Meet the Charlotte Regional Data Trust Board of Directors
by Sydney Idzikowski and Elaine Jacobs
As a nonprofit organization, the UNC Charlotte Regional Data Trust is governed by a board of directors who are committed to increasing the community’s capacity for data-informed decision-making, and fostering research that impacts the community and deepens understanding of complex community issues. The board has fiduciary oversight over the data and operations of the Data Trust, and also serves in an advisory role over the research and engagement agenda for the Charlotte Urban Institute.
The Data Trust uses a participatory governance model where many different stakeholders across the community and University guide its work. Participatory data governance intentionally involves people with a range of experiences, expertise and skill to share decision-making power about how data are used. This is important for building trust and broad support for ethical data use that centers people and provides context. [Read more about participatory governance]
Here, we feature the members of the Charlotte Regional Data Trust Board of Directors. Board members are important champions of the Data Trust and help the Data Trust with key strategic initiatives such as expanding our presence in the Charlotte region, recruiting new data partners and guiding the annual wellbeing survey.
Jeremy Alajajian – Board treasurer
Business Officer, Charlotte Urban Institute
Role in the community: Jeremy Alajajian keeps business operations moving smoothly for the Urban Institute and Data Trust. He serves as a liaison between the Institute and Data Trust, the larger University and the community. He ensures that everything is in place for projects and initiatives to move forward and manages key financial activities.
Isabel Alele – Board secretary
Associate General Counsel, UNC Charlotte
Role in the community: Isabel Alele serves as the primary legal designee from UNC Charlotte for the Data Trust, where she reviews data sharing agreements and assists with new documents and processes as needed. Without a strong legal framework, data sharing is not possible. She supports key legal functions at UNC Charlotte including the work of the Division of Research, Student Health, Business Affairs and OneIT.
Andrew Bowen – Chair, Data and Technology Advisory Committee
Technology Strategy Manager, City of Charlotte
Role in the community: A Charlotte native, Andrew Bowen leads the development of long-term technology strategies that align citywide departmental and community needs with IT capabilities. His work ensures that technology investments are prioritized, coordinated, and positioned to drive innovation and efficiency across the city. In his previous role, Andrew was closely involved in the development and ongoing use of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer, as well as the City of Charlotte Open Data Portal and other Smart Cities initiatives. He is an expert in data analytics, public and local data resources, and geography.
Casey Calloway
Trial Court Administrator, 26th Judicial District (Mecklenburg County), North Carolina Judicial Branch
Role in the community: Casey Calloway is responsible for the largest judicial district in North Carolina, managing fifty employees and assisting thirty judges in District and Superior Court. She manages all extra judicial functions of court operations: from executing local rules, calendaring cases and providing case management to budget development, research and strategic planning, project management, and community access and outreach. She knows the ins and outs of justice system data and procedures.
Sherri Chisholm
Former Executive Director, Leading on Opportunity
Role in the community: Sherri Chisholm is an executive leader with over a decade of experience across the education, nonprofit and social impact sectors. She is a strategic advisor and most recently, the former executive director of Leading on Opportunity, where she and her team empowered stakeholders, funders and the community to enable economic mobility through strategy, policy and data. Sherri holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, as well as master’s degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Broad School of Management. In addition to her role on the Charlotte Regional Data Trust Board of Directors, Chisholm also serves on the Davidson College Board of Visitors.
Laura Yates Clark
President, The Foundation For the Carolinas
Role in the community: As leader of Foundation For the Carolinas, one of the largest community foundations in the U.S. with nearly 3,000 charitable funds, Laura Yates Clark is a true innovator in what grantmaking can look like for community-based initiatives. A Charlotte native with a long history of service and leadership, Laura helps oversee FFTC’s civic leadership initiatives in areas such as housing insecurity, nonprofit stability, childhood literacy and more.
Maghan Cook
Executive Vice President of Central Culture and Talent, Red Ventures
Role in the community: Maghan Cook oversees internal and external communications, learning and development, recruiting and people analytics for Red Ventures, a global portfolio of high-growth businesses based in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
A graduate of Lehigh University, Cook is committed to community leadership. She is an alumna of the Community Building Initiative’s Leaders Under 40 program, a coach with Girls on the Run, a former board member of Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte, and a current board member with both the Charlotte Regional Data Trust and Road to Hire.
Kathryn Firmin-Sellers – Board Vice-President
President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Greater Charlotte
Role in the community: Kathryn Firmin-Sellers leads the community impact strategy at United Way of Greater Charlotte with a strong focus on advancing equality and empowering previously disinvested communities. An innovator in what is possible with grant-making, she has been instrumental in mobilizing philanthropic, corporate, nonprofit, and government partners to support community initiatives and increase economic mobility.
Geraldine Gardener – Chair, Regional Advisory Committee
Executive Director, Centralina Regional Council
Role in the community: Geraldine Gardener leads regional collaboration among local governments and partners to expand opportunity and improve quality of life across Centralina’s nine-county region. She has extensive experience working in and with local governments, both nationally and internationally. With a background in urban planning, her expertise lies in the integrated policies and cross-sector partnerships needed to build sustainable and inclusive cities. Gardener helps to support the Institute and Data Trust’s expansion into the Charlotte region.
Rachel George – Chair, Data and Research Oversight Committee
Senior Evaluation Scientist, Impact Evaluation & Grants Management, Advocate Health
Role in the community: Rachel George, Ph.D., is a senior evaluation scientist on the Impact Evaluation & Grants Management team at the Advocate Health National Center for Clinical & Community Impact. There, she designs and implements evaluation strategies to inform operations, measure impact, and improve health outcomes and access. Trained in applied research and evaluation, and with a background in community psychology, Rachel specializes in working with multi-stakeholder partnerships to lead cross-sector evaluations that inform program operations and provide actionable insights. She has partnered with the Data Trust to identify and embed practices and community expertise into integrated data systems, and has supported numerous evaluation projects using integrated data across health care, education, social and public health sectors.
Tim Gibbons
Program Director, Early Childhood Initiatives, Mecklenburg County Child, Family and Adult Services
Role in the community: Tim Gibbons oversees early childhood care and education initiatives for Mecklenburg County, including MECK Pre-K and child care subsidy. A former educator himself, Gibbons has a prowess for data and a deep dedication to the health and quality of life of young children and families.
Melvin Herring – Co-chair, Community Data Oversight Committee
Program Director, Master in Social Work Program, Johnson C. Smith University
Role in the community: Melvin Herring leads the Masters in Social Work program, which specializes in training culturally competent social work practitioners. Herring is a recognized expert in cultural competence and has co-developed a theoretical model to guide practice and instruction in the area. He serves as a mentor and professor and is instrumental in the creation and development of the Community Data Oversight Committee.
Johnathan Hill – Member, Data and Technology Advisory Committee
Global Community Opportunity Technology and Program Executive, Bank of America
Role in community: Johnathan Hill is a technology, data, and philanthropy leader who turns insight into impact. He specializes in modernizing platforms, advancing data-driven decision-making, and aligning strategic investments to strengthen communities, accelerate organizational performance, and deliver measurable outcomes. A trusted strategist and operator, he is known for building scalable solutions and high-performing teams that transform vision into lasting results through technology, leadership, and service.
Kristen Howard
Vice President and Chief Board Governance Officer, Novant Health
Role in the community: Kristen Howard leads enterprise governance across the health system, including the parent board, hospital boards, foundation boards and subsidiary entities. She partners with executive leadership and trustees to strengthen governance, advance enterprise strategy and support organizational effectiveness.
An attorney by training, Howard previously led Corporate Affairs at Novant Health and has held leadership roles at Michigan Medicine and Detroit Public Schools Community District. A sought-after speaker, she has presented nationally on health equity, education, organizational strategy and women’s leadership at professional conferences, executive forums and community organizations.
Jamaal Kinard – Board president and co-chair, Community Data Oversight Committee
Executive Director, Lakeview Neighborhood Alliance
Role in the community: Jamaal Kinard is a community developer where he works alongside residents to advance economic mobility, prevent displacement, and implement the LIVE GR8TLY Ecosystem Plan, a community-centered framework for building neighborhoods where people are better off because of their community, not despite it. A Lakeview resident, Jamaal believes lasting change begins by listening to community, honoring history, and designing systems that create opportunity for future generations. As Board President of the Data Trust and Co-Chair of the Community Data Oversight Committee, he is passionate about ensuring data is used ethically, transparently, and in ways that strengthen community voice, guide investment, and inform decisions. His work reflects a simple philosophy: development should create lasting opportunity while honoring the people and places that make communities unique.
Anna London
President and Chief Executive Officer, Charlotte Works
Role in the community: Anna London leads North Carolina’s largest single-county workforce board to ensure the growing region has a skilled workforce that meets the current and future needs of employers through collaborations with business, government, education and training and community partners. She mobilizes education, business, government and community partners to connect thousands of residents each year with family-sustaining careers and assistance. Workforce data is often lacking in administrative data systems and London’s leadership helps fill this gap. She is a Charlotte native with a passion for public education.
Carlene Mayfield
Associate Vice President, Impact Evaluation & Grants Management, Advocate Health
Role in the community: Carlene Mayfield develops and oversees the enterprise strategic vision for impact evaluation and technical business administration. With an epidemiology background, she works alongside senior clinical and administrative leaders to demonstrate value, inform strategy and accelerate the spread of high-impact, access-focused programs and services throughout our enterprise. Mayfield is a self-proclaimed “super user” of the Data Trust and has even written an academic journal article as a “love letter” to the Data Trust.
Aisling Nagal
Assistant Technology Officer of Data Warehouses for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Role in the community: Aisling Nagal leads the team responsible for enterprise data processing at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. She spent her early career doing research, evaluation, and analytics in the government and nonprofit sectors before joining CMS in 2019. A lifelong math nerd, Nagal loves any opportunity to translate numbers into action—whether that’s providing just the right data to inform strategic decisions at work or practicing fractions with her kids through a baking project at home.
Ann Oshel
Senior Vice President Community Innovation and Impact, Alliance Health
Role in the community: Ann Oshel has led community engagement for Alliance Health, a managed care organization for public behavioral health services, since the company started in 2012. She oversees priority initiatives such as community outreach, supportive housing, system of care and community change. She was the recipient of a 2026 Health Care Leadership Award from the Triangle Business Journal in recognition of her three-decade commitment to bridging the gap between clinical care and community stability. She has a strong focus on social determinants of health, integration of physical and behavioral healthcare and population health.
Erin Shoe
Public Health Director/Chief Executive Officer, Cabarrus Health Alliance
Role in the community: Erin Shoe leads public health services and strategic direction for Cabarrus County. Shoe has held many positions while at Cabarrus Health Alliance for over two decades, learning something critical from each role. Asked what she loves most about the work she does daily, she says – it’s the people – the people she works alongside, the people she partners with and the people she serves. Shoe is a Cabarrus County native and specialized in health focused collaboration.
Beth Thompson
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Role in the community: Beth Thompson serves on the Superintendent Cabinet for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools where she guides strategic initiatives for the district. A Richmond native, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and did her student teaching at Alexander Graham Middle School. She started her career at CMS teaching Latin, archeology, Spanish and chorus. Thompson was awarded Principal of the Year in 2016.
Jennifer Troyer
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UNC Charlotte
Role in the community: Jennifer Troyer provides key leadership for the University, overseeing all colleges and units under Academic Affairs, including the Institute and Data Trust. She is also a professor of Economics in the Belk College of Business. Since joining the University over 25 years ago, Troyer has served as dean of the Belk College, chair of the Department of Economics, associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services and interim dean of the Belk College of Business. As a professor, she has taught numerous courses in health economics and econometrics, and she has conducted policy-relevant research on the quality of U.S. nursing homes, the cost-effectiveness of medical interventions and strategic behavior in the pharmaceutical industry.
Jenny Ward – Board Past President
Senior vice president, Client Experience Executive, Data, Digital and Global Marketing, Bank of America
Role in the community: Jenny Ward supports 97 U.S. markets in elevating their brand presence with clients, community partners and teammates. She has deep experience in marketing, community, investment, human resources and brand strategy. She is deeply embedded in the Charlotte community, serving on boards and task forces focused on education, domestic violence prevention, etc. Under Jenny’s leadership, the Institute and Data Trust have recruited the first member cohort of the Community Data Oversight Committee, revised the