Staff

Many thanks to all the talented individuals who keep Action for Children moving in the fight for children's welfare.  Please Note: To contact a staff member, please email the appropriate individual at firstname@ncchild.org, or dial the extension listed below.

Mandy Ableidinger joined Action for Children in November 2007 as Director of Policy and Budget Analysis.  Mandy conducts state budget and data research and analysis on a variety of topics affecting children and youth in North Carolina.

Previously, Mandy was a Fiscal Policy Analyst for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Fiscal Affairs Division.   She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Marrakech, Morocco, and worked with the United Nations World Food Programme to encourage female education through food distributions to families of girls enrolled in primary school.  Mandy earned a master’s in public affairs with a focus on domestic policy from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  A Greensboro native, Mandy graduated from Duke University as a Trinity Scholar with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude.  She is fluent in French and knows Spanish and some Moroccan Arabic.

Angella Bellota joined Action for Children in July 2008 as a Research and Data Analyst.  Angella collects data, conducts data analysis and provides technical assistance statewide on a variety of topics affecting children and youth in North Carolina.

Angella received her M.S. in Sociology in May 2008 from North Carolina State University.  She received a B.A. in Sociology from California State University-San Bernardino in June 2004 with a minor in Ethnic Studies.  While attending NC State University, Angella examined the beneficial effects of immigrant culture on academic achievement, conducted on-site qualitative research with Latino youth at an after-school program and was a member of a research team studying the institution of higher education and the strategies used to retain students of color.  Angella is fluent in Spanish and has provided translation services to various non-profit and government agencies.  She was a participant in the McNair Scholars Program and served in a Boat People SOS internship.

Angella can be reached at (919) 834-6623 x239 or at angella@ncchild.org.

Barbara Bradley joined Action for Children North Carolina as President and CEO in October 2004. A child advocate for more than 30 years, Bradley has served as special consultant to the founding of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and provided leadership as Vice President to such national organizations as United Way of America, Communities In Schools, Inc. and America’s Promise-The Alliance for Youth.

At the community-level, Ms. Bradley founded and led multiple multi-disciplinary coalitions to address teen pregnancy, crack-addicted mothers and their families, youth substance abuse as well as youth and gang violence. Ms. Bradley served as a clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita where she played a lead role in the founding of the first school-linked health clinic in the state.

A native of Kansas, Ms. Bradley holds a master's in regional and community planning from Kansas State University.

Barb can be reached at (919) 834-6623 x 224 or at barb@ncchild.org.

Brandy Bynum joined Action for Children North Carolina in June 2002, where she currently serves as the Director of Policy and Outreach.  She is responsible for conducting research and analysis of public policy issues concerning child maltreatment and fatalities, juvenile justice, education, health and safety, family income, early childhood and foster care/adoption.  She is also responsible for building and mobilizing local support across the state to raise awareness about issues affecting children.  Prior to joining Action for Children, she worked in the public policy arena for various nonprofits, including the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits where she assisted in the production of a bimonthly newsletter and monitored sources related to public policy issues for the nonprofit sector. She also worked at the Mental Health Association of Greensboro where she planned and organized discussions and actions on mental health reform.

She graduated cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, receiving a BA in Psychology with a minor in Sociology.  Brandy completed her master's degree in public administration (MPA) from North Carolina State University.

Brandy can be reached at (919) 834-6623 x 234 or at brandy@ncchild.org.

Josh Meyer joined Action for Children North Carolina as Director of Communications in October 2008. He is responsible for overseeing all communications, branding, design, Web site and media-related activities, while assisting policy and fund development efforts in numerous capacities.

Josh began his career in communications as a newspaper editor and columnist at The Roanoke (Va.) Times before joining The (Raleigh) News & Observer in the same capacity. He later worked for Chapel Hill business-to-business marketing firm Koroberi, Inc., and interned at the Raleigh branch of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, the world's largest public relations agency. Josh also provided volunteer public relations support for the American Red Cross and Health, Hoops and Hope, a nonprofit organization for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Josh is a graduate of Virginia Tech, receiving a BA in journalism. He completed his master's degree in public relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Josh can be reached at (919) 834-6623 or at josh@ncchild.org.

Deirdre C. Morrison, CPA serves as Action for Children's Finance Officer, managing a budget of nearly $1 million and keeping track of grants funds and deliverables. She joined Action for Children in October 2008.

Deirdre also serves as the internal auditor for Passage Home, Inc., a not-for-profit organization in Raleigh which has the mission "to strengthen low-wealth families and neighborhoods using a community economic development strategy." 

Deirdre holds CPA licenses in both New York and North Carolina. Before moving to North Carolina, she had a private accounting practice for 25 years, emphasizing not-for-profit audit work. Deirdre holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Pace University in New York City, where she graduated magna cum laude and was honored as the Outstanding Woman Graduate in Accounting by the Association of Woman Accountants. 

Deirdre can be reached at (919) 834-6623 x 227 or deirdre@ncchild.org.

Before joining Action for Children, Sorien was the legislative director of the N.C. Justice Center, a private, nonprofit anti-poverty advocacy group.   For 13 years at the Justice Center she conducted lobbying, policy analysis, public speaking, research and media relations regarding living wages, welfare reform, tax reform and other health and human services issues.  She has participated in many successful public policy efforts including the recent increase in North Carolina’s minimum wage and the creation of the advocacy coalitions North Carolinians for Fair Wages and the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children.  Sorien is the author of several reports, including Working Hard is Not Enough that found North Carolina families need over 200% of federal poverty level to survive and that nearly half of North Carolina families with children are not making this amount.

Before working at the Justice Center, Sorien practiced law for six years at Central Carolina Legal Services in Greensboro.  She is a graduate UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Law and has received the Gwyneth B. Davis Award from the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys and the Legal Services of North Carolina Julian T. Pierce Award for outstanding advocacy ensuring equal justice for all.  

Sorien can be reached at (919) 834-6623 x 228 or at sorien@ncchild.org.

Alexandra Forter Sirota serves as Director of Policy and Research.  She joined Action for Children in November of 2007 as a Fellow in Economic Security.  Alexandra oversees the organization's policy and data work, while focusing on strengthening the asset-building potential of children in families working below the poverty line in North Carolina.  Before joining Action for Children, Sirota worked as a Community Affairs Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  She worked with partners in New York City and upstate New York to document conditions of concentrated poverty and develop plans for strategies that connected working families to the financial mainstream, work supports and asset-building opportunities.   Sirota has also worked to promote financial health at Toynbee Hall in London, England, on the Services Against Financial Exclusion (SAFE) program.  Earlier in her career, she served as the Community Relations Coordinator and Volunteer Services Coordinator for the Association House of Chicago, and as the International Relations Coordinator for ASAPROSAR in Santa Ana, El Salvador.