Ms. Best has been the Senior Vice President of French/West/Vaughan since 2002. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from UNC-Chapel Hill, she worked with the Orlando Magic, the Charlotte Hornets and the National Basketball Association. She is a graduate of Leadership Raleigh and was the Leadership Award Winner of the Triangle Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” in 2007.

Ms. Aiken serves as Director of Regional Community Relations in the Regional Affiliations Department of WakeMed Health and Hospitals. Aiken holds bachelor's and masters degrees from Appalachian State University and a master of healthcare administration degree from Pfeiffer University. She was a 2010 Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40 Winner and participated in Leadership North Carolina. Aiken sits on a number of boards of organizations across the state dealing with health and wellness issues.

Dr. Clarke-Pearson is a pediatrician at University Pediatrics at Chapel Hill North and at Sandhills Pediatrics in Southern Pines, NC. Clarke-Pearson received her medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and did her residency in pediatrics at Duke University Hospital in Durham. She volunteers as the NC Pediatric Society Legislative Liaison and has won awards from the NC Pediatrics Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics for her work to educate parents and pediatricians on the importance of limiting TV-watching by children.

Dr. Earls, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician, is the medical director of Guilford Child Health (GCH), Inc., a large, non-profit, private pediatric practice in Greensboro, North Carolina that serves families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Dr. Earls holds a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, a master's degree in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, and a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts. She completed a pediatric residency and a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. Dr. Earls sits on numerous boards and committees, including the North Carolina Pediatrics Society, the Governor's Early Childhood Advisory Council and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Mr. High serves as a Chief Court Counselor for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in northeast N.C. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Mr. High has served as a social worker in Halifax County and as a dropout prevention counselor in the Weldon City Schools. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Communities In Schools Northeast and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Mr. McDaniel manages and coordinates education and community economic development efforts aimed at increasing investment in low income communities, improving education and workforce outcomes and connecting unbanked households to non-predatory financial services. He formerly served as a Program Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. McDaniel holds a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Morgan State University. He sits on a number of boards and committees, including Ready2Thrive - National Practitioners Network for Marginalized Males Advisory Committee and the Association for Black Foundation Executives. 

Dr. Perreira is a health economist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include child development and adolescence; Latino health, education and employment; and mental health and substance abuse. Perreira holds a bachelor's degree from Pomona College, a master's degree in public health from Yale University and a PhD in Health Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She has won numerous awards for her research, including the 2010 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement.

Mr. Rist serves as Vice President for Assets & Opportunity Programs and as Director of Asset Building for CFED. In this capacity, he has been instrumental in the organization’s work to develop, test, support and expand creative approaches to creating economic opportunity for Americans everywhere. A graduate of Davidson, Mr. Rist has also served for the past six years as the director of CFED’s Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) initiative, bringing innovative matched savings programs to children and youth in low-income families. Carl Rist received a M.A. degree in public policy at Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University.

Ms. Sternberg serves as Chief Development Officer for Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines. She served as Director of External Affairs for EMBARQ’s Mid-Atlantic Operations in Wake Forest from 2006-2009. She is a graduate of Meredith College. She is a gradate of Leadership North Carolina, serves on the Board for the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic and served on the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Championship Executive Council.

Dr. Tayloe is a pediatrician and the immediate past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and began his career at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, PA. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served on the Goldsboro City Schools Board of Education, as Chair of the Legislative Committee of the N.C. Pediatric Society and on the Legislative Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Volunteerism in Education and the Glaxo Child Health Advocate Award.