paper towels commitment commitment is preferred. is preferred.

Caring House mission while bringing Caring House has provided a home for Founded in 1992, provides • Caring Toilet • House paper Toilet paper • Young•Professional Young Professional Advisory Advisory Board: Board: awareness of our work to a younger more than 13,000 patients and their comfortable, supportive affordable housing • Dishwasher •and Dishwasher detergent detergent If you areIfunder you are 30under and looking 30 andtolooking to generation. caregivers. Caring for cancer patients to Duke Cancer• Institute patients and caregivers.

Coffee • (ground, Coffee (ground, regular &regular decaf) & decaf) get involved get in involved the community, in the community, then then • If you are interested in any of the goes beyond the latest technology and Caring House is a 12,900-square-foot home with • Coffee • creamer Coffee creamer the Caring theHouse Caring Young House Professional Young Professional above opportunities, please send treatments. The mind, heart and soul 18 private rooms, each with private bath, television Advisory Advisory Board may Board be the may place be the place • Kitchen • size Kitchen (30-gallon) size (30-gallon) trash bags trash bags your inquiry to need attention, too. Caring House offers and more. A fully-equipped kitchen is shared by for you. The for you.

Young The Professional Young Professional info@caringhouse.org. programs and activities designed to guests. Common areas include a great room, Advisory Advisory Board helps Board support helpsthe support the Brag Brag Lines Lines nd reduce anxiety and promote healing, sunroom, dining room, screened porch and healing Caring House Caring mission Housewhile mission bringing while bringing Get in Touch!

Caring House Caring has House provided has provided ato home a homesuch for as pet and art therapy, oncological ouse Caring provides House provides garden. All of these amenities are available our for awareness awareness of our work of our to awork younger to a younger Phone: 919-490-5449 morerate than more thanpatients 13,000 and patients theirand their dortive affordable and affordable housing massages, musical performances, etc. guestshousing at a nightly of13,000 $40. generation. generation.

2625 Pickett Rd. caregivers.

Caring forCaring cancer forpatients cancer patients atients stitute and patients caregivers. and caregivers.caregivers.

These programs set Caring House apart • experience—they If you are • Ifinterested you aremake interested in any of in theany of the Durham, NC 27705 goes beyond goesthe beyond latestthe technology latest technology and and the hotel square-foot 12,900-square-foot home with home with from

abovefrom opportunities, please send please send treatments. treatments.

The mind,The heart mind, andheart soul and soul Website: caringhouse.org heach private withbath, private television bath, television Caring House “aabove homeopportunities, away home.” your inquiry your to inquiry to need attention, need attention, too.

Caring too.

House Caring offers House offers dequipped kitchen iskitchen sharedisbyshared by

areas lude ainclude great room, a great room,

programsprograms and activities and activities designeddesigned to to

reduce anxiety reduceand anxiety promote and promote healing, healing, eened oom, screened porch and porch healing and healing

info@caringhouse.org info@caringhouse.org . .

Get inGet Touch! in Touch!

Special Advertising Section Our local nonprofits, how they support the community and how you can get involved

Upcoming Events

Due to COVID-19, we have shifted to virtual programming until we can come together in person. Our next virtual event takes place on May 7th for the screening of “Asian Americans” from PBS. Additionally, we have numerous familyfriendly community events scheduled for the fall. To stay up to date, sign up for our weekly eGuide.

Our Mission

UNC-TV contributes to the greater good by connecting North Carolinians to each other, the world and endless possibilities.

UNC-TV is a vital service and partner for all North Carolinians.

Background

On Jan. 8, 1955 when WUNC-TV signed on the air from Chapel Hill, UNC leaders, including President William Friday and VP of Finance Billy Carmichael, laid the groundwork for UNC-TV, which now includes 12 stations with statewide reach. As the PBS affiliate serving the country’s third-largest public media market, UNC-TV educates, informs, entertains and inspires its statewide audience on-air, online and inperson. Sharing the best of PBS and locally produced content, UNC-TV boasts four unique programs: UNC-TV PBS & More, the North Carolina Channel, Rootle 24/7 PBS KIDS Channel and the Explorer Channel.

Brag Lines

• UNC-TV is North Carolina’s statewide PBS network, offering four full-time program channels and online content.

• With free, educational resources for children and caregivers, the station serves 16 million households.

• Through Rootle’s Ready To Learn Family & Community Learning and Block Party LIVE events, UNC-TV addresses critical early education needs in underserved counties.

• The backbone of emergency communications in North Carolina, UNCTV serves the state Emergency Operations Center, law enforcement and broadcasters in times of need.

Wish List

UNC-TV relies on its member support to sustain its programming and community initiatives, including: • Rootle education ambassadors serving communities statewide • Our legendary Rootle Block Party LIVE community engagement events for children • At-home learning content that is widely accessible to students during statewide emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic • Our Emmy-winning producers and independent filmmakers tell the stories of North Carolina’s one-of-a-kind personalities and places • Free screenings and discussions of documentaries dealing with current issues • Statewide emergency communications • Town Hall engagement events as part of our public affairs programming • Veterans and military affairs work focused on informing, helping, listening and celebrating troops, vets and their families • Emerging media innovation technologies, such as NextGen TV, AR and VR For more information about making a gift to UNC-TV, please visit unctv.org/support.

Get in Touch!

UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina is here to serve you! Get in touch with us to learn how we can support your community.

Website: unctv.org Facebook: @publicmediaNC Twitter: @publicmediaNC Instagram: @publicmediaNC YouTube: UNC-TV viewer@unctv.org 919-549-7000

Special Advertising Section Our local nonprofits, they support the community and how youand canhow getyou involved Our localhow nonprofits, how they support the community can get involved

Wish List

Our Mission Duke Children’s is committed to achieving and maintaining a standard of excellence in all we do. Most importantly, we consistently strive to make the patient experience a model of quality care through advanced treatment, compassionate support and full family participation and communication.

Our mission is to provide: •

Excellence in the clinical care of infants and children

•

Innovation in basic and applied research

•

Leadership in the education of health care professionals

•

Advocacy for children’s health

•

Patient and family centered care

Your options for supporting Duke Children’s are as varied as the children we treat. You can give a gift today. Or, you can plan a transformational gift to underwrite research that could lead to a cure, fund a program to enhance patient quality-of-life or lay the foundation for future endeavors. No matter which route you take, we will work with you to ensure that your generosity makes a difference in the lives of our young patients and their families.

For more information on making a gift to Duke Children’s, please visit giving.dukechildrens.org/ ways-to-give.

Signature Events • The Duke Children’s Gala

giving.dukechildrens.org/ events/duke-childrensgala • Over the Edge for Duke Children’s

Background

Brag Lines

Duke Children’s serves patients in the Triangle and

As a major pediatric teaching hospital, Duke

beyond and strives to provide the highest quality

Children’s educates tomorrow’s leading physicians

care through advanced treatment, compassionate

and researchers. As one of the largest southeastern

support, and full family participation. Duke

pediatric providers, Duke Children’s addresses health

Children’s is recognized for its clinical programs,

equity through clinical service, research, education

research initiatives, educational opportunities

and community engagement. Duke Children’s

for medical students, residents, and fellows,

researchers and physicians are internationally

and strong advocacy efforts for children. Duke

recognized for ground-breaking discoveries, and

Children’s is affiliated with the Department of

remarkable advances have emerged from both

Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine.

laboratory studies and the investigation of new therapies in patients. Discoveries made here impact children around the world.

giving.dukechildrens.org/ events/over-the-edge • The MIX 101.5 Radiothon for Duke Children’s

giving.dukechildrens.org/ events/radiothon

Get in Touch!

Websites: giving.dukechildrens.org dukehealth.org/dukechildrens

Illustrations by Jillian Ohl

of achievement

Now more than ever, we look to these remarkable leaders in our community

Women

N

ida Allam never planned to go into local government. She attended North Carolina State University and earned her degree in sustainable materials and technology. But in 2015, Nida’s close friend Yusor Mohammad AbuSalha, Yusor’s husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and Yusor’s sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed in their home in Chapel Hill. “In the aftermath, no one seemed to be speaking up for them,” Nida recalls.

“There were so many voices – in the media, in our local government. But none of them truly understood the Muslim community’s perspective.”

Nida wanted to change that; she became involved in politics shortly after the shooting, joining Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign as a volunteer political director. “I was so inspired by the campaign’s focus on uplifting marginalized voices,” she says.

That same motivation led to her own successful campaign for the Durham County Board of Commissioners this year. “So many grassroots organizers share the belief you can create equality in your own community, and I wanted to turn that narrative into action,” Nida says.

Nida is excited to be elected among so many other women leaders. She will serve on the County’s first all-female board alongside Nimasheena Burns, director of communications and project management for the N.C. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and incumbents Wendy Jacobs, Brenda Howerton and Heidi Carter. “On the campaign trail, it was so cool to see all of the women were so supportive of one another – [fellow candidate] Regina Mays especially was and is a huge inspiration to me,” Nida says.

“Often, women are written off as overly reactive or emotional,” Nida says. “The reality is that women often respond more logically and are levelheaded in difficult times.”

Commissioner Elect, Nida notes the women on former President Durham County Board Barack Obama’s staff as an example of the inclusive of Commissioners decision-making style she looks forward to practicing This year, Nida became with her colleagues. “These women realized that the first Muslim woman their contributions in White House meetings were elected to serve a public being ignored, or that the credit for an idea would office in North Carolina. She go to the next male staffer who spoke up. So, these currently works for MetLife women began proactively affirming one another’s as a project analyst and lives in East Durham with her ideas, lifting one another up without putting anyone husband, Towqir Aziz, and else down. I think that’s amazing,” Nida says. their dogs, Otis and Nala.

Throughout her campaign, she focused her message on making space for the views of all Durham residents – and says she plans to get started on that goal the moment she is sworn in this December. “With everything happening today, from the McDougald Terrace residents who are currently living in hotels to the unpredictable long-term impacts of COVID-19, representation matters more than ever,” Nida says. She wants to prioritize issues that will have the most impact, including improvements to public school resources, raising the minimum wage for county workers, and uplifting small, minority- and women-owned businesses.

“Durham has such a beautiful history intertwined with small business, and it has been incredible to see the community giving back to those businesses during COVID-19,” Nida says. “I love food, and this is an ideal time to support locally grown restaurants.” Roma Pizza Shop is a favorite for her family, and she says that “Jeddah’s Tea was basically my makeshift campaign office.”

Nida intends to apply her experience with analyzing data to make more informed strategic decisions that also include community input. “Things like tracking the efficiency of our budget or improving communication with our neighbors in a way that is more transparent and accessible are at the top of my list,” she says.

Like all of us, Nida isn’t sure exactly what challenges lie in the aftermath of the pandemic. “I do know that whatever happens, our community will come out stronger,” she says, “and our leadership will be focused on how best to support Durham’s citizens – all of them.” – by Morgan Cartier Weston 

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Nida Allam

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Dr. Andrea Hayes-Jordan Surgeon-in-Chief, UNC Children’s Hospital; Division Chief, Pediatric Surgery, UNC School of Medicine; and Byah Thomason Doxey-Sanford Doxey Distinguished Professor of Surgery

Andrea attended Dartmouth College for her undergraduate degree and medical school. She returned to her home state of California to complete her residency at University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Francisco. In her free time, Andrea enjoys gardening at her home off Mount Carmel Church Road that she shares with her husband, Darin. The couple has two adult children, Jenelle and Jonah.

N

o two days are alike for Dr. Andrea Hayes-Jordan. One morning, she may see patients at UNC Hospitals Children’s Specialty Clinic, and the next day, she might perform a 20hour surgery removing tumors from an 11-year-old’s chest. The one constant: she’s saving the lives of children.

A native of Los Angeles, Andrea came to Chapel Hill in 2018 with her husband, Darin, when she was recruited as the surgeon-in-chief of the UNC Children’s Hospital. She’s also the division chief of pediatric surgery at UNC School of Medicine and has a laboratory at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center where she researches desmoplastic small round cell tumors, a type of sarcoma.

Through lengthy surgeries, workdays and detailed research, it’s the kids she serves that keeps her going.

“My patients give me energy and keep me focused,” Andrea says. “I believe that I was put on this earth to help the children with rare cancers and that God works through me to help these kids.”

Andrea’s determination to make a difference drives her groundbreaking research in cancer treatment. In 2006, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, she was the first person to perform hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or HIPEC, on a pediatric patient. The surgery involves removing hundreds of tumors and washing the inside of the abdominal cavity with very hot chemotherapy. Andrea doubled the life expectancy of patients receiving this treatment.

The crowning achievement of her work came in October 2019 when she became one of three people appointed that year by President Donald 50

Trump to the National Cancer Advisory Board, a committee that helps route funding to cancer research projects around the country. Andrea’s work has received international attention as well. She’s traveled to Russia, Switzerland and many other countries to teach surgeons how to perform procedures such as HIPEC. Once she’s able to again, Andrea plans to give back outside of her role at the hospital. “I’m looking forward to volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill,” she says. “[They are] an invaluable resource for children in this community, as they provide support, housing and three meals a day to hundreds of families of children who are hospitalized with devastating illnesses.”

From the time she was a kid, Andrea knew that she would one day have a profession helping others. Throughout her career, she’s followed this advice and given it to women with similar aspirations: “Stay focused on what your passion is,” she says. “Don’t give up, and don’t let anybody else define who you are.” – by Lindsay Rusczak 

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51

WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Aissa Dearing

Co-founder, Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative Born and raised in Durham, Aissa is a senior at J.D. Clement Early College High School and is dually enrolled at North Carolina Central University. At school, Aissa is a member of the National Honor Society, the Human Rights and Activism Club and the Latinx Club. Recently, Aissa was selected as one of this year’s 150 Coca-Cola Scholars, receiving a $20,000 scholarship to the school of her choice. She’s narrowed down her college decision to Howard University.

Outside of school, she works with the Youth Justice Project, East Durham Children’s Initiative (EDCI) and Made in Durham’s Youth Network, and is a barista at Cocoa Cinnamon. In 2019, she co-founded the Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative with classmate Elijah King.

A

t 15, Aissa Dearing walked the streets of Washington, D.C., alongside hundreds of thousands of women during the Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2017. She remembers the voices reverberating among the buildings: “Women’s rights are human rights!”, “My body, my choice!” While the chants are now a distant blur, Aissa cherishes that moment as the foundation for the activism work she does today: going to climate strikes with her own organization, Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative.

Aissa learned about environmental justice a few years ago and felt connected to the cause. “I remember Rev. William Barber II said something along the lines of not being able to tackle one sole issue and his own life. His family, who are Latinx, and many others like his, live that the disproportionate impact on people of color that the climate closer to a landfill than to grocery stores. “In North Carolina, many crisis has is astounding,” she says. “I realized then I can be passionate power plants, landfills and toxic waste facilities are disproportionately about racial justice and climate justice because institutionalized racism located in low-income communities of is embedded in every issue society faces.” color, causing increased health problems for Aissa and her friend Elijah King began to a population who may not have access to attend protests and meetings, but, she says, “Aissa Dearing is the epitome affordable, decent health care,” Aissa says. the gatherings skewed white and older. The of what it means to be a This is the kind of takeaway she wants pattern kept repeating at other demonstrations, strong woman of color in for kids to help them understand about so she and Elijah decided to start their own today’s society. She is one environmental justice. “Just seeing that even environmental organization. of the most innovative and smartest people I know. students younger than me so clearly see this, but “I wanted to provide an intentional space for Through her work with maybe just don’t have a name for it, it’s great,” young people of color to engage in the subject Made in Durham’s Youth Aissa says. with other people who are interested and look Network, she has proven The Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative like them,” Aissa says. to be a powerhouse of continues to provide young people a place to She says it’s not that young people of color knowledge and a passionate team member for the learn more about environmental policies and aren’t invested in environmental issues, it’s just Early College Action Team. issues. Given the uncertainties surrounding that they don’t see themselves represented in She has also constantly COVID-19, Aissa doesn’t know what’s next the movement. expressed traits of leadership for the project, but her primary directive stays As a mentor through EDCI, Aissa taught and teamwork.” the same: Educate and inspire young people environmental justice to a fifth grade class at – Elijah King, co-founder, of color to speak up against environmental Maureen Joy Charter School. One of her Durham Youth Climate injustices. – by Katie Barham  students in particular connected the topic to Justice Initiative 52

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

E

ven by the lofty standards of a UNC head coach, Jenny Levy was at the top of her game in the fall of 2016.

Just months before, her team had upset No. 1-ranked, undefeated Maryland – an opponent so stocked with AllAmericans that many in the lacrosse world assumed they would cruise to a third consecutive national title.

California to meet with corporate recruiters and network with former But Jenny and the Tar Heels ended that talk in the national Tar Heels now working on Wall Street. Following Jenny and Kara’s championship game, thoroughly out-scrapping their former ACC foes lead, other teams at UNC are now setting up similar programs, as is 13-6, handing Jenny her second national title in four years.

The Rams Club.

Yet, she says, she sensed that her program needed a key change.

Laura Zimmerman graduated from UNC in 2012 as an All“Lacrosse is a sport where you’re competing American. She’s now a director at Bank of [for top recruits] against the Ivy [League], and America, has welcomed fellow Tar Heels you’ve got Stanford and Duke and Virginia,” on career treks and often speaks to current Jenny says. “The question that started to players. come at us more frequently was, ‘What’s after She sees Jenny’s vision as an extension college? What type of networking are you of her drive to always improve the program Head Coach, doing to help your athletes?’ and inspire her players to think beyond UNC Women’s Lacrosse “I was banging against the Ivy League lacrosse. “The kind of person Jenny is, and [schools] that sell that all the time,” she says. the role model she is, the players are gonna Jenny is the only women’s In October 2016, just months after listen to her,” Laura says. “She can tell them, lacrosse coach UNC has ever downing Maryland, Jenny hired her former ‘If you want to go work in New York or had. She was hired at 24 in 1995 to launch the program after an player Kara Cannizzaro to fill a new position: Silicon Valley, just go for it, don’t hold back All-American playing career at director of development and operations, and think it’s not the right place for you.’ the University of Virginia. Since which had been approved by the NCAA to do Sometimes you need that little extra push to then, she’s built the team into routine off-field work – booking flights and just give you that boost.” one of the best in the nation. hotels, arranging laundry, etc. – that many Now, Laura says, there are enough of She and her husband, Dan Levy, a sports agent who represents coaches do themselves.

Jenny’s former players working in New many UNC athletes, including “I can do those things,” Jenny says. “I York that they get together and practice as Mia Hamm, have three children: needed someone who was more forwarda team. “We do a team workout that Jenny Ryan, 18, Alec, 16, and Kate, 13. thinking.” always encourages,” Laura says. “When you Since then, she’s tasked Kara with creating graduate, you can still have that sense of an in-house career and job-hunting program home.” for the team, modeled on those in many Funneling players to Wall Street is a academic departments, like business and law schools. UNC’s women’s long way from where Jenny began when she was hired to launch the lacrosse players now take career-minded trips to New York City and program as its first head coach.

“When I first started, it was all about, ‘We can win, we can run, we can win’ and then we didn’t,” she says. “But we were always competitive.”

After 25 years, Jenny’s 350 career wins are the third most of any coach in the sport’s history. Whether facing tough opponents or creating alumni networks, she keeps the same goal in mind.

“It’s not necessarily about [jobs in] finance or commercial real estate, it’s more about helping women be more bold,” she says. “Guys grow up thinking that they should go into finance – why don’t women?

It’s breaking down those stereotypes and those walls for my players to understand, ‘Whatever your passion is, you can do it.’” – by Matt White 

Jenny Levy

54

55

WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Angela Lee

Executive Director, Hayti Heritage Center Angela received her bachelor’s from Harvard University and returned to her native Chapel Hill after college, where she currently lives. She has a daughter, Jaimie Lee, who also lives in Chapel Hill. Outside of her work at the Hayti Heritage Center, she serves as vice chair of the Durham Cultural Advisory Board, sits on the board of directors for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and enjoys relaxing at Beyu Caffe in her free time.

56

I

t’s the little things that count. An appreciative note from a patron of the Hayti Heritage Center is all it takes to remind Angela Lee of the impact of her work. As the center’s executive director, she helps keep the culture and history of the Hayti community alive in Durham. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “What gets me up every morning is knowing that this is another day that I’ve been blessed to do something good for somebody else,” Angela says. “Getting up and going to the Hayti Heritage Center, to me, is a joy.”

Prior to taking the leadership role at the center seven years ago, Angela had a career in athletics, working at the UNC Men’s Basketball office, and in education, working for an after-school nonprofit. Angela believes that her current position is an extension of her past roles. “I was responsible for the cultural enrichment curriculum of the after-school program and saw some unbelievable artistic movements on the basketball court,” she says. “When there was an opportunity to work with Hayti, I was very excited.”

The Hayti Heritage Center is housed in the former St. Joseph’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was built in 1891.

When the church relocated in the 1970s, the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation was created to preserve the building, naming it the Hayti Heritage Center. Angela says that, without those early visionaries, the building might not exist today.

Historically, St. Joseph’s AME Church “was a place for everyone to grow, raise a family, socialize and have a community,” she says.

Angela’s made certain that the Hayti Heritage Center continues to serve those purposes. “The community has a place where they can go and experience quality arts events, whether it’s visual or performing arts, or arts education. [It] also remains a space for activism.”

Angela is also responsible for finding new opportunities for the center, like sharing the space through facility rentals and, naturally, by writing grants. Before adding a program director to the staff, Angela was in charge of responding to the many Durham organizations interested in bringing a new event or production to the center. “Although [the sanctuary] was converted to a performance hall, we still have two churches that worship there,” she says. “We also hold dramatic performances, conferences and music concert series [including one with] the Durham Symphony Orchestra. It’s used a lot.”

Alongside her many daily responsibilities, Angela stays focused on long-term goals for the venue: “for Hayti to continue serving as an agent of social change, utilizing the arts to empower our community,” she says. “Through social, environmental and economic justice, we can effect real change and honor the vision and work of our ancestors for generations to come.” – by Lindsay Rusczak 

57

WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Miriam Slifkin Activist

Miriam grew up in Pell City and Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and bacteriology in 1947. She and her husband, Larry Slifkin, were married in July 4, 1948, and remained married for 71 years, until his death in December 2019. The couple moved to Chapel Hill in 1955. They have four daughters – Anne Slifkin, Becky Slifkin, Merle Slifkin Oz and Naomi Slifkin – seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Miriam will be 95 on May 24 and lives at Carol Woods.

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fter earning a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate, Miriam Slifkin could confidently say she “produced some pretty good research” at her job at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in 1972.

“Unfortunately, after three years there and after filing a complaint against them on behalf of the women workers, I [was] terminated,” Miriam writes. “I wrote letters and talked to people about getting a job, but soon it became clear that no one wanted a troublemaker or whistleblower, especially a woman, no matter how good a scientist she was or how justified her cause.”

Frustrated, she found comfort in Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique.” “While reading it, I kept thinking, ‘That’s me, that’s me,’” Miriam writes. “The educated woman who had everything – a husband, family, but no outside job, nothing of interest just to her.”

Encouraged by her daughter Naomi, she attended a Chapel Hill consciousness-raising group meeting for women, held on Mondays “because their spouses would be preoccupied with Monday Night Football and wouldn’t care what their wives did.”

“A lot was happening in the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and during that time, I brought the complaint of sex discrimination against NIEHS, but I was hardly aware of what was going on outside of my own little sphere,” Miriam writes. “Even though I felt reluctant at first, it wasn’t long until I was just as open in expressing my feelings as the others.” One week, a young UNC student told the group how she was denied an interview at a TV station because she was told, “Station policy is not to hire girls, they are not authoritative enough.”

The members took action, writing letters to CBS News and their sponsors to tell them they refused to purchase their products. “Women had one strong advantage as we saw it – they were the ones who did the shopping for the family,” Miriam writes.

One of their letters ended up in the mailbox of the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) who suggested they start a local chapter. “By now, I was energized and had something productive to work on,” Miriam writes. She and other members, including her husband, Larry, approached the publisher of The Chapel Hill Weekly about printing all job ads in one column, instead of dividing the listings by gender (better jobs were listed under the men’s category). “After a short time, he changed the format to the one we suggested, making ours, I think, the first newspaper in the state to do so,” she says.

In 1973, Miriam was elected president of the Chapel Hill chapter just as the national organization was encouraging members to help set up 58

Due to the quarantine of COVID-19, this profile was created from “Memories, Part Three” written by Miriam Slifkin in 2007.

rape crisis centers in their communities. The backing of NOW, combined with a recent string of rapes in Chapel Hill, became a catalyst for her. “I could no longer just wage a letter-writing campaign,” Miriam writes. “Something had to be done.” She recruited volunteers, raised funds and organized training programs and a 24-hour telephone service. “The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Rape Crisis Center – now the Orange County Rape Crisis Center – had and still has three main purposes: To provide emergency and continuing assistance to every victim of sexual assault in Orange County, 24/7; to serve as an education and information referral agency for the community; and to actively campaign for improvements in the sexual assault laws in North Carolina,” she writes of the organization she helped found.

Other issues that Miriam took on included discriminatory insurance policies, the ability for a wife to get her own credit card without her husband’s permission and Morehead-Cain Scholarship consideration for women. When she was elected president of North Carolina NOW in 1979, getting the Equal Rights Amendment passed became the main focus of her activism, and she made trips across the state to speak at colleges and universities.

Miriam faced threats, harassing phone calls and vandalism of her van but remained steadfast in her mission. “It was hard for me to remember that, before feminism, I was scared to death to speak before a crowd,” Miriam writes. “I still felt apprehension occasionally, but mostly I got a sense of exhilaration.”

On Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26, 1980, Miriam took on a role she would cherish – a doting grandmother who would encourage her grandkids to be active community members.

That day, at a Chapel Hill NOW meeting, she raised a toast.

“This morning, I became a grandmother of a fine baby girl,” Miriam writes. “May she be a feminist of the next generation, and may she and others like her enjoy the fruits of our labor.” – by Jessica Stringer 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Zena Howard

Principal and Managing Director, Perkins and Will In September 2003, Zena relocated from Pittsburgh to Durham to work for The Freelon Group, which merged with global design firm Perkins and Will in 2014. Three years ago, the firm promoted Zena to principal and managing director. Over her 30-year career, Zena’s built up architectural expertise in cultural work, specializing in museums and libraries, and has designed a number of notable buildings around the country.

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t 10 years old, Zena Howard was drawn to the idea of designing spaces, before she even knew the word “architect.” Her artistic abilities emerged as a child, along with her fascination of the rapidly developing cities she grew up in. She was born in Pampa, Texas, but her childhood trails through Baltimore, Syracuse, New York, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

“It pressed upon me early,” Zena says. “The physical [structures in our] environment and how it impacts our social awareness and construct.” When she lived in the suburbs of Syracuse, she felt connected to the constant construction and her continuously changing surroundings.

At the time, Zena didn’t realize that her interests aligned with architecture. “I had no familiarity with that word, and I didn’t know a person who was one.” Her parents initially guided her toward engineering, but she finally made her way to the profession and has remained in the field ever since.

She graduated from the University of Virginia in 1988 with a bachelor’s in architecture; at the time, there were fewer than 80 licensed female African American architects in the country. Today, there are slightly more than 400. Zena continues to face challenges beyond the profession, like unconscious bias and latent discrimination, but it empowers her work. “I’ve never not loved what I do,” she says. “Every day I pinch myself that I actually do what I do, love it and make a living at it.”

During her first week in Durham with The Freelon Group, Zena was tasked to work on designing the Durham County Human Services Complex. She offered a unique perspective and approach that delivered “services to some of the most vulnerable people of Durham,” she says. Today, Zena directly selects projects that are most meaningful to her. She often gravitates to architecture that addresses issues like social justice and equity.

Zena takes thoughtful approaches and treats each design as if it was her own child – although she says she could never pick a favorite. Her work has won awards, she’s a part of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (only 3% of the 90,000 AIA members earn the distinction), and she was chosen to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime gig: the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. “It was an honor to work on telling the story of African Americans in this country in a holistic way,” she says.

Her most recent project, the Town Common in Greenville, North Carolina, shed light on urban renewal and decades of displacement in the city. She’s also proud of Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles, a 1.3-mile open-air museum completed this past spring. It’s one of the last areas west of the Mississippi with an intact African American community that wasn’t displaced by gentrification.

When Zena looks out from her favorite spot in Durham, the rooftop of The Durham Hotel, she can see she’s helping to preserve and build “Zena imbues architecture with social purpose. This on that shared history here in the Bull City. makes what we are doing She can see her office in the North Carolina relevant beyond the Mutual Building, surrounded by the activity of particulars of any single a diverse and vibrant city; beyond her office, she project. There’s a grand sees the future – the rise and fall of buildings as vision for changing the world through design. We development spreads outward. got this from Phil Freelon, She looks at that skyline every day and knows but Zena is taking it to a she is a part of helping to create a city that honors whole new level, telling multigenerational environments with different bigger stories and positively economic strata and ethnicities. “I want to impacting a greater number of communities.” see Durham evolve in a way that creates more inclusive communities and environments,” she – Kenneth Luker, Design Principal, Perkins and Will says. – by Anne Tate 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Katie Ziglar

Director, Ackland Art Museum Katie was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and briefly lived in Chapel Hill from ages 2 to 6 while her father was in dental school at UNC. She went on to become one of the first 12 women awarded the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship at UNC and earned her bachelor’s degree in European history in 1979. Katie also holds a master’s degree in Islamic art from the American University in Cairo. From 2003 to 2016, she served as director of external affairs for the Smithsonian Institution’s The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. She lives at 140 West Franklin and enjoys walking to work.

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never saw this coming,” Katie Ziglar says of her 2016 appointment as director of the Ackland Art Museum. Her background in public relations and marketing, she explains, instilled a passion for relationship building – and for inspiring others about the human element of art. “I’ve worked in much larger museums, which gives me insight and experiences that have been so beneficial at the Ackland,” she says. “The challenge of making this museum better is what gets me out of bed every morning.”

After accepting the position, Katie immediately began working with museum staff, envisioning ways to make the experience more accessible to visitors.

“Everything about the Ackland, from its facade to its branding, didn’t feel quite approachable, open or inviting,” Katie says.

Under her leadership, the museum went through a rebranding to ensure everything – from the website to the front door – aligned with its mission to “provide experiences that spark insight into ourselves, each other and the world.” The new look includes an eyecatching, bright fuchsia color, a fully updated website and a logo that mirrors the arched entrance to the museum’s door.

But the redesign isn’t done yet; the Ackland will receive a face-lift in the form of a new building. “We are bursting at the seams in every possible way and have been for 20 years,” Katie says. “We are thinking

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WOM EN OF ACH I E V E ME N T

about spaces that are flexible, with moveable furniture, that you can meander with food and drink or use for meeting space. These nontraditional ways of engaging are what will help us turn the corner as a museum.”

This well-rounded approach is a hallmark of Katie’s leadership style. “One of the things I find really exciting about working with Katie is the way she tackles a big challenge,” says Carolyn Allmendinger, director of education and interpretation at the Ackland. “You can tell she’s done her homework, of course. But in addition to that, you can tell that she enjoys the process of figuring out a solution to the problem.” Carolyn describes Katie’s work ethic as inspirational. “She gets important things done that affect the good work we’re able to do at the Ackland, and I hope I can learn how she does it.”

Katie says that designers and other early partners for the new building have already been identified, and she hopes to open it in about five years. “We have also consulted with a space-use planner to figure out what uses or adjacencies are most important to help people move through the galleries,” she says.

Until then, Katie has plenty to keep her busy – including what she calls “the business side” of running the museum. “I work with direct reports and staff to keep all our trains running on time, both with ongoing projects and with those planned for the future,” she says. “We also focus on improvements every day, asking questions like, ‘What remarkable things can we do that haven’t been done before? Can this exhibition travel? How can we put the Ackland’s name out in the world in new ways?’”

That could mean attending more scholarly conferences or bringing people from around the world to view the Ackland’s growing collection. “One of the greatest things that has happened during my tenure has been the donation of the Peck Collection in 2017,” Katie says. Sheldon and Leena Peck of Durham donated more than 130 Dutch and Flemish master drawings and provided an $8 million endowment for a position dedicated to its oversight, stewardship and making new acquisitions.

Katie has certainly embraced Chapel Hill as her home for the third time, and with renewed enthusiasm. “The people here are utterly fascinating, with such interesting stories,” she says. “I love walking around UNC’s campus, too – I feel like a student again. I love that the center of campus has intentionally been kept the same.” Though her husband, Dick Miller, still lives and works in Washington, D.C., Katie has enjoyed introducing him to the campus, too. “I also go back [to D.C.] one weekend a month to reconnect with the museums, friends and places I love for inspiration.”

And though her career path has been unconventional by museum-world terms, Katie believes her ability to adapt has brought balance to her transitions. “Things don’t happen easily or overnight, but if you can expect – and even welcome – the setbacks that come, you will be successful.” – by Morgan Cartier Weston 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Tracey Hawkins

Founder, Thriving on the Spectrum LLC Born and raised in Morehead City, North Carolina, Tracey found a home in Durham in 2004. She and her husband, Zack Hawkins, NC House Representative for District 31, their three sons – Zachari, 17, James Preston, 5, and Adam, 3 – and their 11-year-old golden retriever, Sophie, live in the Ashton Hall neighborhood. Tracey is a graduate of UNC and North Carolina Central University, and is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

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racey Hawkins arrived at her “a-ha moment” unexpectedly, in the middle of the night. She was having trouble falling asleep after hearing that her son, James Preston, 3 years old at the time, had some problems transitioning into a new classroom at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church’s preschool.

Starting somewhere new can be nerve-wracking for any kid, but for James Preston, who had been recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, it was a distressing experience.

“Even the size of a room could throw him off,” Tracey says. “It was different kids, it was all the changes. I had so much anxiety and worry, just dropping him off. What did he do today? Did he run out of the classroom? Did he start yelling and screaming?”

On that sleepless night, Tracey created her brainchild, the Thrive app – an Apple Watch-based application that offers a comprehensive approach to leveraging technology in order to aid in the development of self-regulating behaviors and strategies for kids ages 4-12 with autism. That same idea led Tracey to create Thriving on the Spectrum – a tech startup company that develops interactive, digital, therapeutic tools that address the unique needs of individuals with autism.

James Preston was learning strategies to regulate his emotions from professional therapists, but was finding it difficult to incorporate them into his day-to-day routine. Tracey remembers desperately searching on Google for a device to assist her son, only to find noncomprehensive apps that provided one tool at a time.

With no prior experience or knowledge of software development, Tracey told her husband that she was going to build an app to help children with autism.

“The scary part was that he believed in me,” Tracey says. “Part of me was waiting for someone to push back and be like, ‘This is crazy.’”

Zack’s support gave Tracey the confidence to make her idea a reality.

In the following days, she called up college friend Christina Kyei, an engineer in data analytics and an e-commerce entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience. Together, Tracey and Christina talked 64

through the concept of creating an app to help James Preston and others.

It focuses on five features: a visual scheduler, a self-regulation toolbox, a positive reinforcement rewards bank, a communication portal and a geofence.

Tracey hopes to launch the Thrive app with all five features in the fall.

Talking about her work brings back emotions surrounding her son’s diagnosis.

“He loved my warm embraces, and he’s a very affectionate child,” Tracey says. “We had eye contact. All the things that I thought autism was, he didn’t fit that box. It wasn’t until he had just turned 2 that we noticed his tantrums were a bit more intense than what we would see in his peers. Our family and friends constantly reassured us that it was the terrible twos. We kept trying to make excuses.

“I couldn’t bear the word ‘autism,’” she continues. “Anytime James Preston would do something well at home, it made me say, ‘See, he’s not autistic.’ But now I understand.”

James Preston’s teachers at Duke Memorial encouraged Tracey and Zack to get their son evaluated for sensory processing delays. “Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, James Preston was diagnosed,” Tracey says. “I’ll never forget that date. The whole weekend after was a blur.”

James Preston’s newborn brother, Adam, began to show similar symptoms. Adam received his diagnosis in September, seven months after his brother.

“Everyone dreams of what they imagine motherhood to be like,” Tracey says. “[Then] you’re kind of thrown this curve ball, and you realize that that was all a dictation of your imagination, and then you kind of come to terms with what life is really like. You have to adjust.”

Tracey began to blame herself for her sons’ autism and recalls the daily fear of being judged by other parents in public.

“I remember James Preston would have a moment in the grocery store,” Tracey says. “I didn’t want people to stare at him. I was so scared.”

But Tracey maintained a powerful sense of love and responsibility for her sons. Between assessments and therapy sessions, she and Zack committed themselves to autism education and awareness.

“Our journey has helped to change my view,” Tracey says. “And that’s really what I want to do; I want to be one of the people who help keep the message open and honest and transparent on what it looks like to have a child with autism. My story is not like anyone else’s.”

As parents everywhere acclimate to the coronavirus outbreak, Tracey says social distancing practices are not a new concept for families with autism. Virtual play dates, meetings and livestreamed church are all lifestyle adjustments the Hawkins family has made for years. Tracey’s advice for other parents is this: “The same love, patience and kindness that you want others to show your child, you have to show yourself.”

– by Marie Muir 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Ellen P erry

Activist and Educator, Advocacy in Action Ellen was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that permanently affects body movement and muscle control. She moved to Chapel Hill when she was 22 and settled in Carrboro a few years later. She has served on the boards for a number of local organizations as well as state and local consumer family advisory committees. In 2005, she founded her own business called Advocacy in Action, which helps children with disabilities and their parents.

The state honored Ellen for her work and advocacy on behalf of individuals living with intellectual and other developmental disabilities at the 2018 Advocacy and Leadership Awards hosted by the N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities.

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ow do you get to the grocery store? Or work?

How do you get anywhere? Think about it. Most of us just jump in a car. But for someone like Ellen Perry, it isn’t that easy – nor has it ever been.

That’s true as far back as she remembers. During Ellen’s childhood, her mother struggled with debilitating migraines that often left Ellen fending for her three younger siblings.

She’d have to climb kitchen counters in her leg braces just to slap together PB&J sandwiches. Ellen now acknowledges the difficulties of her upbringing, but, “you know, I’ve always been taking care of people, and I will always take care of them.”

Whether because of her condition – in addition to barely being able to walk as a child, Ellen was prone to spasms that would keep her bedridden for weeks – or perhaps due to her assuming a parental role at such a young age, Ellen had to develop a can-do mindset. That line of thinking would carry her throughout life’s ebbs and flows.

“I’ve always wanted to be independent,” Ellen says. “I mean, I’m the most independent now – I’m doing all kinds of stuff, and I’m learning all the time how to help people with disabilities.”

Not everyone was used to seeing someone like Ellen be self-sufficient.

There was discrimination along the way, Ellen says, more so even than a general uneasiness with the disabled. The stares were one thing, but there was always a dark cloud that followed her, like a looming magnet for malaise. Even at the Cerebral Palsy Center in Raleigh, where she attended school from sixth grade on.

Eventually, Ellen’s health hit something of a boiling point when she was 21 and volunteering at Easterseals UCP, a summer camp for disabled children. A larger than normal dosage of epilepsy medication made Ellen so sick, so constantly dizzy, that she couldn’t lift her head off her pillow.

But rather than cave or stay stuck in bed, Ellen again leaned on her resilient attitude.

Was there someone who inspired you or pushed you forward?

“No. I pushed myself.”

A year later, she ended up at Caramore Community, a group home that provides housing and vocations for the mentally ill in Chapel Hill. But Ellen didn’t feel at home there, exacerbated by several different roommates that rotated in and out over just two years. She wanted to get out.

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So, she did, and finally found her place: Carrboro.

In the 40 years she’s lived in Carrboro, Ellen has done everything possible to encourage opportunities for the disabled. She’s served on the N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Transportation Advisory Board in Carrboro, and she’s also a motivational speaker who has traveled across the country. Her effectiveness on the nation’s biggest stages stems from the same real-world tactics she engages locally: During her first meeting with Mayor Lydia Lavelle, for example, she had the mayor traverse Carrboro with a walker.

As the founder of Advocacy in Action, Ellen works jointly with disabled children and their parents to foster a sense of independence.

Ellen also started Real Advocates Now Emerging in 2000, which helps people with disabilities find permanent homes in their respective communities. That was a big part of her story, and now she could pay it forward by assisting others.

Ellen has even written a number of books preaching the same nevergive-up mentality that she carries with her wherever she goes, sharing with people “how to unapologetically live their life like I live mine.”

– by Hannah Lee

WO M E N O F ACHI EVEM ENT

Jessica M. Bottesch & Ronda Williams Co-founders, Empower Personalized Fitness

Jessica and Ronda met in 1993 as suitemates in the same dorm at UNC. They quickly bonded over their shared interest in fitness and became study partners and close friends. Both earned their bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science and began separate careers in athletic training before founding their studio in 2005. Jessica is married to Warrick Taylor, a tennis coach and founder of Empact Tennis. They have a daughter, Emory, 9, and a dog, Luna. Ronda is married to Kelly Williams, and they have a daughter, Kendall, 9, and a dog, Jasper.

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essica Bottesch and Ronda Williams founded Empower Personalized Fitness with a vision that lies in its name: to empower people and communities to live stronger, healthier lives. “We believe everyone deserves to feel strong, fit and prepared to do whatever fulfills them,” Ronda says.

The studio’s practice is a highly personal experience, customized to each client’s needs. “We aren’t group training focused – there is no set workout plan or formula,” Jessica explains.

Instead, the duo’s approach involves tailored workouts based on individualized success. “We ask what they want to do out in the world, and what they love about their life,” Jessica says. That might mean picking up their child without back pain, playing a sport they love or caring for an aging parent.

“Then, we focus on preparing them for that.”

That level of attention is not limited to planning out the long-term fitness journey. “We also check in on each particular training day,” Jessica says. “Did they sleep well? Are they dealing with an injury? And we adapt.”

Other initiatives have sprung out of the Empower community, including GIRL Power. Led by CFO (Chief Fun Officer) and trainer Amanda Fontaine, the group provides opportunities for young women in the workforce to achieve their fitness goals, attend social events and build strong personal relationships – all while maintaining their busy schedules.

“The care we provide extends far beyond our four walls,” Ronda says.

That applies to their growing staff, too. She and Ronda are proud of the strong team and positive work environment they’ve cultivated.

“We lean hard into our values,” Ronda says. “We took our whole team

to racial equity training and have been intentional about building a diverse team representative of Durham. We are always improving our shared language as humans, and we can’t support the community without taking responsibility for that.”

That support system was challenged, though, when they made the decision to expand to a second location in Raleigh. Shortly afterward, one of their core team members, Nestor Paonessa, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. “It was a gut-wrenching, eye-opening moment,” Jessica says.

“Our families were stretched thin, and we decided not to try to force the second location.”

The Empower team returned to Durham full time. “We felt at home again, and it gave us room to evaluate a growth strategy that made sense for us,” Jessica says.

While Jessica and Ronda worked to keep things moving, Nestor underwent treatment at The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Hospital.

“Over the years, I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the fierce entrepreneurial spirit that these two women bring to the health and wellness industry,” Nestor says. “They are both incredibly driven, savvy and compassionate.”

He first joined the staff as a full-time personal trainer and now serves as assistant general manager. “Nestor is about to hit five years of clear brain scans, and we are so, so thankful,” Ronda says.

As for their revised business plan, an idea surfaced about a year ago that would allow Jessica and Ronda to use their skills to make an impact on the fitness industry. “We launched Empower Partners Coaching & Consulting to help other fitness businesses maximize their time and profits,” Ronda says. “It has really helped us stabilize so we can live into our roles as leaders.”

“I think we were daydreaming about this place from the time we first met,” Jessica says. “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come, and that now we get to help other businesses.”

“It’s not often that folks can weather business changes and stay friends,” Ronda adds. “It’s been quite the journey over the past 27 years, and we’re so thankful to have stayed connected this long. Each of us had parents who were entrepreneurs, so we were lucky to see firsthand the joy and fulfillment that can come from hard work and perseverance in the pursuit of your passion.” – by Morgan Cartier Weston  67

WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

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fter threats of gun violence and a lockdown at East Chapel Hill High School last September, Thea Barrett started the school’s chapter of March for Our Lives because, she says, she didn’t feel safe. She outlined plans for a club that could help ensure the emotional and physical safety of her peers. Thea met with Principal Kenneth Proulx, and he gave her the go-ahead to start it.

In addition to being the communications director for March for Our Lives Durham-Chapel Hill, Thea also volunteers at St. Philip Lutheran Church in Raleigh, helping to create a more welcoming and inclusive community for LGBTQA+ people.

In February, the Orange County Human Relations Commission held the 30th annual Pauli Murray Awards, which honors an Orange County youth, adult and business that have served the community with distinction in the pursuit of equality, justice and human rights for all. Thea is this year’s youth awardee, though she didn’t realize she’d been nominated.

“I was genuinely shocked,” Thea says. “I got an email saying I had won and had to read it at least five times before I truly understood what was happening.”

Mae McLendon was also a recipient of the award this year, having served the community for more than 40 years through elected positions, civic volunteerism and her ministry.

Inspired by how active her mother was in St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church

and in her community, Mae followed suit at a young age. Her mother told her, “We might be poor and have little, but there’s always someone who has less.” To honor her mother’s philosophies, Mae got involved in the church’s activities, the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service

Thea Barrett

2020 PAULI MURRAY AWARD WINNER Thea is a senior at East Chapel Hill High School and lives in Morgan Creek with her parents, Sharon and James, her brother, Baxter, a junior at UNC, and her dog, Pepper.

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and in politics to combat issues like homelessness, hunger and keeping young people out of prison.

Active in local government since 1968, Mae is currently the vice president of the Lions Club Precinct. She served as vice president of the Democratic Women of Orange County, and first and second vice chair of the county’s Democratic Party, among other positions. She is a member of the Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board and spent nine years on the Town of Chapel Hill Planning Board.

For 25 years, Mae worked in prisons as a program director and mentor, developing projects for volunteers and inmates. One day, Mae was dining out at a restaurant when a young man approached her. “You might not remember me, but I was an inmate,” he said.

WO M E N O F ACHI EVEM ENT

He wanted to thank Mae, not just for doing her job, but also for treating him with kindness. He had worked in the prison commissary, and every time Mae would buy items, she would smile and ask the employees how they were doing. Mae put her money directly in his hand, instead of on the counter, like most people. “That’s just the way I was raised,” Mae says. “To treat people like people, regardless of where they were.”

When Mae learned she won the award, she was stunned. She knew others who won in the past and thought, “Oh, my gosh, how could I fall into that group of great people who’ve gotten it before me?” Mae says. “It’s a blessing to be recognized. I feel like I have to live up to it now.”

Mae is currently the coordinator for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro CROP Hunger Walk, which will be virtual this year, and she’s charged with figuring out the best way to continue to raise funds to help the hungry.

Thea, meanwhile, is turning her attention toward deciding what college to attend in the fall and transitioning her volunteer roles on to successors – a difficult task with school closed indefinitely and Orange County’s stay-at-home orders in place.

Mae and Thea had not met prior to the award ceremony, but knew of each other; Mae worked on the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness’ Project Connect with Thea’s parents.

“I think [advocacy is] really all of our jobs,” Thea says. “To speak up for those who don’t have a voice in the world.”

“It’s great to hear young people being aware of what’s around them [and who] are out there doing positive things like she’s doing,” Mae says.

“To end hunger or gun violence is not something you do overnight,” Mae continues. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and you don’t go in to get glory. You go in it to try to find solutions to problems.”

Thea agrees that not all change is immediate, but she reminds herself that she and her peers are “building the stage for change to happen.” She stays positive and focuses on her goals because, “we [all] can create change.”

To other young women who want to make a difference in their communities, Thea says, “Sometimes, you are going to be the only one, but that’s OK. Just stay true to what you believe in and the work that you care about.”

Mae puts it another way: “Someone used to say that we all came in different boats, but we’re in the same boat now, and we have to learn to work together.” – by Anne Tate 

Mae McLendon

2020 PAULI MURRAY AWARD WINNER Mae attended UNC for her bachelor’s in sociology and master’s in social work and has lived in Orange County since 1964. She now lives in Carrboro near her daughter, Anissa McLendon.

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P eggy Walters

President, Watts College of Nursing Peggy earned her licensed practical nursing degree and associate degree in nursing at Forsyth Technical Community College. She obtained a bachelor’s in nursing from Winston-Salem State University, and a master’s in education and doctor of education from North Carolina State University. She has a master’s in nursing from Duke University, and she is Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified.

Born in Abingdon, Virginia, and raised between Winston-Salem and King, North Carolina, Peggy has lived in north Durham for more than 40 years. She is married to her husband, Stanley. Her daughter, Laura Wong, is a nursing program coordinator for the psycho-oncology clinic at Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte. Laura and her husband, Michael Wong, are expecting, due in September. Peggy is also a grandmother to step-grandsons Matthew, 10, and Christian, 8.

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eacher, nurse or secretary – pick one. For Peggy, these seemed like the only career options available for women growing up in the 1950s. Both Peggy and her identical twin sister, Patsy Hall, chose nursing.

“I quickly realized that teaching is a vital part of patient and family care, and there is always something to learn when you are a nurse,” Peggy says. “I am very fortunate to have what I think is the best of both: nursing and education.”

Her decision to go into nursing was an easy one. The humble result of growing up in a church, Peggy felt a need to serve. “I did feel it was and continues to be my calling, not just to care for others, but to have an impact on the lives of those who also are and will be caring for others,” she says.

Having previously taught at Guilford Technical Community College and North Carolina Central University, Peggy arrived at Watts School of Nursing in 1980 and began instructing students on critical care. She has witnessed the City of Medicine’s evolution: “[I’ve seen] the whole culture of Durham transform, and seen the Duke and Mercyhealth System grow.

When I first came, it was Duke, the university, the school of nursing and the med school. And to see those meld, how everything came together and how they expanded care for the community, has been wonderful.”

Peggy has also seen Watts itself evolve. “We’ve always had white women, but now we’ve gone from what used to be 8% or 9% diversity of our class to 54%,” she says. “The other thing we’ve seen change is the number of different jobs that nurses can do; [before], it was either clinic, doctor’s office or bedside, and now we’re everywhere.”

After 14 years of teaching, Peggy became the director of nursing education at Watts. Peggy simultaneously took on the roles of interim chief nursing officer and patient care services officer for Duke Regional Hospital from 2008 to 2009, followed by her service as interim associate chief nursing officer and patient care services officer from 2009 to 2014. In 2013, Peggy became the director of nursing education at Watts as well as the director of Duke Regional Hospital Education Services.

In September 2019, Watts officially became a college, transitioning from its long-standing diploma program to offering a bachelor’s in nursing, and Peggy became its first president.

And as president, there is no such thing as “clocking out.”

Peggy’s day officially begins at 5:30 a.m. – arriving at Watts by 8 a.m., leaving by 6 p.m. But she is on call 24/7, answering emails, texts and phone calls at any hour. Her students provide a daily source of motivation.

“The most rewarding thing about my role is their successes,” she says.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Watts School of Nursing. Although the coronavirus outbreak has postponed their May anniversary celebration, we can honor the legacy of Watts by giving thanks every day for the service of nurses like Peggy, her faculty and her pupils, here and around the world.

– by Marie Muir 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Tanya Moore

Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Communications, UNC A Greensboro native, Tanya graduated from UNC with her bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication in 2001. She has worked in the University Communications (formerly University Relations) office ever since. In April 2019, she was appointed to the role of associate vice chancellor for campus and community communications; she also serves on the board of the Chapel Hill & Orange County Visitors Bureau. Tanya lives in Durham with her husband, Trae Moore, and is the ladies’ golf club champion at Hope Valley Country Club.

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anya Moore’s first job after graduating from UNC was coordinating logistics for the Tar Heel Bus Tour.

“Back then, the tour was a five-day trip across the state to introduce new faculty to all things North Carolina – from our people, politics and economics to how the university serves the state through research and public service,” she says. Nearly 20 years later, she oversaw another avenue for the public to connect to UNC. In March 2020, the new UNC Visitors Center featuring interactive exhibits opened on East Franklin Street. “[It is] a beautiful, modern facility in the heart of downtown to welcome visitors and give them a space to relax and chat with our talented staff and students,” Tanya says. “We want people to leave understanding what exactly defines us: academic excellence, groundbreaking research and commitment to public service.”

In the University Communications office, Tanya oversees campus and internal communications, executive communications and community relations. Her team is composed of storytellers.

They write speeches, draft announcements, handle issues, assist visitors, lead campus tours and engage with the Town of Chapel Hill. “No two days are alike,” Tanya says, “and managing a wide variety 72

WOM EN OF ACH I E V E ME N T

of areas is part of what I love about my job. As a trusted advisor, I also provide communications counsel to the vice chancellor, other senior administrators and colleagues across campus.”

These duties, and the encouragement and trust instilled in her along the way, drive her to excel. “One of the things that I enjoy most about working at Carolina is that, regardless of my role, I’ve been given the opportunity to take on challenges and then was mentored along the way,” she says. “Looking back, I realize how much responsibility I was given as a junior staffer, and I’m grateful for it every day. Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working for talented leaders who’ve coached me, trusted me and allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow.”

This support has helped Tanya face the challenges that have come her way. “Getting through the difficult days takes patience, perseverance and the ability to keep everything in perspective,” Tanya says. “Now, as we respond to COVID-19 and realize the impact locally and on campus, I appreciate how our communications team and others have come together to respond to this emergency.”

Since her appointment to this current role, Tanya and her team have also placed a renewed emphasis on serving the larger community.

“Certainly, the Visitors Center is top of mind, but we’ve made additional investments in downtown, including the 1789 Venture Lab, Launch Chapel Hill and other innovation spaces,” Tanya says.

Tanya is proud of the connection that continues to strengthen between town and gown. “Our partnership with the towns to provide fare-free bus service is a hallmark,” she says. “How we work together to manage major events and celebrations like Final Fours, Halloween and football Saturdays is truly a collaborative effort.”

She notes the evolution of technology as a key component to reinforcing that shared sense of identity. “Social media has transformed how we communicate with our neighbors and friends and enables us to keep them informed and engaged in real time,” she says. “We’re still diligent about sending emails, but for those who want to stay up to the minute, we’ve got them covered, too.”

“Tanya is one of the smartest and hardest-working colleagues I have ever known,” says Vice Chancellor of Communications Joel Curran.

“Her love for Carolina is only surpassed by her deep and highly nuanced understanding of what makes this university so special and unique, and how to best share our stories with the state, the nation and the world.”

While UNC’s legacy is a critical part of its story, Tanya and her team are excited to focus on the future. “Moving forward, we’re innovating in everything we do – from how we teach and meet the needs of today’s students to how we modernize the operational side of the enterprise to how we respond to unprecedented challenges like COVID-19.

Advancing change at a 226-year-old institution isn’t easy, but it’s essential if we are to remain a leading global public research university.”

Although she’s no longer a student, Tanya still feels right at home on campus. “I love walking along the brick paths, especially as flowers start to bloom in the spring,” she says. “Our students, faculty and staff – and their energy and passion – remind me why I do what I do.”

– by Morgan Cartier Weston 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Marla Thurman

Chef de Cuisine, Pizzeria Toro Marla grew up in northeast Texas and is the first in her family to pursue a career in food service. She went to The International Culinary School at The Art Institute in Charlotte, where she also taught part time. She eventually moved to Durham to teach at The Art Institute at the American Tobacco Campus. Marla has been the chef de cuisine at Pizzeria Toro for five years and most recently won an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped.”

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hef Marla Thurman sticks her face in a raging-hot pizza oven up to 600 times a day, pilots a 15-person kitchen and circles around every station in her pizzeria, all while up against a relentlessly ticking clock. “Controlled chaos,” she calls her 12-hours-a-day, 5-days-a-week job. Not everyone could handle that heat, but she does. And the thrill never gets old.

Still, she wouldn’t have thought her cooking might gain the attention of a national TV network. Food Network asked her to be a guest on one of its shows – several times, might we add – but nothing really got her excited other than the idea of being on “Chopped,” a cooking competition show where four chefs compete before a panel of three judges using ingredients found in a “mystery basket” before each round.

“That was something I’ve watched for years,” Marla says. “In culinary school, I remember watching ‘Chopped’ and then playing the game in my head. Like, what would I do with the basket?”

Her daydreams became reality at the end of 2018 during interviews with producers. By January 2019, a camera crew visited Pizzeria Toro to capture Marla in her element. Two months later, she was in the “Chopped” kitchen cooking and competing; her episode took a whirlwind 24 hours to film. “Almost like it didn’t happen,” she says of how little time it took.

And the best part? She won. She took home $10,000 and had to keep the secret for an entire year – even from her mom.

When the episode finally aired on a Tuesday evening in February, every chair in her restaurant was filled with co-workers, friends and fans Marla never even knew she had.

“There’s not anybody screaming your name and cheering you on in the studio,” Marla says. “[So] being in front of people [watching me on TV] seemed crazier than the actual experience.”

Durhamites have applauded Marla ever since – she’s become one of the most recognizable faces in the city even though she works mostly behind the scenes. Recently, at a local farmers market, “Several [strangers] – not vendors that I’m used to working with, just people who 74

were there shopping – were like, ‘Way to go, chef! We watched you on TV; you’re awesome!’” Marla says. “That was kind of surreal.”

Beyond her successful restaurant, though, Marla has been an unspoken heroine in the local food scene for years. She’s praised by her vendors like Firsthand Foods for supporting local agriculture. And no matter how busy her schedule gets, she volunteers with nonprofits like Meals on Wheels of Durham and at local events like Planned Parenthood’s Sustenance for the Resistance.

She also loops in her restaurant to help others whenever possible.

As of press time, the restaurant remains open amidst the coronavirus outbreak. “Part of why we’re open right now – a lot of restaurants were told to close – [is because owner Gray Brooks and] I really want to be here for the community,” Marla says. “We never closed on a snow day because we want to be somebody that everyone can count on.”

That includes the community, who she continues to serve tasty woodfired pies to, as well as her own kitchen staff, who she treats like a family.

Though, in reality, all of Durham is her family now. Marla might not be able to stop a pandemic, but that doesn’t mean she can’t play a part in helping out now and in the months to come. – by Hannah Lee 

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WOMEN OF ACH I EV EM EN T

Dr. Mandy Ghaffarpour Cosmetic and Family Dentist, Studio G Aesthetic & Family Dentistry

Mandy, known to her patients as “Dr. G,” received her bachelor’s degree with honors in biology and chemistry from UNC-Greensboro and doctor of dental surgery from UNC. In addition to her dental practice, Mandy founded Triangle Mobile Dentistry and serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the UNC Adams School of Dentistry. She and her husband, Sarshar Motamedi, have a daughter, Ariana, who attends UNC-Wilmington, and a “feel-good ambassador therapy dog, Lily, who loves to hang out around the office and sit with patients.”

Years in business: 13 Total patients served at the practice in 2019: 4,000 patients seen multiple times a year Number of employees: 16 staff members and four doctors How did you choose your career path?

I still have no clue why I chose to become a dentist.

I always hated going to the dentist. I knew I had an artistic hand and was originally planning on going to medical school. Working with famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Charles A. Engh Sr., I had an opportunity to go to medical school at George Washington University. Two of Dr. Engh’s friends said, “Are you crazy, you want to become a doctor? If you’re a dentist, you only work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can take work off on Fridays.” After I took the Medical College Admission Test and Dental Admission Test, I got in – four years later, I was a dentist!

What does a typical day look like? I get up early in the morning to go to the gym, work until 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m., go home, talk to colleagues about patient care. I spend some time with family and go to bed before starting all over again.

How do you persevere when you’ve had a challenging day? When I’ve had a challenging day, I try to learn more about what the problem was – that way I can solve it!

What woman has inspired you throughout your life?

My mom – she was compassionate, strong and a caring person.

What are your core values? I always try to do my best and treat my family of patients as I would want to be treated.

What is Triangle Mobile Dentistry? We lost [my husband’s] mom to dementia, and this area is full of retirement communities. So, we occasionally would have patients who forgot their appointments, or we just wouldn’t hear from them. They weren’t comfortable coming 76

into the office and leaving the familiarity of their own home. One day I said, “I wish there was a way we could go see patients at their home,” and that’s when we created Triangle Mobile Dentistry in 2016.

What accomplishments are you most proud of? I’m most proud of my practice and my amazing dental team, staff, patients and family.

What has your career taught you? Treat the patients, not just their teeth.

If you weren’t a dentist, what would you be doing? If it wasn’t something in medicine, I would probably be a fashion designer or interior designer. If you come to my office, you’ll notice the decor – it’s all my design! I can envision any design in my mind, which is why I can look at teeth and see the design perfectly in my mind.

If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give a younger you? Choose your career wisely; love what you do, not do what you love; and always try to do the best you can.

What do you enjoy doing for fun? I love to travel, and I enjoy fashion and design. I also love spending time with family, teaching at UNC and attending educational seminars. – as told to Marie Muir 

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O

n the floor of her Hillsborough home with Anderson in her arms, Ursula Mead strategizes her next move, three turns ahead, during the board game Santorini.

“I’m a big board game player,” Ursula says. “I really love the challenge of taking a certain set of resources that I have, or a certain number of turns to gain, and trying to get the best outcome.”

It’s the same way she feels about InHerSight, and women in general. That approach of strategizing in advance is what ultimately inspired her to launch the company. Before she started the employer reviews platform, Ursula worked for a maledominated tech company in Washington, D.C. It was during this time that she had her daughter, Elizabeth.

“I was a new mom,” Ursula says, “and let Founder and CEO, me tell you, nothing can really prepare you InHerSight for what it’s like and what your new reality is

started to wonder why people didn’t march in the streets anymore – this, of course, was years before the worldwide Women’s March in 2017 and the age of #MeToo. Why weren’t women pushing for change? We need to, she thought.

Working hours outside of her current job, she studied crowdsourcing review platforms like GlassDoor, Yelp and TripAdvisor. (Even In 2014, Ursula founded and launched InHerSight, an with a preschooler at that point, she stretched anonymous reviews platform herself – she says her version of work-life where women rate the femalebalance has always been happily unbalanced.) friendliness of their companies, The users on these websites, naturally, took while working at The Motley what they learned from other people to Fool, a private financial and investing advice company in improve their own situation.

Virginia. In 2016, she pursued “That was exactly what we as professional InHerSight full time as its CEO women needed to do,” she says. “We needed and relocated the company to find the companies where we would be to Durham, attracted by the supported, and we needed to find a way to area’s commitment to diverse entrepreneurship. She also has encourage more companies to support us.” local ties, having graduated Over six years later, InHerSight displays from UNC in 2002 with a scorecards for more than 125,000 companies bachelor’s in political science. nationwide, ranging from two or three She lives in Hillsborough with evaluations to tens of thousands. But more her husband, Tom Mead, a “golf-obsessed data analyst,” reviews haven’t translated to better treatment, and their two kids, Elizabeth, 8, Ursula says. and Anderson, 4 months.

So, Ursula continues to put pressure on those inequality statistics. She hopes if more women make decisions through InHerSight’s data, her company can make an impact – not just for women, but for girls, too. In the end, she wants what’s best for her daughter.

“For me, success looks like my daughter going to work for a company,” Ursula says, “and for her to feel like she’s going to have access to equal opportunities. That she’s going to be able to choose whether she wants to become a mom, or not, and know that she’s going to get the support she needs to have the career that she wants.

“That her gender is not going to hold her back.” – by Hannah Lee 

Ursula Mead

when you become a mom for the first time.

You can read about it all you want, but when you experience it, it really changes things, and it crystallizes the challenges as a working mom.”

Her friends were at similar stages in their lives but did not reap the same maternity benefits as Ursula. A mathematically inclined Ursula looked into the data. She was shocked.

“They were starkly concerning statistics,” Ursula says. “At the time, 12% of private sector employers offered fully paid maternity leave. That wasn’t a number that was trending consistently up. When you see [those numbers] you’re like, ‘Wait, what? Wow, I have fabulous parental leave.’ I had no idea what the landscape looked like for other women.”

Ursula wasn’t satisfied with that inequality, even though she had things good herself. She

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Tiffanie Sneed

Police Senior Legal Advisor, Town of Chapel Hill Tiffanie capped off a decade of service as the police senior legal advisor for the Town of Chapel Hill in February. Tiffanie was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and she loves to cook, which offers her a chance to slow down and enjoy mealtimes with her husband, Marc, and two sons, Xavier Charles, 11, and Mason Cole, 2. “If I were not practicing law, I would probably be taking cooking classes, as much as I enjoy it,” she says. The family also loves to attend UNC basketball and football games together.

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n eighth grade, Tiffanie Sneed’s government teacher suggested she become a lawyer after watching her debate in class. “Pretty much since 13, that was my goal, and I never deviated,” Tiffanie says.

She did have second thoughts in high school, but her French teacher and mentor reassured Tiffanie she should go on to law school. Tiffanie says she’s received encouragement at nearly every major step in her academic and legal career, which has motivated her to prioritize helping and inspiring other people through her work.

Tiffanie graduated from Yale University with a degree in sociology and received her J.D. from UNC. Her first job out of law school was for an insurance defense firm in Raleigh. But she realized a few weeks in that her role was not benefiting individuals, it was helping the insurance companies meet the bottom line.

“Of course, while you’re clerking and interning, that’s the dating period,” Tiffanie says. “After you start working there, that’s when you get to see the true colors of who you married.”

When Tiffanie discovered the city attorney’s office in Fayetteville needed a litigator, she applied for the position, intrigued by the idea of municipal government work. Almost a year later, one of the chiefs of police convinced Tiffanie to become a police attorney, and she transitioned to the role of police legal advisor for the City of Fayetteville in 2004. In 2010, she started in a similar position for the Town of Chapel Hill.

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Tiffanie laughs when asked to describe a typical day. “It’s always something new and exciting,” she says. Her duties range from training police officers to dealing with employee misconduct to helping residents navigate neighborhood disputes and ordinance issues. The constant change is one of Tiffanie’s favorite aspects about her role.

One thing remains consistent. “At the end of day, I can go to bed knowing I actually helped somebody,” Tiffanie says.

Outside of her job, Tiffanie and her family are involved with their church, Baptist Grove Church in Raleigh. Tiffanie serves on the ministerial staff and provides the church with pro bono legal assistance. She received her master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in May 2019 and became a licensed minister.

After 10 years working in Chapel Hill, Tiffanie has gained a reputation for her commitment to making time to sit down and have a meaningful conversation with someone in need of help or encouragement. She says one of her former colleagues nicknamed her office “the confessional” because people would go in and out, not necessarily asking just for legal advice, but also for personal guidance.

“That’s one of the things that I enjoy about working in Chapel Hill,” Tiffanie says. “It’s so family-oriented. We can have time to just have conversations and connect with one another on an individual level, not just a professional one.” – by Cam Edson 

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Rev. Heather Rodrigues

Lead Pastor, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church Heather is a 2009 graduate of Duke Divinity School and was appointed to her role at Duke Memorial in 2014. She lives in Garrett Farms with husband Pete Rodrigues, a custom furniture maker, and their children, Eli, 16, a sophomore at Riverside High School, and Sarah, 11, a sixth-grader at Durham School of the Arts.

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he first time Heather Rodrigues heard a woman’s voice preaching from the pulpit, it was her own. She grew up in a 200-year-old house in the middle of a cow field in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and attended a Mennonite church with her family. Heather recalls noticing a lack of female leadership, not only in that church, but in later services she attended as a young adult in North Carolina. “I was in my mid-20s before I realized, thanks to my pastor at the time, that I had these gifts, and I could use them,” Heather says.

Part of that gift, she explains, is having a real sense of self. “Looking out at the congregation on my first Sunday at Duke Memorial, I had to stand tall in my ability to lead them,” Heather says. “The second part of leading is not just knowing your power, but also using it for the least, the last and the lost – not for yourself.”

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To make room for that work, Heather often turns to her family for support. “My husband, Pete, has leaned into the ‘nontraditional’ roles in our home – we made the decision for me to take on this appointment together,” she says. “He supports me in not only his words, but also in his actions, and I am so thankful for that.”

Before she became a pastor, Heather worked in furniture stores and as an interior designer. “I still get to use that experience, because ministry is such a creative process,” she says. Heather tries to incorporate stories from the congregation each week, weaving their experiences into the messages she shares. And like all other organizations, the church had to adapt to COVID-19. “We went from sanctuary service to virtual in three days,” Heather says.

In early 2019, the United Methodist Church voted to uphold the “traditional plan” – one that prohibits samesex marriages on church campuses. Heather saw this as an opportunity. “I knew that, as a church, we would have to speak – either through our silence or through our actions,” she says. “In my personal life, so many friendships have challenged this way of thinking – that same-sex relationships are not acceptable. So I asked myself, ‘How can my faith grow alongside this journey for the LGBTQ community?’”

Heather and the rest of the clergy at Duke Memorial unanimously agreed to disagree with the denomination’s decision, and the staff even established a task force while Heather was on sabbatical over the summer. “They were all ready to take a stand, to live into their baptismal vows in that way,” she says.

On Feb. 29 – Leap Day – Heather performed the first same-sex marriage ceremony in Duke Memorial’s history; 11 other clergy members stood with her in solidarity. “We called it an act of holy disobedience,” she says.

Of course, in challenging the denomination, the strength of the congregation was also tested. “We can’t do hard work, the kind that helps those finding their voice, without some difficulty along the way,” Heather says. “[Heather] leads from the heart, but not without thinking through the consequences of her actions,” says Roger Loyd. Roger served as director of the Duke Divinity School Library from 1992 to 2012, and he and his wife, Leta, have been active members of Duke Memorial since 1993. “She has the spiritual and moral courage to take on difficult discussions and to make sure that all voices have a chance to be heard,” Roger says, noting that the congregation’s recent revision of its welcome statement to include the LGBTQ+ community is one of several important moments that have taken place under Heather’s guidance and leadership.

Heather is also actively working to ensure the path for women in ministry remains open. “Because ministry is traditionally so maledominated, we have to be intentional about making sure mentors are both men and women,” she explains. “I know my call comes specifically out of Christ’s call: to flip power wherever it gets too large, and make space for all voices, gifts and strengths.” – by Morgan Cartier Weston

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Mary Patricia P eres-da-Silva Compact Math Teacher, McDougle Middle School

Mary Patricia was named Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teacher of the year in 2019 for her work teaching advanced math at McDougle Middle School. She has 23 years of experience in education and multiple degrees, including a bachelor’s and a master’s in physics from Bombay University, a bachelor’s in education from Annamalai University in Chidambaram, India, and a master’s in education from North Carolina Central University. Mary Patricia lives in Carrboro with her husband, Anil, who is a software engineer for Micro Focus. They have three grown children: Prateek, Ashwin and Nalini.

ary Patricia Peres-da-Silva doesn’t see her advanced math classes at McDougle Middle School as full of students. Instead, she has instructed hundreds of scholars in the past eight years. See, Mary Patricia is more than a math teacher – she also provides lessons on self-worth and ambition.

When she first started calling her students “scholars,” they thought she had “gone cuckoo,” she says.

“But now I show them clips of Rhodes scholars, Robinson scholars, especially minority scholars, … for their mindset to change,” Mary Patricia says. “I sing, ‘We are scholars,’ and they go, ‘Ba ba da bum bum bum bum bum.’”

That positive language has had a resounding effect on her classroom. She overheard one student say that their dad started calling them a scholar, and another student designed a “scholar bucks” reward system for the entire class. Mary Patricia encourages her kids to transform disparaging thoughts into constructive ones. Phrases like, “I can’t do this” or “I’m not good at math” become, “This might take more effort” or “If plan A didn’t work, there’s 25 more letters in the alphabet.”

“You have to have a sense of humor as well as a little psychology,” Mary Patricia says.

Second to her scholars’ achievements, Mary Patricia is most proud of her classroom itself.

Chapel Hill Magazine stopped by the doorway to read dozens of homemade Valentine’s Day 83

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cards. One card read, “You never know what you’re missing until it’s gone” from a past student.

Inside the room, names of scholars written and measured angle by angle serve as wallpaper. Shelves spill over with math projects and circuits. Baby Yoda sits atop a 3D printer. Behind an inconspicuous cabinet door, she stores the more expensive educational technology, including Ozobots, which she purchased using a $1,500 grant from the Public School Foundation. She also used the funds to start a STEM club in 2019.

Growing up doing math worksheets in India, Mary Patricia promised herself that if she ever became a teacher, she would teach real-world applications, like through the STEM club. It meets every Tuesday after school to tackle a new challenge. At its inception, only boys attended. This year, six girls joined the club.

“I hope to inspire more girls to get involved, showing them that they can do it and that maybe they just haven’t been encouraged as much as boys to do STEM,” Mary Patricia says.

Her husband, Anil, brings ice-cream sandwiches to every meeting.

“He never tells me how much he spends, but the children wait for him to come,” she says, laughing.

Outside of school, Mary Patricia takes her scholars to local STEM fairs, technology conferences and competitions. “Last year, we were at the [the State Math Fair regional competition at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics] when I had all girls up there getting four out of the six prizes for the seventh grade level, and they were all minorities,” she says. “That was a very proud moment.”

In early March, she took 10 McDougle students to present at the North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES) Student Showcase. “I know it’s a lot of work, but if we don’t take the kids to these competitions or take them to the technology expos, no one will,” she says.

At least two days every week, Mary Patricia arrives at 7:30 a.m. to tutor students before school. She also mentors new teachers, serves on the AVID leadership team and the district advisory planning committee for personalized learning, and leads professional development workshops. Even with all her hard work and dedication, as an Indian woman who immigrated to the U.S. in 1990 with only $20, Mary Patricia says she never thought she would be the district teacher of the year.

“Even now after doing this for 20 years, I still plan till midnight,” she says. “And it’s not about worksheets, it’s, ‘What technology can I use; what YouTube videos, clip art, hands-on thing, what movement can I Mary Patricia gives her incorporate?’ So, I’m scholars a fist bump at the door every morning. still learning and still Although the coronavirus trying to get better outbreak has paused this than the year before classroom ritual, her scholars and [maintain] a can guarantee that she growth mindset.” expects a fist bump, or a hug, upon return.

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Solomon Goldberg, 5, in the family’s spacious living room, which gets plenty of natural light throughout the day.

86

closer

together We checked in with a few families whose homes we’ve featured before to find out how they are using their favorite spaces while social distancing

By R achel Rockwel l | Photography by B et h Ma n n

A

STICKING TO THE ROUTI N E

shlyn Goldberg’s decor philosophy is all about achieving a sense of comfort at home. For the thrift-loving designer, the perfect space is one that feels personal.

“I’m passionate about having a beautiful home because I think it makes a difference when you walk in and think, ‘This is where I 87

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GOLDBERGS

C LOSER TOGET HER

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GOLDBERGS

want to be,’” she says. “So, I make all of my design choices to get to that feeling. I thrift because, if I buy something vintage, it has a soul to it; it has withstood the test of time, and it has a personality, it doesn’t feel so derivative.”

Ashlyn recently started The Uncommon Collector, an interior styling company, to exercise her passion, but her new business was put on hold due to COVID-19. Her time is now spent primarily in her own south Durham home along with husband, Rafi, and their sons, Julian, 12, and Solomon, 5. The space, a new build with traditional flair, is now the site of the family’s work and school routines.

While the open-concept core of the house (which includes the living room, den and kitchen) is the main place the family gathers, the key to their quarantine routine is the ability to separate and come together at various times of the day. Each space has a different purpose and mood – for instance, the living room is fresh and bright, with plenty of sunshine and a light color palette, while Ashlyn describes the den as “a warm hug,” with heavier pieces like rust-colored club chairs and a navy sofa.

These core living areas are also connected to the dining space, where the family congregates at the end of the work and school day for meals at a vintage oval dining table with cane back chairs thrifted from a local Salvation Army store.

The house’s lot backs up to woods, where Ashlyn has been foraging for flowers to make arrangements that don’t require leaving her home, and where the family has been taking advantage of the chance to get some fresh air.

“We have a screen porch and a large backyard, and we try to get out there every day,” Ashlyn says. “We play badminton or with water toys or just stare at the sky, and we take walks through the neighborhood.”

Ashlyn also set up an art space in the garage with folding tables, paints and drawing supplies. She calls this DIY, out-of-sight-out-of-mind art studio a “sanity saver.”

“I don’t have to worry about a mess inside, and if we want to leave it out, we can,” she says. “I’m a bit of a neat freak, and the garage space has helped me let go a little bit recently.” 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GOLDBERGS

ABOVE A new crafting space in the garage allows brothers Julian, 12, and Solomon to be creative without causing a mess in the house.

RIGHT Rafi joined Solomon for a castle-drawing activity. BELOW RIGHT Playing in the yard during the warm spring weather has added fun breaks to the day.

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Small tweaks to individual spaces can shift the tone of decor, as with this before (above) and after look (below) of Ashlyn’s living room nook.

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FAMILY ROOMS

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LEFT Scott Levitan chats with neighbors Benoît Rivard, who’s holding daughter Lucie Rosenberg-Rivard, and Nora Rosenberg during a party last summer. The kitchen serves as a natural gathering space in their mostly open-concept living area. ABOVE For Scott and Patrick’s dogs, Gizmo and Jensen, having their owners home more means extra pets and cuddles.

H O M E IM P R OVEMEN T When Scott Levitan and Patrick Francisco moved into their Chapel Hill home in 2019, they had no idea that, just a year later, they’d be spending so much time in it.

Like many of us, Scott, the president and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, and Patrick, a graphic and web designer, are social distancing and working from home.

Thankfully, the couple’s quarantine is taking place in a space they love, one that was thoughtfully revamped and redesigned to fit their needs. “It’s funny, because anytime we go away on vacation, it’s like we can’t wait to get home,” Patrick says. “Our home is better than any hotel; we miss it when we’re gone.” 

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FAMILY ROOMS

Last summer, Lachlan Rivers and his sister, Olivia, played in Patrick and Scott’s pool – another oasis in the couple’s home where they’ve found solace this spring.

After moving from Baltimore for Scott to take the Research Triangle Foundation job, the couple settled on their midcentury home when Patrick, tasked with researching their new area, fell in love with the community charm of Chapel Hill. Their circa-1959 space in the Estes Hills neighborhood required extensive renovation, but the result is an airy retreat that combines midcentury modern appeal with sleek, sustainable updates (think energy-efficient doors and windows, and a swimming pool that heats via low-energy processes).

The central, open living room features floor-to-ceiling windows anchored by a bright white, wood-burning fireplace. The couple and their dogs, Gizmo, a terrier mix that they call a “tater tot” terrier, and Jensen, a Bernese mountain dog, love to curl up on their slate-gray super sectional and relax.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT LEVITAN AND PATRICK FRANCISCO

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With more time at home, Scott and Patrick were motivated to complete their koi pond – a project long in the works – and stock it with fish.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT LEVITAN AND PATRICK FRANCISCO

C LOSER TO GET HER

The living room may only cater to two guests (both furry) for the moment, but it’s still a place of gathering and relaxation in Scott and Patrick’s home.

Aided by elements that blend the indoors and outdoors – like the tin roof that was added so they could hear the rain – Scott and Patrick have been able to enjoy the spring weather during their recent time at home; they’ve even heated up the pool and taken a dip. “We resisted for a while, but then we just had to go for a swim,” Scott says.

The pair have also begun some outdoor projects in their free time.

They’ve been gardening and recently completed a koi pond that they built by hand, adding the final touch – the fish – in early April. The pond accompanies a new patio and a bamboo arbor (with the bamboo sourced locally from Orange County) that were installed over the past

year. “We’ve been building the pond since August, but the quarantine allowed us time to finish it,” Scott says.

Scott and Patrick also adore the community they live in and have found safe ways to continue to connect with friends and neighbors throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “We invited a little girl who lives in our neighborhood over to watch us release the koi into the pond at a social distance,” Scott says. “And we [went] over to our neighbor’s house for a driveway birthday party. It [was] a bring-yourown-chair, plastic utensils, plates and cups party with cake and Champagne.” 

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FAMILY ROOMS

Twelve-year-old Ryan Foley adds style to her room with colorful organizers, which also keep it neat and tidy – a necessity when so much schoolwork is being done at home.

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The Foley family’s Croasdaile residence has turned into a full-time hub for school, work and play now that daughter Ryan, 12, a sixth grader at Excelsior Classical Academy, and son Jake, 16, a 10th grader at Riverside High School, are at home.

“We’re doing the smart thing and staying inside, going outside when we can,” says their mom, Charlene, who, as vice president for customer experience at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, has been working from home for the past several weeks. “Ryan has a learning plan from school, so we’re working through that at home, and then Jake is a little more independent.”

To keep Ryan organized, Charlene maps out her daily to-do list on a large chalkboard situated on the laundry room’s rolling barn door. While both kids mostly do their work at desk spaces in their own rooms, Charlene has staked out a workspace at the family’s large, farmhousestyle wooden kitchen table next to a bright window that looks out onto the backyard.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FOLEYS

FAM I LY RO O M S

ABOVE Charlene Foley often uses the kitchen table as her own workspace these days, when she’s not assisting Ryan with her assignments.

ABOVE RIGHT Jake Foley, 16, plays a lot of basketball in the family’s driveway, which helps him stay active and adds a healthy break to the everyday routine.

During conference calls, she plugs in her AirPods and takes walks around the neighborhood.

Not all the Foleys are home all day, however. Dad and husband Mike manages the family dry cleaner and laundromat businesses, White Star Cleaners and Regency Cleaners. It’s an essential service that requires him to continue working outside of the home during the coronavirus outbreak. Charlene says his company is focused on taking the proper sanitation measures and has broadened

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FOLEYS

FAMILY ROOMS

The eat-in kitchen is as much a gathering space for the Foleys as ever. It’s used almost daily for big family meals and periodically as a space to isolate and get work or homework done.

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their pickup and delivery service area to continue to serve their community through the crisis.

“His company has been doing so much sanitizing,” she says. “He’s not on the front lines to the same extent as health care workers, of course, but we still have to be very careful.”

Large back and front yards have been a respite for the family during free time.

Mike likes to maintain the lawn; Ryan, who loves art, sets up her supplies on a blanket outdoors; Jake plays basketball in the driveway; and the whole clan goes on walks with their English bulldog, Fenway.

Another source of joy during the quarantine: mealtimes. Charlene says the extra time for family dining has been a hidden benefit of staying at home.

“Before this, we were pretty good about sitting down and making a meal together three to four times a week,” she says. “But now it’s a team sport for the whole family.

We’re making dinner together, and we split up the duties, so if you made dinner, you don’t clean up and vice versa. It’s been a nice change to eat together seven nights a week.”

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The family room is another significant multipurpose space while the Foleys isolate together. It can be a comfy spot for everyone to kick back and watch a movie, or for Ryan to get cozy and complete online learning assignments.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FOLEYS

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OURTOPDENTISTS

F

or the 11th straight year, Durham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine commissioned a peer-to-peer survey of the local dental community – from endodontists to prosthodontists. The following listing is the result. Dentists were asked the telling question: “If you had a patient in need of a dentist, which dentist would you refer them to?”

The Durham and Chapel Hill area are well-served by the dental community. Hundreds of dentists, specialists and support professionals have made this home, and the overall quality of dental care in our communities is second to none. What good dentist wouldn’t want to practice here?

A LITTLE BACKGROUND The Top Dentists list for Durham and Chapel Hill are the result of a rigorous evaluation process consisting of peer-to-peer surveys of area dentists and professionals. This survey was conducted and managed by the nationally recognized thirdparty firm topDentists LLC of Augusta, Ga. This list is excerpted from the 2020 topDentists™ list, a database that includes listings for dentists and specialists in the Chapel Hill and Durham area. The list is based on detailed evaluations of dentists and professionals by their peers. The complete database is available at usatopdentists.com. topDentists management has more than 60 years combined experience compiling peer-review referral guides in the dental, medical and legal fields. Working from this experience, along with the input of several prominent dentists from throughout the United States, topDentists created a selection process that has earned the respect of the country’s leading dental professionals. For more information, call 706-364-0853; write P.O. Box 970, Augusta, Georgia, 30903; email info@usatopdentists.com or visit usatopdentists.com.

The purchase of advertising has no impact on who is included in the Top Dentists list.

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DENTAL ANESTHESIOLOGY Dillon T. Atwood North State Anesthesiology 336-939-6277 Rachael D’Souza Triangle Implant Center 5318 N.C. Hwy. 55, Ste. 106, Durham 919-806-2912 triangleimplantcenter.com ENDODONTICS Nona I. Breeland Breeland Endodontics 1506 E. Franklin St., Ste. 204, Chapel Hill 919-967-1776 breelandendodontics.com Hong Chen RTP Endodontics 5318 N.C. Hwy. 55, Ste. 201, Durham 919-237-2818 rtpendo.com Deborah A. Conner 922 Broad St., Ste. B, Durham 919-416-4200 debconnerdds.com Linda Levin Levin Endodontics 3624 Shannon Rd., Ste. 106, Durham 919-401-4827 levinendodontics.com A.K. Bobby Mallik 5324 McFarland Dr., Ste. 120, Durham 919-493-5332 durhamendo.com Roger A. McDougal 245 E. Hwy. 54, Ste. 201, Durham 919-806-8667 mcdougalendo.org

Alessandra L. Ritter Ritter Endodontics 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 155, Chapel Hill 919-403-5000 ritterendo.com

Brent L. Blaylock 3206 Old Chapel Hill Rd., Ste. 300, Durham 919-493-8036 generaldentistdurham.com

James H. Eaker 4208 S. Alston Ave., Ste. 100, Durham 919-544-5620 tarheelsmiles.com

Debora Bolton Bull City Smiles 2705 N. Duke St., Ste. 100, Durham 919-381-5900 bullcitysmiles.com

Dennis W. Ellis Ellis General Dentistry 88 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 190, Chapel Hill 919-968-9806 dennisellisdds.com

Peter Z. Tawil Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Jason W. Butler Croasdaile Dental Arts 2900 Croasdaile Dr., Ste. 5, Durham 919-383-7402 croasdailedentalarts.com

James P. Furgurson Chapel Hill Family & Cosmetic Dentistry 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 150, Chapel Hill 919-251-9313 chapelhilldds.com

GENERAL DENTISTRY Jessica L. Bishop 6015 Farrington Rd., Ste. 102, Chapel Hill 919-489-2793 jessicabishopdds.com

Laura A. Collatz Enchanting Smiles Family Dentistry 360 West St., Ste. 100, Pittsboro 919-542-2712 enchantingsmilesdentistry.com

Mary C. Gaddis Park Place Dental 245 E. N.C. Hwy. 54, Ste. 204, Durham 919-484-8088 parkplacedds.com ď‚„

Andrew L. Rudd Chapel Hill Endodontics 891 Willow Dr., Ste. 4, Chapel Hill 919-932-1616 chapelhillendo.com

Giving you more to smile about.

Invisalign | Ceramic Braces | Metal Braces

SouthernVillageOrthodontics.com info@southernvillageorthodontics.com 919.808.1188

Dr. Rick Uhlir

400 Market Street, Suite 200 Chapel Hill, NC 27516

TOP DENTISTS

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O U R TOP DENTI STS

Mandy Ghaffarpour Studio G Aesthetic & Family Dentistry 104 N. Elliott Rd., Ste. C, Chapel Hill 919-942-7163 studiogdentist.com

Ellis K. List 1020 Broad St., Durham 919-682-5327 durhamncdentistry.com

Carol L. Haggerty Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

David E. McGlohon Studio G Aesthetic & Family Dentistry 104 N. Elliott Rd., Ste. C, Chapel Hill 919-942-7163 studiogdentist.com

Esther V. Hanson Sunrise Dental 8128 Renaissance Pkwy., Ste. 203, Durham 919-493-3355 dinahvice-sunrisedental.com

Nicole Messenger Messenger Family Dentistry 2206 Page Rd., Ste. 103, Durham 919-596-1219 messengerdentistry.com

Credle A. Harris Chapel Hill Dental Group 1721 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill 919-967-9291 teethpeople.com

Andre Mol Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Steven M. Hart Studio G Aesthetic & Family Dentistry 104 N. Elliott Rd., Ste. C, Chapel Hill 919-942-7163 studiogdentist.com Shaina Holman Holman Family Dental Care 1836 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill 919-932-7811 holmanfamilydentalcare.com Susanne P. Jackson 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 180, Chapel Hill 919-968-9874 susannejacksondds.com Stephanie Q. Jenkins 5317 Highgate Dr., Ste. 118, Durham 919-361-0500 drjenkins-dds.com Ben Lambeth Milltown Family Dentistry 310 E. Main St., Ste. 335, Carrboro 919-590-0945 milltownfamilydentistry.com Megumi Lambeth Milltown Family Dentistry 310 E. Main St., Ste. 335, Carrboro 919-590-0945 milltownfamilydentistry.com 108

Lionel M. Nelson 3325 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Ste. 303, Durham 919-489-0497 nelsongentledental.com Gustavo Oliveira Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Bilal Saib Chapel Hill Advanced Dentistry 400 Market St., Ste. 220, Chapel Hill 919-933-3388 chapelhilladvanceddentistry.com Allen D. Samuelson Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Tamara C. Samuelson 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 180, Chapel Hill 919-968-9874 susannejacksondds.com Grant H. Service 2711 N. Duke St., Ste. B, Durham 919-220-6553 durhamdentistgrantservice.com Harold S. Speight 2711 N. Duke St., Ste. C, Durham 919-220-4200 haroldspeightdds.com Michael A. Tapper Croasdaile Smiles 2900 Croasdaile Dr., Ste. 2, Durham 919-383-8619 croasdailesmiles.com

Desiree T. Palmer 105 Newsom St., Ste. 204, Durham 919-471-9106 anewreasontosmile.com

Laura D. Tawil Parkway Dental Center 79 Falling Springs Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill 919-636-9717 briarchapeldentist.com

Laura Parra 3400 Croasdaile Dr., Ste. 209, Durham 919-383-7020 lauraparradds.com

Keith A. Taylor 110 Banks Dr., Chapel Hill 919-942-5652 keithtaylordds.com

Lauren L. Patton Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Jerry Ter Avest 2515 Hwy. 54 E., Bldg. 2000, Durham 919-544-6080

Catherine D. Ray 3310 University Dr., Durham 919-489-5380 catherinedraydmd.com

William W. Turner Croasdaile Dental Arts 2900 Croasdaile Dr., Ste. 5, Durham 919-383-7402 croasdailedentalarts.com ď‚„

3 Dentists.

LONG TERM STAFF. ONE TRULY MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE.

• • • •

2010-2020

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME PREVENTATIVE DENTISTRY RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY SPECIALTY SERVICES • ENDODONTICS • EXTRACTIONS • ZOOM WHITENING • SAME-DAY CROWN • INVISALIGN • DENTAL IMPLANTS • NITROUS OXIDE • ORAL SEDATION

WILLIAM W. TURNER, DMD • JASON W. BUTLER, DMD • VIRGINA MAYO, DDS

O U R TOP DENTI STS

Andrew J. Wagoner Joel M. Wagoner, DDS, P.A. 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill 919-968-9697 wagonerdds.com Joel M. Wagoner Joel M. Wagoner, DDS, P.A. 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill 919-968-9697 wagonerdds.com Jeffrey C. West Jeffrey C. West, DMD, P.A. 601 W. Rosemary St., Ste. 219, Chapel Hill 919-636-9123 drjeffreywest.com Steadman Willis 1212 Broad St., Durham 919-286-2235 steadwillisdmd.com

ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY George H. Blakey III Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Jeffrey S. Jelic Center for Functional and Aesthetic Facial Surgery 5501 Fortunes Ridge Dr., Ste. G, Durham 919-419-9222 drjelic.com

David E. Frost Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill; 919-929-2196 2823 N. Duke St., Durham; 919-479-0707 omsanc.com

Aaron Park Triangle Implant Center 5318 N.C. Hwy. 55, Ste. 106, Durham 919-806-2912 triangleimplantcenter.com

David L. Hill Jr. Chapel Hill Implant and Oral Surgery Center 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 120, Chapel Hill 919-238-9961 chapelhilloralsurgery.com

Dr. Alessandra Ritter

David B. Powers 40 Duke Medical Circle, Durham 919-684-2426 dukemedicine.org/find-doctors-physicians/ david-b-powers-md-dmd Uday N. Reebye Triangle Implant Center 5318 N.C. Hwy. 55, Ste. 106, Durham 919-806-2912 triangleimplantcenter.com 

DDS, MS

At Ritter Endodontics, your dental health is our passion.

Our priority is to deliver the highest quality Endodontic care (root canals) in a pleasant and compassionate environment to ensure an outstanding experience everytime.

501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 155, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 • 919-403-5000 • ritterendo.com •

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

PREVENTATIVE DENTAL CARE | COSMETIC & RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY | TMJ TREATMENT

For the past 30 years, Dr. Brent L. Blaylock has been a trusted dentist in Durham. Continuing education is important to Dr. Blaylock, and he has completed many courses in the principles of complete dentistry.

His focus has been identifying and treating problems with the TMJ and occlusion, and the impact of oral inflammation and disease on the heart and rest of the body.

OUR SERVICES ESTHETIC SMILE DESIGN IMPLANT RESTORATION DENTAL CROWNS & BRIDGES TMJ EVALUATION BITE GUARDS TEETH WHITENING AIRWAY ASSESSMENT PORCELAIN VENEERS

SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME

NEW PATIENTS 919.518.9963 | CURRENT PATIENTS 919.493.8036

3206 OLD CHAPEL HILL ROAD, DURHAM, NC 27707

919.493.8036 | DRBRENTBLAYLOCK.COM |



O U R TOP DENTI STS

Glenn J. Reside Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Adam D. Serlo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill; 919-929-2196 2823 N. Duke St., Durham; 919-479-0707 omsanc.com

Andrew T. Ruvo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill; 919-929-2196 2823 N. Duke St., Durham 919-479-0707 omsanc.com

Brian Vandersea Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill; 919-929-2196 2823 N. Duke St., Durham; 919-479-0707 omsanc.com

Debra Sacco Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates 501 Eastowne Dr., Ste. 110, Chapel Hill; 919-929-2196 2823 N. Duke St., Durham; 919-479-0707 omsanc.com

ORAL PATHOLOGY Valerie A. Murrah Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Ricardo J. Padilla Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

YOUR SMILE, YOUR STYLE, YOUR LIFE...

TOP magazine

DENTISTS

112

F

or more than 30 years the practice of Desiree T. Palmer, DMD, PA and Associate’s mission has been to provide

dental care above and beyond expectations, while bringing our patients to optimal oral health.

Drs. Janier Barton, Audrey Kemp, Brittanie Harris, Davia Nickelson, and Desiree Palmer practice a full scope of cosmetic and family dentistry including: Crowns, Bridges, Restoration of Implants, Partials, Dentures, Six Month Smiles and Invisalign. Schedule an appointment today at our “state of the art” practices on Newsom Street or our downtown location at Bull City Dental.

ORTHODONTICS John R. Christensen Durham Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics 121 W. Woodcroft Pkwy., Durham 919-489-1543 durhampdo.com T. Lenise Clifton Clifton & Mauney Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 310, Chapel Hill 919-933-1007 cliftonandmauney.com Tyler Hart North Carolina Oral Surgery and Orthodontics 3020 S. Miami Blvd., Durham 919-246-3350 ncoso.com 

Compassionate Prevention and Pursuit of Excellence.

Tomorrow’s Dentistry Today, with a Personalized Care Let our Team Solve the puzzle to your beautiful and healthy SMILE .

Preventive, Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry

Mandy Ghaffarpour, DDS, Steven M. Hart, DMD, David E McGlohon DDS & Thomas J Dakermanji, DMD Studio G is Now Welcoming New Patients!

Come Experience the Gentle Side of Dentistry DRS. GHAFFARPOUR, HART, AND MCGLOHON ARE PANKEY AFFILIATED DENTISTS

2010-2020

104 N. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 | 919.942.7163 | StudioGDentist.com

O U R TOP DENTI STS

Barbara Hershey Hershey Orthodontics 3206 Old Chapel Hill Rd., Durham; 919-493-7554 1525 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; 919-967-0474 406 Millstone Dr., Hillsborough; 919-732-4655 hersheyorthodontics.com

Tung Nguyen Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Richard F. Uhlir Southern Village Orthodontics 400 Market St., Ste. 200, Chapel Hill 919-808-1188 southernvillageorthodontics.com

Pedro E. Santiago Advanced Orthodontics & Periodontics 3115 Academy Rd., Durham 919-489-2394 advancedorthoandperio.com

Gavin C. Heymann Smith and Heymann Orthodontics 2919 Colony Rd., Durham 1506 E. Franklin St., Ste. 304, Chapel Hill 919-493-4911 smithandheymann.com

Tammy R. Severt Severt Smiles 101 Conner Dr., Ste. 401, Chapel Hill 919-929-2365 severtsmiles.com

Julia H. Mol Mol Orthodontics 5726 Fayetteville Rd., Ste. 104, Durham 919-405-7111 molorthodontics.com

J. Dempsey Smith Smith and Heymann Orthodontics 2919 Colony Rd., Durham 919-493-4911 smithandheymann.com

Michael J. Wilson Wilson Orthodontics 2900 Croasdaile Dr., Ste. 3, Durham 919-383-7423 wilson-ortho.com PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY Alexandra Boudreau Chatham Pediatric Dentistry 79 Falling Springs Dr., Ste. 120, Chapel Hill 919-391-3813 chathampediatricdentistry.com Erica Brecher Duke Street Pediatric Dentistry 2711 N. Duke St., Ste. A, Durham 919-220-1416 dukestreetsmiles.com ď‚„

For the Smile Of a Lifetime!

Now Accepting New Patients!

919.489.1543 DurhamPDO.com

121 W. Woodcroft Pkwy, Durham, NC 27713

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Dr. John R. Christensen Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry

Dr. Robert T. Christensen Pediatric Dentistry

Dr. Jamie L. Molina Pediatric Dentistry (July 2020)

James P. Furgurson, DDS, FAGD Nathan O. White, DDS D E N TA L E X C E L L E N C E • C O M PA S S I O N AT E C A R E

General Dentistry Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry Dental Implants

501 Eastowne Dr., Suite 150, Chapel Hill Conveniently located off 15-501 near I-40 and Durham

919.251.9313 • chapelhilldds.com @chapelhillcosmeticdentist

@chapelhilldds

O U R TOP DENTI STS

John R. Christensen Durham Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics 121 W. Woodcroft Pkwy., Durham 919-489-1543 durhampdo.com Robert Christensen Durham Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics 121 W. Woodcroft Pkwy., Durham 919-489-1543 durhampdo.com Jenny Citineni Triangle Kids Pediatric Dentistry 3115 Academy Rd., Ste. B, Durham 919-493-2569 trianglekidsdentist.com

Amy C. Davidian Southpoint Pediatric Dentistry 249 E. Hwy. 54, Ste. 300, Durham 919-354-6220 southpointpediatricdentistry.com

Martha A. Keels Duke Street Pediatric Dentistry 2711 N. Duke St., Ste. A, Durham 919-220-1416 dukestreetsmiles.com

Kimon Divaris Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Lorne D. Koroluk Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Dylan Hamilton Duke Street Pediatric Dentistry 2711 N. Duke St., Ste. A, Durham 919-220-1416 dukestreetsmiles.com

Jessica Y. Lee Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Annelise C. Hardin Southern Village Pediatric Dentistry 410 Market St., Ste. 430, Chapel Hill 919-967-2773 southernvillagepedo.com

Charles U. Mauney Jr. Clifton & Mauney Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry 77 Vilcom Center Dr., Ste. 310, Chapel Hill 919-933-1007 cliftonandmauney.com ď‚„

The world always looks

brighter from behind a smile

Martha Ann Keels, DDS, PhD Dylan S. Hamilton, DMD, MS Erica A. Brecher, DMD, MS

TOP magazine

DENTISTS

We want to keep your child’s smile healthy for a lifetime!

2711 North Duke Street, Durham, NC 27704

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919-220-1416

2017

www.dukestreetsmiles.com

O U R TOP DENTI STS

Rocio B. Quinonez Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Avni C. Rampersaud Chapel Hill Pediatric Dentistry 205 Sage Rd., Ste. 202, Chapel Hill 919-929-0489 bigsmiles4kids.com Kevin Ricker Chatham Pediatric Dentistry 79 Falling Springs Dr., Ste. 120, Chapel Hill 919-391-3813 chathampediatricdentistry.com Michael W. Roberts Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Yvette E. Thompson Triangle Kids Pediatric Dentistry 3115 Academy Rd., Durham 919-493-2569 trianglekidsdentist.com

Liliana Gandini Advanced Orthodontics & Periodontics 3115 Academy Rd., Durham 919-489-2394 advancedorthoandperio.com

J. Tim Wright Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Timothy W. Godsey Chapel Hill Periodontics & Implants 150 Providence Rd., Ste. 200, Chapel Hill 919-968-1778 chapelhillperio.com

PERIODONTICS Craig Dorion NC Periodontics & Implant Center 920 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill 919-967-5099 ncimplantcenter.com

Antonio Moretti Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

A GREAT REASON TO

Dentistry for Healthy, Confident, Comfortable Smiles.

Now in scenic Roxboro

Modern dentistry with individualized care in a homey environment. •Formally Practicing in Chapel Hill •Accepting New Patients By Appointment Dr. Mary Bennett Houston, D.D.S. General Family Dentistry 415 South Main St | Roxboro, NC 27573 appointments@marybennetthoustondds.com

336.599.4145 | marybennetthoustondds.com 118

Arnold T. McClain 5015 Southpark Dr., Ste. 130, Durham 919-484-8338 gumsandimplants.org

Jonathan Reside Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Alice Wu NC Periodontics & Implant Center 920 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill 919-967-5099 ncimplantcenter.com

PROSTHODONTICS Geoffrey R. Cunningham Durham Prosthodontics 3709 University Dr., Ste. D, Durham 919-489-8661 mydurhamdentist.com Ingeborg J. De Kok Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Ibrahim S. Duqum Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org Rosanna V. Marquez Triangle Restoration Dentistry 1920 E. Hwy. 54, Ste. 410, Durham 919-544-8106 trianglerestorationdentistry.com Mark S. Scurria Triangle Restoration Dentistry 1920 E. Hwy. 54, Ste. 410, Durham 919-544-8106 trianglerestorationdentistry.com E. Leland Webb Chapel Hill Dental Group 1721 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill 919-967-9291 teethpeople.com Alexandra B. Yarborough Carolina Dentistry 919-537-3939 carolinadentistry.org

Call us today to schedule a FREE comprehensive exam & consultation with Dr. Smith & Dr. Heymann.

DURHAM

CHAPEL HILL

MEBANE

ROXBORO

2919 Colony Rd. Durham, NC 27705

1506 E. Franklin St., Ste. 304 Chapel Hill, NC 27514

1107 S. 5th St., Ste. 200 Mebane, NC 27302

424 N. Madison Blvd., Suite A Roxboro, NC 27573

919.493.4911 | SmithandHeymann.com DIAMOND TOP 1% INVISALIGN PROVIDER

2020

inc.

BIZBRIEFS

Compiled by Anne Tate & Cam Edson

COVID-19 UPDATES

started #3H Hillsborough Hospitality Help GoFundMe campaign, a fundraiser in support of displaced Hillsborough-based employees.

Andrew Canada, pharmacistin-charge at GLOBALRx, will match up to $5,000 in donations from businesses.

Donate to the cause at gofundme.com/f/hillsboroughhospitality-help.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced in March that the U.S. Small Business Administration (US SBA) approved his “disaster declaration” request, citing the economic impact of the coronavirus. The Disaster Assistance Loan offers lowinterest federal loans to North Carolina small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the coronavirus. Small businesses are eligible for loans up to $2 million. sba.gov/fundingprograms/disaster-assistance

The Orange County Board of Commissioners created an Emergency Small Business funding program for Orange County small businesses experiencing revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic in the form of both grants and loans. The county offered zerointerest loans up to $20,000 with loan repayment over five years to eligible applicants and awarded grants totaling up to $5,000 to eligible applicants.

In response to the coronavirus, LaunchBio went virtual in March and transitioned all “Larger Than Life Science” inperson programs to Zoom for free. Register the day before a webinar to receive a link for the program the day before.

Spoonflower, a fabric printer and e-commerce firm, started producing masks for health

120

care workers to supplement the nationwide shortage due to the coronavirus. As of April 3, they’ve used more than 1,109 yards of fabric to make an estimated 13,308 masks.

Additionally, they set up an online Coronavirus Relief Efforts Hub for those in need of a mask.

The Frankie Lemmon Foundation created the Triangle Restaurant Workers Relief Fund in late March in an effort to support restaurant workers in our community who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. After recognizing the high volume of need in the restaurant industry, the foundation decided to partner with North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association to form the NC Restaurant Workers Relief Fund to expand their outreach to a larger number of businesses and service workers.

Visit frankielemmonschool.org to donate.

To support social distancing and reduce contact of surfaces, GoTriangle announced in March that it will suspend all fare collections indefinitely and ask that all riders enter and exit through the rear doors of buses.

As a response to the economic impact of the coronavirus, General Electric Aviation will lay off 10% of its workforce at their jet engine plant that employs hundreds of workers in Durham. Additionally, GE Aviation implemented a hiring freeze in March, the cancellation of the salaried merit increase, a reduction of all non-essential spending and a decrease in its contingent workforce.

The Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce

IBM, with a major campus in Research Triangle Park, announced in March that it would deploy supercomputers to help find a cure for the coronavirus. IBM, through what it’s calling the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, partnered with the White House Office of Science and Technology Police and the U.S. Department of Energy while working alongside other big names such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Lenovo is also contributing by teaming up with Intel and a Chinese genetics technology firm to use high-performance computing to research the virus.

Students at the UNC School of Medicine teamed up with Duke University and N.C. State in March to produce 40,000 reusable face shields using 3D printing for health care workers who are on the frontlines combating COVID-19. Students created about 100 different designs before they found the best prototype. The team used

inc.

produced by life sciences company Cellex. The authorization allows the company to manufacture and distribute the product.

According to Cellex, the test can produce results within 15 minutes.

BeAM makerspaces at UNC to create professional-grade masks efficiently.

On March 21, Acme Food & Beverage Co. and Tom Raynor (former CEO of Fleet Feet) launched Carrboro United, a local food hub featuring order-ahead meals and produce from a growing list of restaurants, businesses and farms with three pickup days a week. For the duration of the pandemic, Carrboro United’s mission is to safely feed people while financially supporting restaurants and farmers. They also launched an Emergency Impact Loan Fund (EILF) on March 30. EILF provides short-term capital bridge loans to support independent businesses in Carrboro. Learn more at carrborounited.com.

In March, Coastal Credit Union Foundation donated $500,000 in unrestricted grants to provide assistance for rapidly changing community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some $100,000 of the grant will go to the NC Restaurant Workers Relief Fund to help local food service employees. The foundation is also supporting various local nonprofits including Durham Community Land Trustees and Urban Ministries of Durham.

In April, the Food and Drug Administration approved an antibody test for COVID-19

The Wooden Nickel Pub launched #HillsboroughStrong, a virtual campaign that allows people to tip unemployed hospitality and service workers through their personal Venmo accounts. Workers who have recently lost their jobs can apply for financial assistance through the form found at hillsboroughnc.gov.

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Downtown Durham Inc., Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) and Durham Technical Community College, have begun hosting several COVID-19 Business Information Sessions. These sessions are designed to help businesses navigate the various complexities of running a business during this crisis, and to give business owners a place to share their concerns.

You can register for them at members.durhamchamber. org/events/calendar. Most of these webinars will be available afterward to replay and will be posted on the Durham Chamber COVID-19 Resource Page, linked on the homepage of its website.

TALENT POOL

In February, American Underground hired Tim Scales, graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and founder of the civic engagement application CivicRise, as its director of growth.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) named Dr. Tunde Sotunde, current president of Anthem Inc.’s Medicaid Business Unit in Atlanta, as its new president and CEO effective June 1.

Sotunde said in a statement that he hopes to bring the perspective of a physician, a patient and a health plan leader to improve and transform health care in North Carolina.

In April, BCBSNC also announced that it will cover all costs for COVID-19 treatments for its 3.8 million members.

The policy is slated to last until June 1, though the company notes it “will continue to reevaluate this and other measures.” Additionally, it will speed up payments to providers as they deal with potential short-term cash flow challenges from COVID-19.

“The company is also fasttracking proactive steps to support hospitals, physicians, nurses and thousands of other health care providers across North Carolina as they mount a heroic response to COVID-19,” the company said in a press release.

In March, GoTriangle’s Board of Trustees approved Charles E. Lattuca as its new president and CEO. Lattuca worked as the executive director of Transit Development and Delivery for the Maryland Department of Transportation for more than four years. “Working with local and state partners, we’ll

be looking to expand transit services so that the RaleighDurham area can continue to grow well and grow more jobs,” Lattuca said in a statement. At press time, he was slated to begin his new role in mid-April.

On April 1, Susan Wall, who was most recently the chief marketing officer at Devada, started her new job as the chief operating officer of Corevist, which develops and sells business-to-business e-commerce platforms to manufacturers worldwide. The software company will relocate from Raleigh to Durham this summer.

MOVEMENT, DEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITIONS

MedPharm, a contract provider of topical and transdermal product design and development services, completed and opened its $4 million expansion at its North Carolina site in March.

The expansion triples its existing facility’s footprint to approximately 25,000 square feet. State Senator Sam Searcy and Durham City Councilman Charlie Reece attended the

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WOMEN OF DISTINCTION O

g to n i k r o W ur help o ss busine nity commu nd. rebou

n Friday, March 5th, the day before the Durham

Chamber’s Annual Take No Bull Women’s Conference

that celebrates women’s history month, while the

Chamber staff was in the midst of laying out nametags and

stuffing speaker swag bags, news of the novel COVID-19

began as a slow drip. Not much was known about it at that time and no cases in the surrounding states had been reported. By Monday, everything changed, as more and

more cases were confirmed and inched closer. Within a week, Durham began to feel the impact of what is now known as one of the most devastating, fast-moving, and far-reaching health crises in the world.

Communities across the nation would be forced to grind to a

feel the weight in ways they never conceived.

Communities and small businesses especially, were, and still are, grappling with the “what

now” question. And at the time of this writing, there are many unanswered questions and a myriad uncertainty. True to form, our Durham

community continues to grind, though six feet

and more apart.

For the small business community across Durham, two

women, La-Tasha Best-Gaddy and LaShon A. Harley, would

become known as the go-to experts to help those businesses navigate this unprecedented time. La-Tasha Best-Gaddy has been with the Small Business and Technology Development

Center at North Carolina Central University since 2015. In

this role, she is responsible for assisting small to mid-size business owners to grow and expand. LaShon A. Harley is the

Director of the Small Business Center at Durham Technical Community College where she assists aspiring and existing

entrepreneurs, business owners, and founders with the development and growth of their business idea. Combined,

these women have more than 40 years of experience training,

advising, instructing, and counseling in the areas of business

start-up, funding, job creation and retention, profitability,

infrastructure, and sustainable growth while adhering to the guidelines.

halt or slow down significantly because of social distancing

“We are so impressed with the level of expertise La-Tasha

officials. Businesses—large and small—would begin to

Malory, Director of Member Relations at Durham Chamber of

and then the issuance of stay-at-home orders by government

and LaShon are able to provide our businesses,” said Tiffany

“THEY WORK TIRELESSLY AND GRACIOUSLY LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED

“

LaShon A. Harley, Durham Tech

Commerce. “They work tirelessly and graciously leaving no stone unturned to give our local businesses the best shot at weathering this storm.”

In partnership with Durham Chamber and Downtown Durham Inc. along with the City of Durham’s Office of

Economic and Workforce Development and Small Business Advisory Committee, Best-Gaddy and Harley have hosted

LaTasha Best-Gaddy, NCCU SBDTC

economy and want to do all that we personally can to help them continue to succeed.”

“It will likely be months, if not years, before we know the true impact and cost to our community,” said Best-Gaddy.

“But we are committed to seeing our business community rebound from this.”

eight conference calls with an average of 15 community

We have all been impacted by this virus in some way and

businesses and business owners in our community at the

to flatten the curve and return to some sense of normalcy.

partners participating and 11 webinars that served over 270 time of this writing.

“Helping small businesses is in our DNA,” said Harley.

“We recognized the importance of small businesses to our

individuals and businesses alike are all working feverishly

But given this month’s issue of Durham Magazine’s focus

on women, it was important to recognize the important role these two women are filling at such a critical time in our history.

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opening as well as MedPharm senior staff members Jon Lenn, Lynn Allen and Eugene Ciolfi.

Mobile car care company Get Spiffy, founded

by Scot Wingo, expanded to the West Coast and opened an office in the Bay Area in February. Garrison Ramoso, Get Spiffy’s director of business development, oversees its presence in Silicon Valley.

Additionally, Wingo announced the recent closing of a strategic investment from Shell Ventures in March.

Texas-based Trinsic Residential Group filed for plans in February to open a 500,000-squarefoot, mixed-use development on the corner of Martin Luther

to a securities filing, the funds are capped at $9 million. The company hopes to close the gap by raising another $4 million.

Medical Day Spa of Chapel Hill opened a a new location at 301 Kildaire Rd. in Southern Village in March.

Sift Media, a 4-year-old startup founded by serial entrepreneur Jud Bowman, raised $1.5 million in new funding from 10 investors, according to an SEC filing in February. The company sorts through billions of mobile ad requests daily to target application installation advertisements for clients.

SoftBank Group, the owner of WeWork, announced in March that it plans to sell up to $41 billion worth of assets in order to buy back up to $18 billion of its own stock over the next year to pay off debt, buy back bonds and improve cash flow. “This program will be the largest share buyback and will result in the largest increase in cash balance in the history of [SoftBank Group],” CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement.

Following its closure in November, Chapel Hill University Inn located in the Blue Hill District is slated for demolition by Texas-based Leon Capital Group. Plans for redevelopment include a seven-story complex with 344,244-square-feet of commercial and residential space at 1301 Fordham Dr.

King Jr. Boulevard and North Estes Drive, tentatively named Aura Chapel Hill. The fourstory development will include commercial and retail spaces, offices, 400 residential units and a parking deck.

ImagineOptix, a company focused on optics technology using virtual and augmented reality devices, raised $5 million in capital from an undisclosed investor in March. According 124

In February, Harris Teeter purchased 40 acres of land in Carrboro, which is part of the proposed first phase of construction of the Lloyd Farm mixed-use development, for $10.6 million. The grocery store plans call for 60,000 square feet of retail space. Additional goals for the development include a 220-unit senior living campus called The Lofts at Lloyd Farm.

PatientPay, a fintech company that offers online patient engagement and payment solutions, secured $6.15 million in growth financing at the end of March. The investment will fund electronic strategies to make patient payments more efficient and lower the cost of care. Additionally, it will expand PatientPay’s ability to serve the needs of revenue cycle management companies.

In early April, RTI International closed on its acquisition of New Jersey-based Medical Data Analytics (MDA), a global health economics and outcomes research consulting firm. Deal terms were not disclosed. The acquisition expands existing services of the RTI Health Solutions business unit in design and conduct of observational research with MDA’s capabilities in data collection and management, and physician and site recruitment.

MDA will operate as a separate business operation of RTI Health Solutions for a period of time. All employees of MDA are expected to remain with the business following this transaction.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Durham was named the No. 5 city in CommercialCafe’s Top U.S. Cities for Women Working in STEM rankings. Durham scored highest for its percentage of women in the local STEM workforce (48%). Additionally, 57% of college-educated residents in Durham are women, and the city ranked No. 2 for its rent-to-median income ratio.

Using 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, CommercialCafe looked at cities with populations of at least 200,000 and examined factors like percentage of women in STEM jobs, percentage of local employment working in STEM, median earnings, women’s education attainment, the percentage of women in management, rentto-income ratio, unemployment and women’s access to health services.

SmartAsset ranked Durham No. 18 in its 2020 edition of the “most recession-resistant cities.”

In the study, categories like employment, housing and social assistance were considered.

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IN OTHER NEWS

In March, 14 North Carolina startups pitched and presented their products and services at the Capital Connects pitch competition in Greensboro.

Durham resident Amy Pruitt pitched her company, Zimiz, a clothing brand designed for babies and children with eczema.

Though she didn’t win, Pruitt said “the atmosphere on the day of the event was extremely collaborative and supportive.

It certainly felt more like a networking opportunity than a competition.” Pruitt also works

with Carybased business accelerator Fierce Female Founders to develop a community and resource for parents with kids diagnosed with eczema.

After the February approval of the merger between Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels (CHCMOW) and Orange County Rural Alliance (OCRAC), the organization will officially change its name to Meals on Wheels Orange County, serving Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Rural Orange (MOWOCNC) on June 29.

During the COVID-19 pandemic,

CHCMOW increased its operations from roughly 160 to 180 daily weekday deliveries to approximately 200 weekly or biweekly deliveries in an attempt to limit contact among people. CHCMOW also expended twice as much funding as normal in the first two weeks and needs donations of emergency supply boxes of basic household items and foods to meet recipients’ additional needs. Boxes can be left at their new location at 632 Laurel Hill Rd. next to St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

To volunteer, email volunteers@ chcmow.org.

DONATE

After facing an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations, the American Red Cross faces a severe blood

shortage. Consider heading to the UNC Health Care Blood Donation Center or the Durham Donation Center to donate.

Visit uncmedicalcenter.org/ uncmc/patients-visitors/blood or redcrossblood.org.

UNC Health is asking community organizations, corporations and individuals to donate medical supplies, especially personal protection equipment (PPE), for workers and patients across the system. Email UNC Health at covidsupplies@unchealth.unc. edu if you have items to donate.

Only new and unopened PPE, not handmade, will be accepted. For more information on what items are needed and where they can be dropped off, visit unchealthcare.org/ coronavirus/ways-to-help.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES

Our entrepreneurial and collaborative culture is supported by our dedicated team.

Meet Amy Mayer

Director of

P R O P E R T Y M AN AG EMEN T PM_Durham Mag_Half pg H.indd 1

We manage each building as if we owned it ourselves. Amy and her team tailor their approach based on each asset’s specific needs and owner’s preferences to deliver customized and attentive service, including financial reporting, accounting services, proactive maintenance, capital improvements, and tenant relations.

Visit trinity-partners.com to learn more about our 9 additional service lines.

7/22/2019 1:18:05 PM

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“

trust your intuition and don’t think that you have to follow anyone else’s path to get to your goals.

feeling uncomfortable and being outside of our comfort zone is what makes us grow and ultimately succeed.

SYRENA S. WILLIAMS, NCCU

HEATHER KUTTLER GALLAGHER, CREDIT SUISSE

i would tell my younger self: you're a strong girl with a powerful ambition. and you will be a successful woman with a remarkable vision.

ALISA HERR, UNITY DIGITAL AGENCY

individually, we bring our unique perspectives and value to the work we do.

However, this pales in comparison to the collaborative impact of people working towards the same goals where our strengths complement one another.

PHOEBE T. THERMITUS, LENOVO

WOMEN OF RTP

my work is rooted in this place.

JACQUELINE M. OLICH, PHD RTI INTERNATIONAL

just look around RTP and you'll see collaborating groups creating new innovations and diverse viewpoints, problem-solvers addressing pressing social issues, and mentoring and teaching of the next generation scholars and scientists.

DR. LISA TROYER

ARMY RESEARCH OFFICE

READ MORE

RTP.ORG/WOMENLEAD

WOMEN OF RTP THIS IS WHAT STEM LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE IN THE PARK.

First row, from left to right: Kelly Witter (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Dr. Melissa Nysewander (Fidelity Investments), Dr. Sarah Windsor (STEM RTP), Kelly Pfrommer (Cloud Giants), Lou Gibbs (Bayer Crop Science), Carissa Karban (Cisco Systems).

Second row: Leah Johnson (RTI International), Dr. Amanda Marvelle (Biogen), Dr. Nan Jokerst (Duke University), Maria Walden (Lenovo), Jean Davis (Microelectronics Center of NC), Jian Bao, Ph.D. (ZY Therapeutics), Ginger Krieg Dosier (bioMASON), Dr. Natalia Mitin (HealthSpan Diagnostics), Pamela Blizzard (Research Triangle High School), Barbara Mulkey (Shelton Leadership Center at N.C. State University), Cheena Kaul (Intelligaia).

Photo by Kevin Seifert Photography

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REAL ESTATE’S RESPONSE TO STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS Residential and commercial real estate brokers share the many changes and challenges to their businesses since the pandemic began

How are you conducting your business?

Desiree Goldman I am completing the transactions in process but have stopped all new business. I believe flattening the curve takes precedent to business at this time. My mantra is, “I can dig out of debt. I cannot dig out of the grave.”

Desiree goldman Broker RE/MAX United

Lori Golden Broker/Owner, Real Living Real Estate

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Lori Golden Virtual tours as first policy…

Seth Jernigan While our office remains closed to the public, we are fully operational and continue to meet the needs of our owners and residents on the property management side of our business. Our office staff comes into the office only occasionally to perform essential/critical functions that cannot be performed at home.

Tenants can pay rent online and make online service requests.

Our maintenance teams continue to perform emergency service work, but with added precautions. Fortunately, our web-based phone and property management systems allow us to be functional with minimal time in the office.

On the sales and leasing side of our business, we continue to aggressively market our listings online and to search online

for clients who are looking for property. We conduct business over the phone. We are getting our team together via Zoom calls and hosting calls with clients as needed.

How can you continue to serve your clients?

DG I have always maintained great communication with my clients and make myself available by phone, text, email. FaceTime and Skype are also options.

SJ We can consult with anyone who is thinking of listing a property for sale or lease.

We can provide opinions of market value, market lease rates and information on available property. If enough information is available (i.e. pictures and floor plans), we can begin marketing a property without violating any stay-at-home orders. While COVID-19 has affected our ability to visit people and properties in person, it has not affected our deep local market knowledge and the online research tools available to us.

The maintenance aspect of property management has been deemed an essential function, so we continue to be responsive to certain maintenance requests, but with added precautions.

Seth jernigan President, Real Estate Associates

patrick serkedakis Realtor, Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston

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Is anyone listing their houses/ commercial spaces?

DG I have listings waiting for the lifting of shelter in place. I believe the housing market will be strong from pent up demand once this allows for more normal market conditions.

LG Yes, clients are still listing homes and properties.

Patrick Serkedakis Sellers are reluctant to list, particularly if they still occupy the house, concerned that buyers or agents might introduce coronavirus into their home.

SJ Activity has slowed with new listings, but there is still some activity.

Are you hosting virtual tours?

Are people buying based on virtual tours?

DG Not at this time. They work, but then you open up the exposure to people for inspections, appraisals, visiting the home. I can wait.

LG We are doing virtual tours, but most buyers still want to see the house prior to making an offer.

SJ We have in the past posted video tours of properties, and we will continue to do this when appropriate and helpful. I can’t say that I recall anyone buying a property based on a virtual tour.

How has the stay-at-home order for your county impacted your business specifically?

LG Not in a huge way here in Chatham, but it is coming, for sure.

PS As an individual agent, I have seen my new business drop precipitously.

SJ On the property management side of our business, the impacts have been more direct and immediate. The

stay-at-home orders, and related business closures, have made it difficult for many tenants to continue paying rent, which equates to a loss of related management fees.

On the sales/leasing side of our business, we have had more than a few pending deals fall apart as a direct result of COVID-19 and related stay-athome orders. In some cases, the prospective buyer or tenant’s loss of income caused them to terminate the deal. In general, activity is slower, as many businesses are not focused on new real estate transactions. On the other hand, some deals have continued to move forward, and there are certain businesses that are proceeding with pending deals, and some who continue to pursue new opportunities.

Do you find you are getting many out-of-state clients looking to buy right now?

of prospects and building competence through online classes.

LG Yes, out-of-state buyers are still looking.

SJ Fortunately, with 51 years of being in business, REA remains strong and fully functional. We are happy to be a resource for anyone who needs counsel or advice regarding commercial and investment real estate or property management during this challenging time.

Are there other ways you are adapting your routines to comply with safety standards?

PS The Orange Chatham Association of Realtors (OCHAR) just recently emailed to its members and posted on its Facebook page guidelines for conducting business.

LG We appreciate everyone being patient and allowing us to learn as we go. We’d like to tell the public that, even though spring is normally the time we welcome “lookers” and people getting out to see what’s in the market, given what is currently going on, it would be best if only the true buyers who need to buy a home be out in the market shopping.

SJ We have had to adapt to continue providing client service while observing the laws and safety recommendations. One example are Zoom video calls.

This is not something most of us had used before. We continue to have our regular sales meetings via Zoom, and it has allowed us to remain in touch, discuss market news and primarily to share how we are spending our time to be as productive as possible from home.

PS As president of OCHAR, I moderated a Zoom town hall meeting for our members, which was attended virtually by 85 members discussing how they were using technology to conduct business.

Most are limiting inperson contact and taking the time to build their pipeline

DG When I get back to showings, gloves, booties [and] antiseptic wipes are now requirements everywhere.

LG We are wearing gloves, booties and soon masks.

PS Out-of-state clients are reluctant to travel by air, particularly, but even by car citing concern for the cleanliness of hotels and not wanting to or being able to eat out as they travel.

SJ Some national tenants are still looking and are still moving deals forward.

However, in general, inquiries from outof-state tenants have slowed.

Anything else you’d like to add?

guidelines by county

You must follow the order of the area you are working in.

Durham Only the following real estate services are authorized in connection with closing sales: Pre-sales and pre-rental activities: • Open houses and in-person showings of occupied homes are prohibited. In-person showings of vacant homes for sale or rent are permitted under conditions such as: One person (two people if they have been socially distancing together) can enter for a showing and there can be only one showing of a home during any calendar day.

• Listing agents may enter properties to take photos and videos to create virtual tours. These services may also be provided by professional photography services.

Post-sale activities (these activities may only be conducted by a single individual and are restricted to the following activities connected with closing sales): • Post-offer inspections (by both the buyer and a licensed home inspector, each occurring at different times); appraisal; surveys; final walk throughs; and title services Orange Professional services, such as real estate services, are considered essential. While activities are continuing during the COVID-19 crisis, agents should take precautions to protect themselves and their clients and observe physical distancing requirements. bit.ly/OrangeGuidelines Chatham Following the statewide stay-at-home order. For Orange Chatham Association of Realtors’ guidelines for conducting business, visit bit.ly/OCHARguidelines.

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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING IN TIME OF COVID-19 When times get tough, people look to the top for guidance. These companies help evolve the skills that businesses need to succeed.

BY B R A N D E E G R U E N E R

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hat does speaking well on camera have to do with leadership? It’s simple.

“Presence,” said Ryan Carey, founder of video communication training company BetterOn. Virtually or inside his funky studio on Main Street, he helps people “unleash their authentic self” with coaching and basic acting exercises. At first, BetterOn’s clients are reluctant, even terrified of stepping in front of a camera. They look away anxiously, make faces or stiffen into formal, robotic business speak. BetterOn is there to get them past that.

“People don’t remember what you say. They remember how you make them feel,” said Carey, who was one of YouTube’s first employees and later a YouTuber himself. He gently guides people to project their inner feelings to the outside world. “I think leadership comes from within,” he said.

Leadership, of course, has many definitions. Is it commanding a room during a keynote speech? Inspiring

others to buy into your vision?

Mastering the management skills needed to build a strategy for success? Understanding and serving the greater community?

You can find organizations around Durham that will help you bring out all of these facets of leadership from within.

Commanding the Room, Literally or Virtually After the coronavirus outbreak, many workers were forced to spend the better part of their day on camera. BetterOn was uniquely positioned to help and began offering its coaching and leadership programs online through Zoom.

“All of our leaders/clients are having to navigate managing remotely,” Carey said. “Their teams are scared. No one has answers. We are not only training them on how to use video more effectively, but also pushing them to lead with courage in a time when fear is high.”

Before circumstances changed, Carey gave me a taste

of what he does in his downtown studio. I found myself in front of the camera, counting to 10 like I was sad, like I was excited, like I was bragging, like I was sharing a secret. The exercise helps to explore your emotional range on camera. (Carey also noted that when people watch a video of themselves “bragging,” they discover that really just means showing confidence – a desirable trait in any leader.) He provided tips along the way (lower your chin is the most universal one).

He played back videos on mute so I could see my body language.

He even had me stand on a trampoline for one take, a trick that seemed to drain away the nervousness, or at least appeared that way on screen.

What is the purpose of these exercises? According to research, people remember how you speak more than what you have to say. Carey is there as a sort of therapist to cringe through the footage with you, but he doesn’t offer a long list of criticisms. He’s more interested to hear what you see

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PHOTO BY BRIAN STRICKLAND

Lessons from a CEO

Dr. Bahby Banks is an adjunct faculty member in UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Public Health Leadership Program. in the performance. Most clients are surprised to find out that they actually look pretty good.

Eventually, they are desensitized to standing up in front of others, get out of their own way and just express themselves.

Carey started exploring the BetterOn concept in San Francisco and New York, where he has a second studio. He moved to Durham for love and found the city provided him the space to grow his business.

Today, BetterOn offers coaching to people who need to prepare for a speech or video marketing; custom leadership programs to companies like Red Hat; and group sessions to those looking for a team-building experience.

“I had to give this talk, and I didn’t even flinch,” is the kind of feedback Carey hears from executives. But he’s just as pleased to hear that someone is making stronger connections with family at home, and that the work they do translates to how they communicate into other facets of their lives.

DEFINING AND SHARING YOUR VISION To Dr. Bahby Banks, leadership means compassion, vision, foresight, the confidence to surround yourself with brilliant people, and the ability to know when to lead and when to follow.

But most of all, she said, leaders “really need to understand that nothing will replace the power of human connection.”

Banks is the founder and CEO of research company Pillar Consulting and the founder of the ENVISION Empowerment Experience, a workshop designed initially for women to contemplate their goals, define a vision and commit to action in their lives. After a half day of deep reflection, the women would walk away with a “vision board” of words and pictures that captured the next and best version of themselves.

Today her organization has expanded into coaching corporate executives, millennials,

Michael Jones became CEO of Spoonflower in January, just when the coronavirus was hitting their suppliers in China. He watched the public health crisis spread to Europe, affecting their offices and factory in Berlin, and finally to their headquarters and factory in Durham. Now they’re making fabric masks for health care providers and spacing their factory workers six feet apart. It’s been an interesting time to lead the world’s first web-based, ondemand custom fabric creator. Jones took a break to talk about lessons he’s learned as a leader: What’s different about leading during the coronavirus outbreak?

“No. 1, it just becomes very important that you communicate not only to the leadership but also to the company very frequently,” Jones said. Communicating on a daily basis gives his leadership, employees and customers comfort knowing the company is watching what is happening and making modifications as needed.

“In tough times like we’re going through right now, you have to know the appropriate time to let your leaders do what they need to do and also when to grab the steering wheel and help them drive,” Jones added. “You need to know when to lean in. In a moment like that, you can’t just go hands off and say, ‘I’m not going to be present.’ It’s just not going to work.”

What are the qualities of a good leader?

“I’m a big believer in setting a direction and a vision and then letting the leadership team and their teams make as many decisions as possible,” Jones said. “They’re really happy, they end up doing a great job, you can guide them, and you don’t have to be involved in the nitty-gritty.”

“You can’t get into the trap of hiring people that are just like you or think like you or are going to give you the answers you want.”

What is something you’ve had to learn as a leader?

What mistakes have you seen leaders make?

“You have to be able to listen a lot, which is something I’ve adapted to over time,” Jones said. “I don’t jump into the details and try to be a micromanager. I’ve seen people do that, and I’ve never seen it work really successfully.”

Jones added that celebrating successes is important in any company. “I’ve always been surprised by leaders who, for whatever reason, don’t know the right way to get serious when it needs to get serious, but also celebrate things when they’re going really well.”

What has been your guiding principle as a leader?

Customers come first, employees come second, and shareholders come third. Without customers, Jones said there won’t be much need for either employees or shareholders.

“We think about them in that order for every decision that we make, and it makes decision-making a lot easier for the team,” Jones said.

What would you recommend to people who want to move into a leadership role?

Try to work for companies and people you respect and develop long-term relationships with mentors you can learn from, Jones said.

“I think a lot of people confuse leadership with a title,” he said. But individuals often lead through their actions and ability to motivate others. “By showing others the way, you’re slowly becoming a leader on your own, and then eventually you’ll get the opportunity to actually lead teams.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF RYAN CAREY

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BetterOn’s Ryan Carey.

“There’s something about the shared vulnerability of everyone being themselves,” BetterOn’s Ryan Carey said. Here, Macaela Campbell practices speaking on camera.

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individuals looking to jump-start a career, STEM students, student leaders at around 20 historically black colleges and universities, and more. Though she doesn’t expect to be able to present live at the usual venues, such as the ESSENCE Festival, this year, Banks and her team continue to offer their services online.

Banks has a background in public health and was in the process of teaching an online public health leadership class at the time of the coronavirus outbreak, which was both a “timely and unfortunate” occurrence that provided the opportunity to discuss leadership in a time of crisis.

As an adjunct faculty member in UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Public Health Leadership Program, she tells the next generation of scientists that soft skills like communication, time management and conflict management are critical in the workplace.

As a coach, Banks emphasizes the importance of engaging the people around you, communicating effectively and networking with people from all walks of life.

“Everything we do in life, we’re pitching people our values,” Banks said.

Mastering Management Skills A budding entrepreneur with dreams of opening a florist shop could be very skilled at arranging flowers but lack the vital management skills to lead a successful new venture.

Brian Smith, senior economic development coordinator for the City of Durham’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, works to break down the barriers to success for small business owners, women business owners and minority business owners.

“All of them are very good at the technical aspects,” Smith said. “What they needed was some of the fundamental business acumen.”

The city repeatedly heard that feedback from entrepreneurs when putting together a strategic plan.

In response, Smith’s office created Momentum 360, which covers topics like management fundamentals, monitoring and managing cash flow, creating an effective marketing plan and building a team. They decided to offer the program to cohorts of 15 to 20 people with something in common so they could learn from one another.

The first group of women business owners met for eight

PHOTO BY BETH MANN

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“It’s hard and inconvenient,” Jesica Averhart said about leadership.

“That’s the truth. But it is rewarding.”

weeks in the fall. Durham Technical Community College’s Small Business Center, North Carolina Central University’s Small Business and Technology Development Center, and the Durham Rotary Clubs co-sponsored the program. There are plans for an artisan entrepreneurship cohort this fall, a youth cohort in the summer and a real estate entrepreneurship cohort sometime later this year (COVID-19 delayed that program). The topics covered are specific and relevant to each group.

Since coronavirus has put many events in flux, interested business owners can stay up to date on the Momentum 360 program online at durhambusiness360.com. The website also provides a onestop shop for opportunities and support provided by all of the city’s partners. Programs include counseling, mentoring and funding that can help entrepreneurs build and lead the business they dreamed of.

Understanding and Serving the Greater Community The truth is, leading an organization is a 24-hour effort that rarely allows days off, said Jesica Averhart, executive director of Leadership Triangle. It might be difficult to imagine life beyond running the show. But many leaders grow to play significant roles in the wider community.

Leadership Triangle encourages managers, executives, directors, etc. to see the connective tissue in that larger space, well beyond their local town, city or county.

Seeing the Triangle as a region might seem obvious now, Averhart said, but that was less apparent when the nonprofit was established in 1992.

Every community in Leadership Triangle’s service area of Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties has unique qualities to contribute, while they face many of the same challenges. Leadership Triangle engages leaders

with issues like regional growth, transit, water quality, economic and social equity, affordable housing and education.

Their offerings include leadership development classes in small cohorts, a master’s leadership course for C-level executives new to the region, social networking, public forums and an annual leadership summit focused on regional issues.

In the leadership development classes, participants travel the area

to build relationships, tour businesses, discuss challenges with government leaders and explore personal projects to improve the quality of life in the Triangle.

Averhart personally believes in the model of servant leadership, where leaders enrich the lives of those around them and help them become their best, while also creating a more just and equitable world.

Averhart said when people care and understand their role and impact in the community, there is a ripple effect for others.

“For me, what’s most important is they feel there’s been some fundamental shift in how they view the community they participate in,” Averhart said. “You’ll never be the same.

You’ll never see your community the same.”

We know downtown.

Economic Development • Clean & Safe • Placemaking

115 Market St. #213 • Durham, NC 27701 • 919.682.2800 downtowndurham.com

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TASTE

JOYO U S CO O KING MORETON NEAL IS AN AUTHOR AND INTERIOR DESIGNER WHO LIVES IN CHAPEL HILL. SHE IS A LIFELONG FOODIE, HAVING CO-FOUNDED LA RÉSIDENCE IN 1976.

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TAST E

FOOD FOR THE LONG RUN

PHOTO BY JAMES STEFIUK

A

t the time of my writing, we find ourselves facing social isolation, if not a national quarantine. Toilet paper hoarding has gone on for weeks now, but recent reports have now triggered a buying spree of food staples. In normal times, our freezer bulges with two-for-one sale items my husband can’t resist. The pantry is packed with exotic mustards, relishes and hot sauces – more than we can consume in a lifetime. The latest news compelled us to rush to the grocery for more practical staples. I panicked just thinking about going a day without onions.

Everyone else must have had the same thought, because there was not an onion of any variety, color or size to be found.

But while we were there, we thought of other staples we could enjoy while stuck in the house for weeks at a time. Visions of pasta, rice and polenta danced in my head. This is no time for a low-carb diet. All parties are canceled, so I don’t need to fit into that tight dress anyway.

It’s hard for me to imagine cooking from a box, but there are some brands that taste good even without doctoring them up (which in my case involves sauteed onions). If your market carries Alessi products such as penne or linguine, grab some. Alessi’s risotto with porcini mushrooms as well as their Tuscan white bean soup will not disappoint you.

Our favorite pasta sauce is Cucina & Amore’s Puttanesca sold at The Fresh Market. Delicious by itself on pasta, it’s even better with shrimp, chicken or any kind of smoked sausage, such as andouille, chorizo or kielbasa, which all keep for weeks in the fridge. Another tasty sauce is Luquire Family Foods’ Carolina Creole sauce available at some Harris Teeter locations and online at carolinacreole.com.

While you are ordering, stock up on their amazing long-grain rice.

Zatarain’s and Tony Chachere both make flavorful rice mixes. My favorite is Zatarain’s red beans and rice to serve with those long-lasting smoked sausages. Tony Chachere’s Creole Gumbo Base Mix doesn’t really taste like homemade gumbo, but it’s a good vehicle for shrimp, chicken or sausage in a pinch or during a quarantine.

Now is the perfect time to cultivate a taste for polenta. You don’t need a box labeled “polenta” – this is a fancy name for cornmeal mush made from your favorite brand of plain yellow cornmeal. Polenta begs for butter and good Parmesan (keep plenty of both in the fridge), or you can top it with roasted vegetables or a jarred sauce. We brought home a jar of Butternut Bourbon sauce by Mia’s Kitchen. The name

sounded irresistible, though the jar’s lonely presence on the empty pasta sauce shelf proved other shoppers felt differently.

As for veggies, spinach, collard greens, corn, artichoke hearts and English peas are your best bets in the freezer compartment and taste almost fresh with a little butter added. Canned legumes such as Bush’s Best or Luck’s black-eyed peas and pinto beans are reliably well seasoned and available most everywhere. Of course, adding sauteed onions perks up a can of beans considerably.

Usually I serve a salad with every meal, but fresh lettuce may be hard to get. On the other hand, a cabbage will hold for weeks. Here’s a salad that keeps well in the fridge, is good for your immune system and is delicious even when it’s not your only salad choice.

CABBAGE AND CUCUMBER SALAD 1 small green cabbage, shredded or chopped coarsely 1 tsp. salt 1 Persian cucumber, sliced 2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped 3-4 green onions, chopped 3 Tbsp. avocado, sunflower or olive oil 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice More salt and black pepper to taste Place chopped cabbage in a colander with 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly and let sit for 30 minutes or longer. Rinse the cabbage well and drain. This optional step releases water from the cabbage and keeps it from getting soggy after dressing it.

Mix cucumbers, dill, green onions and the well-drained cabbage in a bowl.

Mix together oil and lemon juice. Pour over the vegetables. Add salt and pepper and combine well.

Substitutions If you can’t get fresh dill, substitute 1 teaspoon dried dill, and if you can’t find green onions, use 2 tablespoons chopped onion, preferably red or sweet. Vinegar can fill in for lemon juice if necessary.

Variations Substitute red cabbage and shredded carrots for part of the green cabbage.

Substitute lime juice for lemon and add chopped bell peppers and a chopped jalapeno pepper.

Add thawed, rinsed, uncooked green peas to the vegetable mixture. 

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MOR E ME A L S TO MA K E AT H O M E WHILE WE CAN’T CELEBRATE SPECIAL OCCASIONS – BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, HOLIDAYS – AT A FAVORITE RESTAURANT RIGHT NOW, WE CAN ATTEMPT TO EMULATE BELOVED DISHES

BY LOCAL CHEFS AT HOME. TRY OUT THESE TWO RECIPES FOR MOMENTOUS MEALS:

ROAST PORK RACK

By Sam Papanikas of Bleu Olive Bistro

“I

was born in South New Jersey, where my family owned and operated a restaurant until moving to Clearwater, Florida, in 1984. In Florida, my family owned and operated another restaurant; I began working in the kitchen as expediter and grill cook at 13. In 1994, my family moved to Durham, [and] opened Papas Grille. I began honing my skills and creating my own style and technique in the kitchen.

Papas Grille turned into a staple in the Durham food scene [and] received numerous accolades nationwide. The restaurant underwent a total renovation and was rebranded as Bleu Olive in 2012.”

Serves 8-12 people, depending on size of rack 1 pork rack from Firsthand Foods 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. ground black pepper 2 Tbsp. herbes de Provence 1 large onion, thinly sliced 3 stalks celery, thickly sliced 1 carrot, thinly sliced Wash and pat rack dry. Leave to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a pan large enough for the roast, place the sliced onions, celery and carrots, and then place the roast on top. Rub the roast with olive oil and mustard on both sides, and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Place in oven for 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 F until the internal temperature is 160 F, about 1.5 hours. Remove from oven. Let sit for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Serve with your favorite sides, such as roasted sweet potatoes, saffron-poached cauliflower or red pepper marmalade. 

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TAST E

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SHAKSHUKA

By Jamil Kadoura of Mediterranean Deli

“T

his is originally an authentic Tunisian dish. I remember eating this dish often growing up. My mom, who taught me how to cook, made this for breakfast or lunch. This was a cost-effective recipe for families.

I have fond memories of our entire family gathered around the pan, eating shakshuka.”

Serves 8 2 oz. extra virgin olive oil 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 2 Tbsp. harissa seasoning (found in Middle Eastern markets) 2½ Tbsp. tomato paste 2½ whole red bell peppers, cut into ¼-inch cubes 1½ tsp. cumin 1 tsp. salt 5 large ripe tomatoes, chopped 5 large eggs (organic eggs recommended) Serve with 1 cup labneh (a Mediterranean yogurt) Saute garlic and extra virgin olive oil on low heat for 2 minutes. Add harissa, tomato paste, red bell pepper, cumin and salt. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, and simmer for 10 more minutes until mixture is soft and well blended. Crack 5 large eggs on top of the mixture, 1½ inches apart. Drag egg whites with a fork. Cook about 8 minutes, until egg whites are done, and egg yolks are runny. Scoop portions with 1 egg and serve with 1 tablespoon of labneh and pita on the side.

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EN GAGEMENTS

Anna & Wintermeier

BY A N N A E L SASS E R P H OTO BY B OW TI E CO L L A B O R ATIVE B OW TI E CO L L A B O R ATI V E .CO M

N

orth Carolina State University alumnus Mark Anna met Katie Wintermeier, a UNC School of Nursing graduate, at a party in May 2018. Mark asked for her number at the Kentucky Derby- and Cinco de Mayothemed celebration, they went on a date a week later, and, Katie says, “the rest was history.”

A year after earning his pilot’s license, Mark wanted to take Katie out flying on a gorgeous fall day in October 2019. Katie wasn’t feeling well mid-flight and took a short nap. Mark yelled “Katie!” to jolt her awake, and then asked, “Will you be my copilot for forever?” When they flew over his parents’ Chapel Hill house, where he’d had UNC’s athletic grounds staff spray-paint, “Will you marry me, Katie?” on the front lawn, she realized he wasn’t kidding.

Mark, a project estimator at RESOLUTE Building Company, and Katie, an oncology nurse practitioner at the UNC REX Cancer Care, will marry on Sept. 12, 2020, at The Sutherland in Wake Forest.

Hawkins & Whitfield

BY JANET ALSAS PHOTO BY DAW N M I C HEL L E D OW N EY IA MMICHELLEDAW N .COM Wedding Date Oct. 17, 2020 Neighborhood American Village Occupations Roy Hawkins is an instrumentation

technician at FCX Performance out of Charlotte.

Chelsea Whitfield is a research health science specialist at Durham VA Health Care System.

Crossed Paths They were both at the right place, at the right time, Roy says. Chelsea was in her first year at UNC-Greensboro when she went out for a fun night with a few friends. Roy, who’s from Hartsville, South Carolina, was completing a job in High Point and decided to unwind after work with a game of pool at the same spot. Chelsea boldly approached Roy, tapped him on the shoulders and said, “So, do you want to be my man?” That got the pair chatting, they exchanged numbers and eventually began dating.

The Proposal The proposal was a complete surprise. After four years of dating, Roy invited Chelsea on the Hawkins family cruise to the Bahamas. Roy waited for the perfect moment during their vacation to 140

propose. While the family was taking photos in their suits and dresses before dinner, Roy and Chelsea took a few pictures as a couple. In the middle of the shot, Roy said, “It has been 1,514 days since we first met.

Like I said when we began, I want my next relationship to be my last.”

He got down on one knee and asked Chelsea to marry him. She was completely shocked and said, “Yes!” Now, “I Do” The couple plans to host their ceremony at the Moon Palace in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and have a reception locally, but are still looking for a venue.

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W EDDIN GS

Archambault & Barclay

BY STERLIN G RO BER TS PHOTOGRAP HY BY AU T U M N G R AC E R OG ERS AU TUMN GRACE.P I X I ESET.COM

B

rooke Archambault and Shane Barclay met nearly a decade ago at The Station in Carrboro. Though they were “together for many

moons,” they never felt rushed into marriage. But on March 17, 2018, Shane proposed during a hike near Goldmine Loop Trail with Brooke and her son, Cameron, a freshman at Chapel Hill High School.

While panning for gold, one of Shane’s favorite activities, he “found” an engagement ring. Brooke said yes.

The Oct. 12, 2019, wedding took place in a friend’s backyard near Maple View Farm. Cameron, the best man, walked his mother down the aisle while Brooke’s niece, photographer Autumn Grace Rogers, documented the celebration. Friends Rus Hames and Shannon D. O’Connor of D Town Deuce performed for the ceremony. Shane and Brooke had their first dance to Mix Tape Grab Bag’s rendition of “This Must Be the Place” by Talking Heads.

Guests enjoyed many local dishes, from Lula’s chicken biscuits to pizza and pasta from Alfredo’s Pizza Villa.

A full moon brightened the sky after the sun went down, perfectly accompanying their backyard bonfire. “Everyone who attended told us they could feel the love in the air between us, our family and all our friends,” Brooke says. Among those in attendance were Brooke’s mother, Tracy Townson, and stepfather, Mike Townson, Shane’s mother, Cindy Soehner, and stepfather, John Soehner, and Shane’s father, Russell Barclay.

The couple lives in Pittsboro, where Shane is the owner and operator of Barclay Excavating, and Brooke is a real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty United.

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Durst & Martin Innes

BY MA DDY RIDEOU T PHOTOGRA P HY BY C L AY A N D DA N I SOU Z A PHOTOSBYCLAY.COM Wedding Date Dec. 15, 2019 Occupations David “Sport” Durst and Renee’ Martin Innes both work at Sport Durst Automotive Group. Sport is the president of

the company, and Renee’ works as the human resources director.

Crossed Paths Sport and Renee’ met at work and began dating in December 2004. A few years later they had their daughter, Morgan Durst, now 11 years old.

The Proposal Sport planned a surprise proposal for Renee’ at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club with their closest friends present.

He booked a private room and hired a harpist and a band. Renee’ walked in to find a video featuring some of the couple’s favorite photos and music, and Sport down on one knee.

The Big Day Both the ceremony and reception took place at the University Club. The venue was decorated for the holiday season, including flowers by Floral Dimensions and a snow-white cake

by Miel Bon Bons, making their special day all the more magical.

Sport and Renee’ celebrated with family and friends, including groomsmen Bryson Innes, Hunter Durst and Cameron Durst, maid of honor Morgan Durst, and flower girl Bella Kirby. Todd Moody Entertainment kept the party going long into the evening.

Favorite Moments Renee’ says she will never forget during the ceremony when she revealed the inscription engraved in Sport’s ring: “Today I married my best friend.” The couple was also enamored with the decor of ornamented trees and wreaths, transforming the venue into a winter wonderland. It was the Christmas fairy-tale wedding that Sport had always wanted.

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Broughton & La Dine

BY LINDSAY RU SC Z A K PHOTOGRA P HY BY TARA PARKER PHOTOG R A P HY TARA PA RKERP H OTOG R A P HY.COM

C

hapel Hill native Arwen La Dine and James Broughton became friends in college, bonding over math and aerospace homework. They started dating during their senior year at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. Following graduation, the couple worked and lived in separate states for a year, until they realized that long-distance dating wasn’t for them. With help from college friend and future groomsman Clark Harris, James bought a ring and booked a one-way ticket to North Carolina to be with Arwen.

For their two-year anniversary in 2018, James planned a weekend trip to Kitty Hawk to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The couple shares a love of planes, and James, wanting to take their relationship to new heights, proposed at the memorial.

Arwen and James hosted a welcome party at The Siena Hotel the evening before their wedding. They married on June 22, 2019, at Orange United Methodist Church. A reception followed at the Chapel Hill Carriage House.

Attendees included Arwen’s parents, Jeff and Barbara La Dine, Arwen’s sister and maid of honor, Anna La Dine, and James’ parents, John and Debbie Broughton. After the reception, which featured lawn games, visits with the Carriage House’s llamas and food from Hillsborough BBQ Company, the newlyweds were sent off by guests with sparklers and retired to The Fearrington House Inn. Arwen says she wanted the weekend to be a chance for friends and family to gather and catch up. “We were overwhelmed by how many people genuinely had a good time,” she says.

Arwen and James, both mechanical engineers by trade, live in Morrisville, North Carolina.

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