Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is a volunteer organization, operating in support of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  Through active involvement and engagement, members of the Advisory Board promote the welfare of the College through advocacy, fund-raising, and service.  Members act as effective spokespersons for the role of the Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State, and for the role of the College across the state and beyond.

Emily Barbour
B.A. Communication (NC State University)
Board President

As the current President of the Advisory Board, Emily leads members in developing and implementing activities that support Dean Braden's priorities for the College's overall strategic direction.  Emily has a strong history of leadership, having served as the vice president of development for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, vice president and chief development officer at Rex Healthcare, and senior fundraising counsel at the Hartsook Companies, Inc.  Prior to that, Emily served as N.C. State Student Aid Association’s (also known as the Wolfpack Club) associate director and director for the Office of Institutional Advancement at Meredith College.

Barry Beith
Ph.D. Psychology (NC State University)

Utilizing human factors, design, and evaluation processes, Barry has been a champion in the fight to solve complex system and product design issues for over 30 years. As founder and president of HumanCentric and a partner in HumanCentric Research, Barry applies his breadth of industry experience to positively impact the human side of technology.

Erica Boisvert
B.A. English (NC State University)

Erica is the founder and Managing Director at The Synapse Connection LLC which provides training and education focused on brain health and cognitive fitness.  Previously, she spent eight years at SlickEdit Inc., a software development company, where she was President and COO, responsible for operational management including sales and marketing.  Prior to entering the high tech sector, Erica was a public accountant and she maintains her North Carolina CPA license.

Steve Bullard
B.A. Economics and Business Management (NC State University)

Steve is a native of Raleigh, with 22 years of experience in banking and finance.  He is currently the Corporate Banking Manager for BB&T’s Corporate Banking Group in the Triangle Region headquartered in Raleigh, NC.  He is focused on leading the corporate business development effort for the bank in the Triangle servicing publically traded companies, large privately held companies, hospitals, universities, institutions, municipalities, venture capital companies, and other large organizations.

Lee Garrett
B.S. Chemical Engineering (NC State University)

Lee is a Physician and retired partner at Wake Nephrology Associates.  He has recently begun a new career as a Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Ken Gray
B.A. Political Science (NC State University)

Ken has over 25 years experience in sales and sales/operations management. Currently, he works for Strategic Products & Services (SPS), a telecommunications company, managing offices from Delaware to Florida as the Director - Southern Region. Prior to SPS, Ken helped start the telecommunications firm Universal Solutions as the Regional Vice President.

Jim Johnson
M.P.A. (NC State University)

Jim is a partner in Blount Street Advisors, a government relations and business consulting firm. Jim is also a visiting Professor of Practice of Public Policy Studies, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University. Until December 2005 he was the Director of the North Carolina General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division, the Assembly's nonpartisan budget, finance and policy staff. Before becoming the director in 1999, he worked on budgetary and policy issues in K-12 education, for the division, and on the Health and Human Services Team.

David Jolley
B.S. Economics (NC State University)

David has over 35 years of experience in the banking and financial service industry and is currently Vice President of Commercial Lending for C & F Bank in Williamsburg, VA.  In 2003, David retired from Wachovia Bank, where he was Senior Vice President for many years. In 2006, David worked on campus as an Interim Vice Chancellor for University Development.

Maria Kingery
B.S. English (NC State University)

Maria is co-founder of Southern Energy Management, an energy efficiency and solar power company serving the Southeast.  Maria currently serves as the company’s director of cultural development, having grown SEM from a two-person start-up in a living room to a team of 65+ with offices in the Triangle and Charlotte, NC, as well as Greenville, SC.  Prior to co-founding SEM in 2001, she served as retail operations manager for Burt's Bees.

Jennifer Martineau
B.A. Psychology (NC State University)

Jennifer is the Group Director of Global Research, Innovation, and Evaluation at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC.  Jennifer is responsible for setting the Center’s strategy for these functions in coordination with the current and future needs of their clients.  In her evaluation work, Jennifer’s clients include international for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, school systems, and government agencies.  Jennifer received her Ph.D from The Pennsylvania State University.

Harold Pettigrew

B.A. Political Science (NC State University) 

Harold is the Director of the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development.  Previously, Harold served as the Administrator for the Business and Professional Licensing Administration at the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.  Prior to joining DCRA, he served as Chief of Staff for the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development. He has also held additional positions in the public sector.  As a student at NC State, Harold served as Student Body President and on the university’s Board of Trustees.  Harold also holds a Masters of Urban Planning degree from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. 

Carol Rahmani
B.A., M.S. Ph.D. Psychology (NC State University)

Carol has 29 years of experience working in the Wake County Public School System.  When she retired from public education in 2007, she was the Senior Director of Counseling and Student Services.  Over her tenure in the school system, she was responsible for a variety of student support programs, including school psychology, counseling, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology, and audiology. Carol maintains her licensure as a Practicing Psychologist in North Carolina, and currently provides supervision to psychologists in private practice and donates some of her time to the provision of pro bono psychological services. 

Brooks Raiford
B.A.  Political Science (NC State University)

Brooks serves as President and CEO of the North Carolina Technology Association. He has an extensive background in government relations, business development and operational management. Brooks brings more than 15 years of experience with advocacy and policy issues, and has hands-on experience with operating both advocacy and philanthropic organizations. Previously, Brooks was the Director of Business Development with Balfour Beatty Construction, President of Leadership North Carolina, and an aide to former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt.

Brad Remmey
B.S. History (NC State University)

Brad is currently a partner in Heritage Growth Partners. In 2000, he founded and managed the creation of a multimillion dollar real estate conglomerate and investment company. These successful ventures included a commercial development firm, residential development firm, and Artisan Custom Homes, a custom homebuilding company located in Davidson, NC. Prior to his successful entrepreneurial ventures, Brad began his career in corporate sales at AT&T’s Business Market Division in New Jersey and New York City.

Kathy Council
Masters, Statistics (NC State University)

Kathy is the liaison between the CHASS Advisory Board and the NC State Foundation Board.  She is currently Vice President, Publications at SAS Institute.