The North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Board of Trustees recently added four new members. David Alexander and Lisa F. Martinez were appointed by the University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors and Antwan Thornton was appointed by the North Carolina House of Representatives. All three were appointed to serve four-year terms.
Current board members reappointed to an additional four-year term by the UNC Board of Governors were William V. Bell and G. Keith Chadwell. Roderick G. Allison was reappointed to an additional four-year term by the North Carolina Senate.
Cameron Emery, 2023-2024 president of the NCCU Student Government Association, joined the board for a one-year term.
All appointments began July 1, 2023.
Alexander is the CEO of First Alliance Healthcare of Ohio, a healthcare company that provides primary care, mental and behavioral healthcare services. Alexander is the co-founder and board member of the Alexander-Carter Family Foundation, and the co-founder and board member of Two Fish Five Loaves, a 501(c)3 public charity, food pantry and proud partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. A proud double Eagle, Alexander received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a Juris Doctor from the NCCU School of Law, and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Western Carolina University. He and his family reside in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Martinez is co-head of the Global Market Consulting & Counterparty Risk team at the Capital Group Companies, an active investment management firm, in Los Angeles. She currently serves as the board chair of Taking the Reins, a non-profit charity serving low income and underserved young women in Los Angeles and is also involved with Christo Rey and Verbum Dei. Martinez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. She resides in Encino, California, and is in the process of relocating to Raleigh.
Thornton manages the Research Triangle Park office of Brooks, Cameron & Huebsch, an intellectual property law firm, and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Thornton holds a Juris Doctor from the NCCU School of Law and is based in North Carolina.
Bell was first appointed to the board by the UNC Board of Governors in 2019 and was reappointed to serve a second term. Bell was elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1972 and served for 26 years, chairing the board for 12 years. Bell served as mayor of Durham from 2001 until 2017. He served in the military and reached the rank of first lieutenant in the United States Army Signal Corps. As a civilian, Bell worked in several large corporations, including the Martin-Marietta Corporation; the US Army Research and Development Lab; and the IBM Corporation, retiring in 1996. He currently is the executive vice-president and chief operating officer at the UDI Community Development Corporation. Bell also serves on the North Carolina Railroad Company’s Board of Directors and the Mechanics & Farmers Bank City Advisory Board. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Howard University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from New York University. Bell and his wife, Judith, reside in Durham.
Chadwell was first appointed to the board by the UNC Board of Governors in 2019 and was reappointed to serve a second term. Chadwell was appointed as deputy city manager of the City of Durham in September2009 and leads a portfolio of departments overseeing the city government’s role in economic development, land use planning, affordable housing development, transportation and neighborhood vitality. In the role of deputy city manager, he also has oversight of regulatory policies and procedures associated with development and growth in the city. He received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Toledo.
Allison was first appointed to the board by the North Carolina Senate in 2019 and was reappointed to serve a second term. Allison is the founder of the Allison Office, a law practice serving individuals, nonprofits, and corporations across the State of North Carolina in numerous areas of law. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from North Carolina Central University (class valedictorian) and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Allison and his wife, Kimberly, reside in Creedmoor, N.C.
Emery is the 2023–2024 Student Government Association president. Emery is a Champaign, Ill., native, majoring in middle-grades education. Emery is a Men's Achievement Center member, a Marathon Teaching Institution participant, an Eagle Ambassador and a residential life advisor. Emery is also a member of the Gamma Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.
