William Buster is the first CEO & president of the New Hanover Community Endowment (NHCE). Mr. Buster works closely with the endowment’s board and a cross-section of stakeholders and organizations to identify and address root challenges. He is a seasoned leader in philanthropy, who has dedicated his life’s work to improving the social determinants of health and quality of life. As a former senior vice president at the Dogwood Health Trust in Asheville, he led the impact team and oversight of the foundation’s grantmaking and program-related investment strategies.

Prior to joining the Dogwood Health Trust, Mr. Buster worked in a variety of positions including executive VP of community investments at St. David’s Health Foundation, owner and consultant for Common-Unity Philanthropic and Nonprofit Advisors, director of Mississippi and New Orleans programs, advisor to the president of Men and Boys of Color during nine years with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and program officer for the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

Mr. Buster received several accolades and achievements during his career: He worked closely with the White House in the development of the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, advised the Ferguson/St. Louis Commission on its Racial Equity and Reconciliation Community Call to Action Plan, was an appointee by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the Minority Farmer Advisory Committee, and served on several nonprofit boards. He currently serves as the chair of the National Advisory Committee for the Forward Promise Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a Hull fellow of the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

Mr. Buster earned his Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, his Master of Arts Degree in policy and practice of development from the University of New Hampshire, and an executive education certificate in mastering negotiation from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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Bill Cameron co-founded and is President of Cameron Management, Inc., an investment management company with a focus on real estate development, brokerage, and property management. He was a founding Member and Director of Port City Capital Bank and Director of Crescent State Bank following its acquisition of Port City Capital Bank in 2006. Cameron currently serves on the board of directors for Live Oak Bancshares, Cape Fear Memorial Foundation, and Champion McDowell Davis Foundation.

Mr. Cameron has previously served on the board of directors of the UNC Health Care System, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, Cape Fear Memorial Hospital, among many others. He is also past President of the NC Azalea Festival and has served as a deacon and elder for St. Andrew’s Covenant Presbyterian Church. Most recently, he served as Co-vice Chair of the Partnership Advisory Group. Cameron is a native of Wilmington.

Dr. Edelmira Segovia serves as Director of Centro Hispano in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at UNCW, where she supports the growing number of Latinx students applying, attending and completing degrees at UNCW. In her 22 years’ experience with public education, she has served populations underrepresented in higher education, taught world languages, coordinated migrant education programs, and served as Diversity and Inclusion Administrator.

Dr. Segovia is Co-chair of the UNCW Latino Alliance of Southeastern North Carolina, tasked with empowering local citizens and organizations that serve the Latinx community by creating positive change in areas of education, business, health care, safety, and community building. Most recently, she joined the founding team of the Latin American Business Council of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, where she supports accessibility for established Latinx businesses in the region. In this role, she advocates for economic and public policy opportunities in a multilingual and culturally aware platform, with equal access to all resources that foster economic growth, success and integration of Latinx businesses and professionals into fabric of southeastern North Carolina.

Dr. Virginia Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a registered nurse and nurse education program consultant whose experience has spanned over four decades as faculty, Department Chair and Dean, where she served as Dean of the UNCW School of Nursing for 14 years. She became a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2015, received the Distinguished Nurse Educator Award from Winston Salem State University in 2004, and was honored with the Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Education Award from UNC Chapel Hill in 2000, among numerous other honors and awards.

Dr. Adams is the former Vice Chair of Health & Human Services Board of Directors, where she remains on the board as a Member. She is also the former Chair of the NHC Public Health Board as well as former Chair of the SEAHEC Board. Other community boards included Coastal Horizons and NHRMC BOT. She is an active member of the Wilmington Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and Chair the Physical and Mental Health Committee. As a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, she is a former Co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Most recently, she served on the Partnership Advisory Group. Adams lived in Wilmington for nearly 20 years prior to moving to Washington, DC in 2013; she returned to the area in 2017.

Chris Boney is a lifelong Wilmingtonian. After attending North Carolina State and the University of Virginia, he returned home to join his family architecture firm in 1997. In his current role as Chief Relationships Officer for LS3P, Chris oversees business development, community engagement, and leadership at the firm’s eight southeastern architecture offices. His work is focused on large commercial and institutional projects, and he has been recognized with multiple local, state, and regional awards for design and sustainable building practices. Recent local projects include the new Inpatient Tower at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, CFCC’s Wilson Center, Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall, and the Live Oak Bank corporate campus.

Active in both the state and local business community, Mr. Boney has chaired the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and the Wilmington Planning Commission, and has served on numerous other non-profit boards. He is currently Chairman of the Battleship North Carolina Commission. Chris has spent considerable time mentoring children and young adults as a youth group counselor, “big brother,” and basketball coach. He is married with three teenage children, and actively involved at First Presbyterian Church.

Spence Broadhurst is the President of the Eastern NC Region for First National Bank, coordinating corporate and business banking, integration of sales, and the overall business strategy for the bank’s eastern NC region. He currently serves on the board of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

Mr. Broadhurst was twice elected Mayor of the City of Wilmington, serving from 2003 to 2006, is a former Commissioner of the North Carolina Banking Commission, and a former Trustee for North Carolina Agriculture and Technology State University. He has also served on the boards of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, Wilmington Film Commission, Wilmington Business Development, the Wake County Board of Health and most recently served as Co-chair of the Partnership Advisory Group.

Cedric Dickerson is an insurance agent working with State Farm and serves as Vice President of State Farm Agents and Employees Political Action Committee. He is former Chair and current Member of the New Hanover County ABC Board and an advisory board member for the Boy Scouts of America. He has previously served as Board Chair of the Community Boys & Girls Club and has served on the boards of Cape Fear Community College Foundation, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, Cape Fear Literacy Council, and Salvation Army.

Mr. Dickerson was honored in 2009 with a UNCW Watson College of Education Razor Walker Award and was inducted into the Laney Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018 for his community support and work as volunteer coach. Most recently, he served on the Partnership Advisory Group. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and has lived in Wilmington for 40 years.

Hannah Dawson Gage is a retired media executive and former owner of Cape Fear Broadcasting in Wilmington, where she launched 102.7 WGNI, 980 WWAV news talk radio, and Coast 97.3. She is an advocate for higher education and served on the UNC Board of Governors for 16 years, including two terms as the first female Chair of the board, overseeing 16 college campuses, including the North Carolina School of Science and Math, UNC Health Care, and UNC-TV (now PBS NC).

Ms. Gage was inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame in 2009, received the Governor’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2012, and the UNCW Watson College of Education Razor Walker Award in 2016 for her support of public higher education. She is the current Chair of the WUNC Radio Board and has previously served as Chair of the UNCW Board of Trustees as well as numerous regional and local boards. Most recently, she served on the Partnership Advisory Group. She has lived in Wilmington since 1981.

Michele Holbrook is a Capital Program Manager for Corning Incorporated, responsible for the delivery of all major capital projects across Corning’s global optical fiber and cable footprint. In the community, Ms. Holbrook has served on the board of directors for the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce since 2015 and was elected to serve as the 2021 board chair. She is also an Ex-officio member of the Wilmington Business Development board of directors, and previously served on the United Way of the Cape Fear Area campaign committee, the Virginia Tech Material Science & Engineering advisory board and the NC State Industry Expansion Solutions advisory board. Holbrook was named a 2019 WilmingtonBiz 100 Power Player. She has lived in Wilmington since 2012.

Dr. Patrick D. Maguire is a physician, medical director, and managing partner of Coastal Carolina Radiation Oncology in Wilmington, NC, where he has practiced since 2000. He received his undergraduate degree in English literature from Haverford College and MD from Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. Maguire completed his radiation oncology residency and clinical research fellowship at Duke University Medical Center and thereafter has been caring for patients diagnosed with cancer in coastal NC. He has authored many peer-reviewed scientific publications and a book for patients and families about cancer entitled “When Cancer Hits Home.”

Dr. Maguire was the principal investigator of two major Cancer Disparities Research Partnership grants from the National Cancer Institute to improve cancer outcomes for underserved populations in southeastern NC. He is nearing completion of a Master of Finance and Investment Management at University of North Carolina Wilmington. His passions include investing, endurance sports, adventure travel, and spending time on the water with his wife and two adult children.

Dr. Khadijia Tribié Reid is a wife, mother, pediatrician, and public health advocate. She is the Pediatric Medical Director of MedNorth Community Health Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. She also serves as the Vice Chair of New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics. She is an advocate for high quality early childhood education and serves as the Governor’s appointee on the North Carolina Partnership for Children’s Board of Directors.

Dr. Tribié Reid is also a frequent contributor to podcasts, seminars, and other media presentations that center Health Equity, Integrated Care and Adverse Childhood Experiences.

David Sprunt was born and raised in Wilmington. He became a CPA and was the Finance Manager for Bryan Properties, a North Carolina real estate development company based in the Triangle. In 2003, he returned to Wilmington to manage his family’s timberland and commercial real estate, which includes long leaf pine straw harvesting and sales, Venus flytrap plant cultivation and seed sales, leasing and property management, as well as managing the timberland for wildlife, recreational, and conservation purposes.

Stedman Stevens is an experienced entrepreneur in healthcare, technology and consumer product markets, specializing in bringing new ideas to practice. His passion for helping people led him to multiple roles in healthcare including pharmaceutical research and development, physician medical education and Executive Director of Geriatric Medicine at UNC Healthcare. His leadership and advisory positions span companies in public and private sectors as well as Board roles at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, North Carolina School of Science and Math, UNCW and others.

Mr. Stevens holds patents for his work, has published in peer reviewed medical journals and recently published a book about the loss of his wife to cancer. As a native of Burgaw his roots are deep in the community where he and his wife, Susanna, have five children. He takes his work seriously, but himself less so.

Ms. Winslow is a Director of Strategic Accounts with WebMD Health Services with over 15 years of healthcare experience. Currently, she works with Fortune 100 companies on their Global Health and Well-Being strategies. Previously, she was a Director of Client Strategy for Walgreens and worked with Health Systems and employer clients to successfully execute national pharmacy and healthcare strategies. She is a native of Wilmington, NC. Her community involvement has included serving on various local boards and committees including the Domestic Violence Shelter, Junior League of Wilmington, the American Red Cross, the Community Boys and Girls Club, and serving as a mentor at the Cameron Executive Network at UNCW. Most recently, she served as a member of the New Hanover Non-County Agency Funding committee. Ms. Winslow received a BA in Economics from UNC-Chapel Hill and a MBA from UNC-Wilmington.

Joel Beeson is a lifelong resident of North Carolina. He is a CPA with more than 30 years of experience in various industries. Over the last 14 years, he participated as part of the leadership team providing oversight of all financial, human resources, information technology and grants management functions as director of administration at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in Winston-Salem, N.C. Throughout his career, Mr. Beeson strives to provide a collaborative and supportive working environment for all staff at multiple organizations.

Prior to working at Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Mr. Beeson’s career includes experience at various organizations including Deloitte, Hospital Corporation of America, Sara Lee Business Services and Novant Health. His diverse background includes accounting, work in software implementations and information technology. He is enthusiastic about technology and the possibilities it brings to his work. He excels in automating processes and systems, so that organizations can run more efficiently.

Mr. Beeson received his Bachelor’s Degree in accounting from North Carolina State University and went on to receive a Master of Public Health Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an active member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Humbled and honored to be a part of the inaugural executive team of the New Hanover Community Endowment, Mr. Beeson is looking forward to the opportunity it provides to make transformative change in the community.

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Lakesha McDay is a deeply respected leader across the State of North Carolina with 25 years of leadership experience in equity, diversity and inclusion; strategic operations and human resource management; and leadership development. Her areas of expertise include a demonstrated ability to build trusted collaboration and partnerships with community members, government officials, education and executive leaders, and grassroots organizations.

She most recently served as the executive director for governmental and community relations at the University of North Carolina – Asheville. Ms. McDay also served significant leadership roles including equity officer at Dogwood Health Trust, a private foundation in western North Carolina. She also served the community of western North Carolina while working for Mission Health for more than 20 years. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from UNC Asheville, a post-graduate certificate in innovation management from Western Carolina University and is currently pursuing an MBA from Fayetteville State University. Ms. McDay holds a certification as a national diversity professional through the Society for Diversity and National Institute for Diversity and Health Equity. She is also a trained facilitator in leadership coaching, professional development and organizational communication.

Ms. McDay is excited to join the inaugural senior leadership team at New Hanover Community Endowment and is looking forward to being in and serving alongside the people in this community.

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Alison Cheng serves as the endowment’s Programs and Operations Coordinator, as well as supporting the board of directors. Ms. Cheng graduated from Franklin and Marshall College with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and creative writing in 2015. Her professional career has been varied across many industries including finance, public relations, and government contracting. Since joining the New Hanover Community Endowment in 2021, she has worked to support and build the endowment’s internal infrastructure, as well as kept in touch with and learned from the community. In her spare time, she enjoys writing short stories, cardio boxing, and playing video games.

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As the Special Assistant to the CEO, Tamara is dedicated to supporting William Buster in advancing The Endowment’s mission, vision, values, and commitment to making a lasting impact on the lives of those it serves. Tamara’s professional experience encompasses various sectors, including finance, government, technology, and healthcare. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Fairfield University and a Master’s Degree in Business and Technology from Sacred Heart University. In her spare time, she enjoys theater, symphony, hiking, and traveling. She looks forward to the opportunity to engage meaningfully with the diverse individuals, families and organizations that collectively form the vibrant tapestry of New Hanover County.

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