Toye Watson appointed Director of Community and Strategic Partnerships
Toye Watson ‘05 B.A., ‘21 M.Ed was recently named director of community and strategic partnerships for the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, a unit within the Division of Academic Affairs.
In this role, Watson will cultivate and sustain relationships with community organizations for mutually beneficial community-university engagement, connecting the Institute and University’s assets and deep subject matter expertise with the needs and aspirations of our external communities. Serving as a bridge between the Institute, the University and our communities, Watson will also work closely with Tamara Johnson to develop and maintain an accessible community engagement infrastructure for Academic Affairs including connections, capacity building and resources for ethical and meaningful engagement.
Watson, will continue to lead the Community Innovation Incubator, a strategic engagement initiative at the Institute. The incubator brings together UNC Charlotte faculty researchers, students and community partners to co-design sustainable, community-owned solutions that address real-world challenges and create lasting impact. The incubator, rooted in Charlotte’s opportunity corridors and funded by Bank of America, is a signature initiative that Watson previously led in her position as director of community impact for urbanCORE, a unit of Academic Affairs that moved to the Institute in 2025.
Additionally, Watson will create new community engagement opportunities for faculty and students and work with the executive director of the Institute and other university leaders to cultivate and manage high-trust coalitions with nonprofit executives, government agencies and civic leaders to advance quality of life, well-being and economic mobility across the region. Through enduring, cross-sector partnerships, Watson will help the Institute succeed as a trusted convener and catalyst for change.
“We are pleased to welcome Toye to our leadership team at the Charlotte Urban Institute,” said Lori Thomas, executive director of the Charlotte Urban Institute and Charlotte Regional Data Trust.“Toye is a trusted collaborator on and off campus. She is caring and empathetic, but also honest and pragmatic – she doesn’t shy away from hard conversations and makes room for many perspectives. What I consistently hear about Toye in our community is her ability to bring collaborators to the table – particularly those who haven’t joined the conversation before – because she creates an environment where people feel seen and heard. She is a bridge-builder and can help us build and sustain relationships with community and strategic partners that help us further anchor the Institute and University in the Charlotte region.”
Prior to joining the university, Watson, a Meck-Ed CMS educator of the year awardee, held positions, for the Community Building Initiative and at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. She is an experienced community organizer and facilitator. A graduate of UNC Charlotte, Watson completed a bachelor’s degree in English and Africana Studies and a master’s in urban education.
“I’m honored to help strengthen the connection between the University and the communities we serve,” said Watson. “By aligning research, teaching and partnership with community priorities, we can advance meaningful, measurable change across the Charlotte region.”
This announcement was written with AI assistance