BUSINESS

BY KRISTIN FRYT PHOTO BY DARIA AMATO LOCATION: END OF DAYS DISTILLERY (EODDISTILLERY.COM)

Founder & Lead Coach, Beyond Clinic Walls Wellness | Physician, Novant Health

One might think being a doctor, a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserves, and a volunteer board member with Honor Flight of the Cape Fear Area might be enough to fill one’s plate, but that is not the case for Constance Foreman. She also found time to help launch the networking group 3 Ladies in Wilmington and start her own business Beyond Clinic Walls Wellness. Referring to herself as a “docto-preneur,” her aim with Beyond Clinic Walls Wellness is to equip clients with practical, expert wellness solutions for everyday life. Through wellness-based events and corporate health workshops and seminars, Beyond Clinic Walls Wellness strives to serve as a reminder that a person’s health is bigger than simply going to the doctor regularly. Looking ahead, Foreman says she wants to expand what she has started. “I’d like to build community partners,” she says, “that allow me to offer health coaching and health education services to larger groups of people.”

ISABELA LUJAN

Co-Founder, Latin American Business Council | Realtor, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage

After leaving her home country of Venezuela for a better life in 2016, Isabela Lujan found a new place to call home in Wilmington, venturing through a foreign culture and unfamiliar environment. Lujan realized she needed to be part of a bigger community; one that tied into her Latinx roots. She acquired Wilmington Spanish Meetup, a local networking group where community members meet for coffee, learn Spanish, and integrate with others who share interests in various cultures. Leading this meetup inspired Lujan to help form the Latin American Business Council out of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce in 2020 with several of her peers, as she saw a need to promote accessibility for Latin American-owned businesses in the region through equal access to economic and public policy opportunities. Lujan, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, served as the council’s founding co-chair with Gustavo Rodea.

ZOË MATHEWS

Owner, Code Ninjas Wilmington

In August 2021, Zoë Mathews opened Code Ninjas franchise location at Mayfaire Town Center, bringing STEM and coding education to area children. Mathews and her team combine teamwork and collaboration to promote the importance of these fields to all children and especially encourage more girls to participate in the traditionally male-driven fields. Code Ninjas holds monthly in-school coding enrichment at Wilmington Preparatory Academy and pop-up STEM Experiences for professional women. Mathews is also a co-founder of girls code it, a free, tenweek club that teaches the fundamentals of coding and builds sisterhood for third-fifth grade girls. Code Ninjas camps range from building and coding dancing lego robots to video game building. Saturday group sessions are also offered to organizations such as the Boy Scouts/ Girl Scouts and church youth groups. Here the groups can bring kids to the center to gain exposure to and spark interest in the STEM fields.

MYRA MCDUFFIE

Owner, MeMa’s Chick’n’ & Ribs

After working thirty years as a respiratory therapist and nurse, Myra McDuffie, along with her husband, James, decided to open MeMa’s Chick’n’ & Ribs in 2017. She set out to make an impact on her community of Burgaw by creating jobs and hiring people to help improve the local economy. The restaurant’s signature-brand sauces and rubs are for sale at twenty-plus Lowes Foods, in airports, and more major platforms planned for the future. The McDuffies set out to expand and purchased land in 2019 to create The Creek at Burgaw, a shopping center on N.C. 53 in Pender County. Myra McDuffie estimates the center would create more than forty more jobs, and the couple has looked to raise funds from accredited investors. The building would house MeMa’s, an event space, a commissary kitchen, and manufacturing space for the signature sauce. Having graduated with a master’s degree in organizational leadership, Myra McDuffie has seen her hard work pay off.

MALLORIE MOORE

Director of Client Development, Dualboot Partners

Mallorie Moore’s mantra seems to be “support and serve.” A graduate of N.C. State University, Moore has been around the tech and startup world for more than ten years since joining her first startup in the Triangle area. With experience in helping new startups and entrepreneurs, Moore became a chamber ambassador for the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. Moore joined software and business development company Dualboot Partners as director of client development to invest back in her community and local entrepreneurial ecosystem after gaining over a decade of SaaS startup experience. She previously served as vice president of enterprise at Next Glass. Moore was eager to find the right opportunity that would allow her to help grow a number of startup businesses all at the same time. In the community, she has volunteered with NourishNC and GLOW Academy as well as mentored young women who are new or entering the workforce.