NCLCVF Names New Boards and Commissions Fellows
Power Boards for Democracy 2023 Kick-off Event

Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation (NCLCVF) has named its second class of fellows for its Boards and Commissions program. Mayor Allen Joines, Representative Kanika Brown, and Malishai Woodbury, Forsyth County Commissioner, helped welcome the fellows at the Winston-Salem kick-off event last Saturday.  

NCLCVF began the Boards & Commissions Fellowship Program in 2022. The goals of the program are to increase representation, develop civic leadership skills, and provide policy training. The program focuses on ensuring women and people of color have decision-making power in government.

This year, there are twenty one fellows from across the state. A mentor is assigned to each fellow. There are seven returning mentors, eleven new mentors and four mentors were fellows last year. Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, the Honorable Damon Seils, Mayor of Carrboro (returning), and Forsyth County Commissioner Dan Besse (returning) will serve as mentors. From last year’s inaugural class, fourteen members are currently serving on boards and commissions.

“We are thrilled to have such a robust class, representing communities from across the state,” said Kerry Wiggins, program director for Boards and Commissions. “We are also excited to not only have returning mentors, but members of last year’s inaugural cohort who are giving back by becoming mentors. This group demonstrates belief in and the impact of this effort to develop civic leadership skills and increase representative engagement at a local level.”

The program helps fellows develop civic leadership skills by holding monthly trainings, pairing fellows with mentors for one-on-one coaching, and providing hands-on experience with parliamentary procedure, decision-making processes, and more.

While applicants are not required to have previous conservation policy experience, the fellows will gain critical knowledge during the program, in order to give them the tools they need to successfully advance conservation policy while serving on a local board or commission.

Below is the full list of fellows and mentors:

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NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation connects and engages people to protect our natural environment and promote the well-being of our communities. We turn environmental values into NC priorities by engaging people in the democratic process, organizing in frontline communities to connect environmental policies to people’s daily lives, cultivating environmental leaders, and advocating for policies at the state and local level that protect the health and quality of life of all North Carolinians, with an intentional focus on systematically excluded communities of color.