The New Hanover Community Endowment has appointed seven new members to its Community Advisory Council (CAC). 

The endowment’s 18-member CAC is appointed by the endowment’s board after being recruited and selected through a public application process. The members serve staggered three-year terms. 

The endowment was created following the $1.5 billion sale of the previously county-owned New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and the purchase agreement required that the endowment establish a community advisory committee. 

Members are required to have knowledge and lived experience in one or more of the endowment’s focus areas, which include community development, community safety, education and social and health equity.  

The new members’ terms began June 1 and will end June 1, 2029. 

The new CAC members are: 

SOCIAL & HEALTH EQUITY

• Roberto Ramirez – Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Coastal Horizons, New Hanover County Health and Human Services Board.
• ​Lindy Ford – Registered Dietitian/Clinical Nutritionist, New Hanover Women’s Commission.

EDUCATION

• Rob Morgan – Assistant Superintendent of Operations at New Hanover County Schools.

COMMUNITY SAFETY

• Rebekah Garcia – Regional Managing Attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina (Wilmington).
• ​Carson Porter – President and Executive Director at Wilmington Hammerheads Youth Soccer.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

• Megan Mullins – Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, with board service for the Historic Wilmington Foundation and Cape Fear Volunteer Center.
• ​Frances "Perry" Chappell – Business Management and Development Consultant at The Blair Group, and Member of the UNCW Board of Trustees.

Outgoing members completing their terms this month include Kent Locklear, Joe Finley, Gustavo Rodea, Susie Sewell, Frankie Roberts, Abdul Hafeedh Ibn Abdullah and Angie Hill.

"We were fortunate to receive an exceptionally strong and diverse pool of candidates for consideration, bringing deep experience within and across our core pillars," said Sophie Dagenais, president and CEO of the endowment, in the press release. "We have actively engaged and activated the Community Advisory Council in our strategic work and look forward to incorporating new member perspectives as we translate our strategy into tangible action.”

Read more about the CAC members on the endowment’s website.