TRHT - Key Persons


Aaruba Ayesha

Aaruba Ayesha graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a minor in Cognitive Science. In her senior year, she joined the TRHT Center as an undergraduate intern, and this opportunity developed her interest in serving communities of color and studying mental health. Aaruba recently graduated from Boston University, where she completed her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine. Her professional plans are to continue working with migrant and refugee communities to promote mental health and healing.

Abbas Benmamoun

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Abby Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Abby Johnson is a junior at Duke University majoring in Visual Media Studies and Political Science with a minor in music. She is originally from Long Island, New York. Abby is interested in intersections of art and social change, and she plans to enter a career in film and entertainment. Abby is excited by the relational racial healing framework that TRHT offers. She hopes that working at TRHT will allow her to connect with and support other individuals, as well as teach her lessons that she can bring into her future work.

Abi Riak

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Operations Manager, Center for Reconciliation, Duke Divinity School / Duke University

Ada Gregory

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Director, Kenan Institute for Ethics / Duke University
  • Racial Healing Practitioner

Alexandra Zagbayou

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Executive Director / Student U

Alfred Mays

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Program Officer, Science Education and Diversity in Science, Burroughs Wellcome Fund / Co - Convenor, the North Carolina Race Project

Anders Liman

Anders Liman is a graduate student studying Tech Ethics & Science Policy at Duke Science & Society. Prior to joining Duke, he did some software development and consulting work. Anders went to North Carolina State University where he studied computer science and mathematics.

Angel Harris

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Research on Education and Development of Youth and Professor of Sociology / Duke University

Ann Brewster

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Research Scholar, Program in Education / Social Science Research Institute / Duke University

Barbara Lau

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Pauli Murray Project at the Duke Human Rights Center, Franklin Humanities Institute / Duke University

Benjamin Reese

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice President, Office of Institutional Equity

Blake Strayhorn

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Brandon Hudson

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Breana Van Velzen

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Community Ministry Outreach Coordinator, Duke Chapel / Duke University

Brian Smith

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Senior Economic Development Coordinator, Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Brigit Carter

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, School of Nursing

Cara Rousseau

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice President, Partnerships & Engagement / Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau

Carmen Rudd

Carmen Rudd graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies and a second degree in Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at UNC Charlotte, graduating in May of 2024. In her senior year, Carmen joined the TRHT team as an undergraduate intern. She greatly values the experience she gained and continuously uses TRHT principles in her work. Her goal is to become a licensed clinical social worker, who provides mental health services to marginalized youth.

Chandra Guinn

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture / Duke University

Charmaine DM Royal

Job Titles:
  • Director
Charmaine Royal is the Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health at Duke University. She directs the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation and the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference. She is a human geneticist and bioethicist, whose research, scholarship, and teaching focus on ethical, social, scientific, and clinical implications of human genetics and genomics, particularly issues at the intersection of genetics and "race". A fundamental aim of her work is to dismantle ideologies and systems of racial hierarchy in research, healthcare, and society.

Claire Li

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Claire Li is a sophomore at Duke University, considering majoring in public policy or cultural anthropology. Her hometown is Nanjing, China. Claire draws significant inspiration from her first semester experience at Duke in a course on "Global ‘Mixed Race' Studies " as part of the Humanitarian Challenges FOCUS cluster. Connected with the TRHT vision, she wants to help foster meaningful conversations and narratives that promote comprehension, compassion, and coalition to embrace humanity and diversity.

Darla K. Deardorff

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Executive Director / Association of International Education Administrators
Darla K. Deardorff works with UNESCO on its Story Circles Intercultural Methodology initiative, which has been officially piloted in five countries (Thailand, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Austria, and Tunisia) as well as online. She is Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators, a visiting research fellow at Duke and affiliated faculty at numerous institutions around the world, including UNESCO Chair of Intercultural Competences at Stellenbosch University (South Africa), Founding President of the World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence and is widely published in international education, global leadership, and intercultural learning/assessment. She received both her masters and doctorate from North Carolina State University, where she focused on international education.

David Lindquist

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Vice President for Regional Engagement, Duke Alumni Affairs
  • Racial Healing Practitioner

David Malone

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Faculty Director, Duke Service - Learning, and Professor of the Practice, Program in Education / Duke University
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
David Malone led Duke Service-Learning as faculty director from 2006-2022 and currently serves as the inaugural Faculty Scholar. His career at Duke has spanned over 35 years, and he continues to be a trusted colleague across campus. Dr. Malone served as Chair of the Program in Education and Director of Undergraduate Studies of Education. He serves on multiple university committees, teaches service-learning courses in Educational Psychology, and directs DukeEngage in Boston. Dr. Malone has been extensively involved in the field of service-learning through the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE), the International Center for Service-Learning in Teacher Education (ICSLTE), and NC Campus Engage.

Deborah Jakubs

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Don Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Social Science Research Institute

Douglas Campbell

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School / Duke University

Durham Cares

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Ebony Boulware

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Dean for Translational Sciences, School of Medicine / Duke University

Edgardo Colon-Emeric

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Edward Balleisen

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Ekene Osakwe

Ekene Osakwe completed her Masters in Global Health at the Duke Global Health Institute in 2023. She worked at the Duke TRHT Center as a graduate student intern and helped develop the TRHT Framework Instructor's Workshop. Her unique experience as an international student inspired her interest in creating inclusive spaces in an academic environment like Duke to help students from all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging.

Emily Klein

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences / Duke University

Frederick Davis

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Pastor

Gabriel Treves

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Senior Specialist, Development and Community Relations / Latino Community Credit Union

Gail C. Christopher

Job Titles:
  • Senior Advisor
  • Agent and Former Senior Advisor and Vice President of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Gail C. Christopher is an award-winning social change agent and former Senior Advisor and Vice President of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). She is currently the Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE) and the Chair of the Board, Trust for America's Health. As the visionary for and architect of the WKKF led Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) effort, her work has set the foundation for the growing TRHT Network of campus and community centers. In August of 2017, Dr. Christopher left her leadership position with WKKF to launch the Maryland based Ntianu Center for Healing and Nature. Gail holds a Doctor of Naprapathy degree from the Chicago National College of Naprapathy and completed advanced study in the interdisciplinary PhD program in Holistic Health and Clinical Nutrition at the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities.

Gary Bennett

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Gi Chun

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Gi Chun (全惠民) is a senior majoring in Visual and Media Studies at Duke University and pursuing a Documentary Studies Certificate. They are from central Virginia, and before that Yeosu, Korea. They were first introduced to the TRHT Framework in 2021 as a student in the Race, Genomics and Society course, which has helped them further envision and embody racial healing. They like to create audiovisual stories for movement-building.

Grace Muriithi

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Grace Muriithi is a sophomore at Duke University from Dayton, Ohio, planning on double majoring in cultural anthropology and global health studies. After being exposed to some of TRHT's core tenets through the Humanitarian Challenges FOCUS course on "Global ‘Mixed Race' Studies", she wants to learn more about the center and its values. In the future, she hopes to transfer the lessons learned from the TRHT initiative to a career in healthcare, advocating for and supporting marginalized communities.

Gwenn Weaver

Job Titles:
  • Independent Consultant
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Gwenn Weaver is an independent consultant. She has served as a TRHT healing circle co-facilitator/practitioner and trainer for the American Library Association (ALA), and the American Association of Colleges & Universities and has c0-facilitated racial healing circles for other organizations including nonprofits, educational institutions, and libraries. Gwenn's TRHT work intersects with her work in literacy, especially adult literacy, and digital equity. Currently, she is chair of the board for the Durham Literacy Center and chair of the Committee on Literacy of the ALA. She serves on the boards of Digital Durham and the National Coalition for Literacy, on the Open Door Collective Steering Committee, and as a member of the North Carolina Digital Equity and Inclusion Collaborative.

Hannah Groos

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Hannah Groos is a Robertson Scholar and a sophomore at Duke University double majoring in Computer Science and Psychology with a concentration in Data Science. She is originally from Norwalk, Iowa. After her experience in a course on "Global ‘Mixed Race' Studies" as part of the Humanitarian Studies FOCUS cluster, Hannah felt immediately drawn to the TRHT initiatives and hopes to help more people explore this work. In the future, Hannah aspires to explore careers that connect sustainability, equity, technology, and wellbeing.

Howard Eisenson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Chief Medical Officer / Lincoln Community Health Center

Inga Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Vice President for Campus Engagement, Duke Alumni Affairs

Jacqueline Looney

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Programs / Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education

Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director for Racial Healing & Relationship Building Racial Healing Practitioner
Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe leads Racial Healing & Relationship Building, which involves the people-work and process of cultivating authentic relationships that celebrate our common humanity and embrace our diversity. She also designs and implements the Rx Racial Healing® Circles (RxRHCs) program. A critical and global "mixed race" studies pioneer, she engages in teaching on interpretations of global constructs of "race" and "mixed race" as well as the interfaces of biology and culture. She received a Joint PhD in Medical Anthropology from UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco, an MA in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, and both a BA in Anthropology and a BA in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University. She was a former Reader in Anthropology at the University of East London (UK).

Jeffrey Baker

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics / Duke University

Jennifer Francis

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Provost for Academic Affairs / Duke University

Jerome M. Culp

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Professor of Law

John Blackshear

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Dean of Academic Affairs, TCAS / Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

John Brown

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Provost for the Arts

John Killeen

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Executive Director, Data Works NC / Duke University

Jon Powell

Job Titles:
  • Attorney
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, the Restorative Justice Clinic and Lawyer / Campbell University
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Jon Powell is an attorney, a law professor at Campbell University in Raleigh, NC, and the director of the Restorative Justice Clinic. The Restorative Justice Clinic receives referrals from the juvenile justice system, adult criminal courts, and Wake County Schools. The clinic involves law students in all aspects of Restorative Justice which include Victim/Offender Dialogue in schools and court cases as well as victim impact work through restorative circles in prisons. Prior to working at Campbell University and the Restorative Justice Clinic, Jon practiced criminal defense law in Wake and Harnett counties. He received his law degree from Campbell University in 1998.

Judith Kelley

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Dean, Sanford School of Public Policy

Judy Seidenstein

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, School of Medicine
  • Racial Healing Practitioner

Kaitlyn Williams

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Kaitlyn Williams is a sophomore at Duke University from Stafford, Virginia. She plans to obtain an interdepartmental major in Environmental Science & Policy and Cultural Anthropology and has a strong interest in environmental equity work and environmental law. She hopes to one day make an impact on the lives of minority communities across the globe, but first wants to start by helping students and the local community which she hopes working with the TRHT initiative will allow her to do.

Karina Lu

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Karina Lu is a sophomore at Duke University majoring in History with a minor in French Studies and potentially Cultural Anthropology. Karina is from Seattle, Washington and Beijing, China. Having taken a course on "Global ‘Mixed Race' Studies" as part of the Humanitarian Challenges FOCUS cluster and attended the "Racial Healing, Hope, and the Solidarity Dividend" event hosted by the Duke TRHT Center, Karina felt deeply inspired by and connected to the TRHT Framework and community. She hopes to help extend this opportunity and TRHT's insight to others on campus and beyond. In the future, she hopes to pursue law and research.

Katelyn Cai

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Katelyn Cai is a sophomore Robertson Scholar at Duke University double majoring in Public Policy and Statistics. Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, at Duke, she serves as Vice President of Durham & Community Affairs on Duke Student Government, Duke Presidential Ambassador, and member of multicultural dance group Defining Movement. She is drawn to TRHT because of her passion for solving political polarization and engaging in cross cultural communication and looks forward to bridging divides.

Keith Daniel - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board
  • Chairman of the Steering Committee

Kelvin Bullock

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Executive Director for Equity Affairs

Kevin Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Dean, Underrepresented Faculty Development, School of Medicine

Kimberly Hewitt

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Chief Diversity Officer / Vice President for Institutional Equity, OIE

Kristen Brown

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Vice President of News, Communications and Media

Kyle Maclellan

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Kyle MacLellan is a sophomore at Duke University pursuing a Program II in Social Inequities in the Urban Environment. She is a B.N. Duke Scholar from Monroe, North Carolina. After attending multiple TRHT events, Kyle became invested in the center's mission and inclusive methodology. She hopes to help the Center grow its presence on Duke's campus and beyond.

Laron Dowdell

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Intern
Laron Dowdell earned his Master's in Social Work at East Carolina University and is experienced providing counseling services to diverse populations of all ages in both medical and mental health settings. Laron enjoys working with adolescents and adults, focusing on substance abuse, sexuality and sexual health, and trauma. Laron is now pursuing a Master of Divinity from Duke University to fulfill the call of pastorship and prophetic liberation on behalf of oppressed communities. Laron has been working with the Duke TRHT Center team as a Research Assistant to develop a workshop for instructors focused on applying the TRHT Framework in the classroom.

Laura Navarro

Laura Navarro is a political economy student at Duke Kunshan University. She specializes in economic development in conflict-afflicted regions. Recently, as a Kirchner Food Fellow, she has focused her work on finding ways to tackle food security and social inequality through impact investment. As a Bass Connections fellow, Laura aims to use her training in economics and political science to understand the historical origins of racial inequality and find ways to break the social, economic, and political cycles that perpetuate it.

Lee Baker

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Chairman of Cultural Anthropology Department and Mrs. Alexander Hehmeyer Professor of Cultural Anthropology / Duke University

Lee Willard

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Senior Associate Dean for Academic Planning / Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Leo Ching

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Leslie C. Lewis

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Leslie C. Lewis is a partner with 3 Stories Consulting, LLC specializing in strategic planning and organizational development, and is also a published writer and playwright. She infuses her consulting work with the knowledge and skills gained through her extensive background in conflict resolution, mediation, and restorative justice, and utilizes an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to address complex and rapidly shifting environments of workplace settings. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profit agencies, universities, the judiciary, police, sports teams, religious institutions, community groups, and youth and families. Leslie helps the TRHT Center move its bold vision and far-reaching mission from concept to action through the design and facilitation of strategic planning events and meetings for the Center's leadership

Leslie Parkins

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Director, Duke Office of Civic Engagement

Lorayna Hinton

Lorayna Hinton is an undergraduate studying Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. Her academic interests include social justice, Spanish, writing, psychology, and philosophy.

Lorna Grant

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Department of Criminal

Lorrie Schmid

Job Titles:
  • Data & Analytics Lead
Lorrie Schmid, Ph.D. serves as research methodologist and analyst for both GRID and TRHT, based in the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI). Her work focuses on data management and statistical analysis which includes: data documentation, merging and linking disparate data sources, utilizing administrative records, and sensitive as well as statistical data analysis - focusing on descriptive and inferential statistics, latent modeling processes for creating subgroupings, utilizing mediation and moderation in determining for whom interventions and implementations work and do not work. She holds a Ph.D. in education psychology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Luke Powery

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Dean, Duke Chapel

Lynden Harris - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Founder
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Founder of Hidden Voices
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Lynden Harris is the founder of Hidden Voices, a radically inclusive, participatory, and co-creative collective committed to a just and compassionate world. For twenty years, Lynden has collaborated with underrepresented communities to create award-winning works that combine narrative, performance, mapping, music, digital media, and interactive exhibits.

Maddie Morrison

Job Titles:
  • Undergraduate Student Intern
Maddie Morrison is a sophomore at Duke University, planning on double majoring in Global Health and either Biology or Psychology. She is originally from Portland, Maine. Maddie developed a strong passion for social justice and racial healing through her exploration of health inequities and exposure to Duke's TRHT center through participating in the Humanitarian Challenges FOCUS cluster. Maddie's career aspirations lie in the fields of public health and/or medicine, where she aims to advocate for initiatives that foster a healthier and more equitable world for all.

Mady Clahane

Mady Clahane graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in both Human Development and Family Studies and Psychology, with a minor in Social and Economic Justice. Mady joined the TRHT Center team as an intern during the summer before her senior year. She is currently a second-year law student at the UNC School of Law, where she is on the UNC Law Pro Bono Board and the president of UNC Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. Her professional goal is to continue using her skills to advocate for marginalized communities.

Mary Klotman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Dean, School of Medicine / Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

Mary Pat McMahon

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Provost and Vice President of Student Affairs

Mary Sharp

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, Counseling and Psychological Services / Duke University

Megan Stanley

Job Titles:
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
  • Social Worker and Organizer
Megan Stanley is a social worker and organizer from Durham, NC. She received her master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020. She currently serves as the College Readiness & Success Coordinator at Student U, where she supports first-generation college students and imagines new learning environments to address educational equity in our communities. Megan has served as a racial healing program coordinator at the Duke TRHT Center, a community educator and curriculum developer to preserve local civil rights history and as a racial equity and justice facilitator.

Nadine J. Barrett

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Director, Alliances for Community Engagement and Stakeholder Strategy / Duke Cancer Institute
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Nadine J. Barrett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University. She currently holds senior leadership roles as Co-Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy and the Inaugural Director of The Center for Equity in Research in the Duke Clinical Translational Science Institute, and Associate Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy, Duke Cancer Institute. A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist, and a nationally recognized leader in facilitating community/stakeholder and academic partnerships to advance health equity in access to quality health care and research.

Nahal Kaivan

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Academic Dean, Trinity College / Duke University

Najla McClain

Job Titles:
  • Program Coordinator for the Duke Health Center for Interprofessional Education
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Najla McClain is the Program Coordinator for the Duke Health Center for Interprofessional Education and Care (IPEC). Najla works with the IPEC team to develop and disseminate educational programs on interprofessional collaborative practice into classrooms and clinics across the health system. Najla earned her Bachelor's degree from Meredith College with a major in dance. She is active in Duke and Durham community organizations, including the Partnership for Healthy Durham, READI Community Advisory Council, and NC African American Cultural Celebration Advisory Board.

Pamela King

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director of Operations & Administration
  • Associate Director of Operations and Administration for the Duke Center for Truth
Pamela King is the Associate Director of Operations and Administration for the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (Duke TRHT Center) and the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference (GRID). She oversees administrative and financial activities for both centers. Pam attended North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina Central University majoring in Business Administration and Accounting. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Patricia Garrett-Peters

Job Titles:
  • Senior Research Scientist
Patricia Garrett-Peters is a Senior Research Scientist and leads Special Projects. She has conducted research with underserved and minority populations for over two decades. Her research focuses on the effects of early life adversity on vulnerable youth and their families at the intersection of social position (SES, race) with the goal of understanding how variation in sociocultural context and lived experience impacts development across multiple systems, including family (parenting), regulatory (behavioral), and biological (cellular aging) systems. She received an MA in Psychology from the University of West Florida and a PhD in Human Development and Education from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Perlie Davis

Job Titles:
  • Certified Health & Life Coach
Perlie Davis is a certified Health & Life Coach who is committed to helping others unlock their potential and achieve their personal goals in health and wellness. An IT professional by trade, she has always been passionate about coaching which developed out of years of work with transformational programs. She has also facilitated Talking Circles as a means of generating dialogue around difficult topics. Perlie is a graduate of Spelman College (BS, Computer Science) and the University of Virginia (Master of Computer Science). She received her health and life coaching certifications from the Health Coach Institute in 2021.

Phail Wynn

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice President, Durham and Regional Affairs

Phil Stillman

Phil Stillman graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2023 with a master's degree in social work after having done their first-year field placement at the Duke TRHT Center. They are now an outpatient psychotherapist at Three Oaks Behavioral Health and Wellness in Durham, NC, where they work primarily with queer and trans clients on the important processes of healing from discrimination, invalidation, and personal and intergenerational trauma. Phil credits the Center for transforming their understanding of how we can speak about shared suffering and heal from culturally inflicted wounds.

Pierce Freelon - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Quinton Smith

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Fellow for the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, Sanford School of Public Policy

Ravi Bellamkonda

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vinik Dean, Pratt School of Engineering

Rebecca Oats

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Executive Director / West End Community Foundation, Inc.

Reynolds Chapman

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Rhonda Brandon

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President / Duke University
  • Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Duke University Health System

Robert Korstad

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Faculty Director, BullCity 150 Project and Professor of Public Policy and History / Duke University

Robin Kirk

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Co - Chair of the Duke Human Rights Center, Franklin Humanities Institute / Duke University

Ronda Bullock

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Roxanne Little

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director of Advancement

Sam Miglarese

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Vice President and Director, Duke - Durham Neighborhood Partnership / Duke University

Sarah Gaither

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Scott Lindroth

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice Provost for the Arts

Stelfanie Williams

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Vice President for Durham and Community Affairs

Steve Darr

Job Titles:
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Steve Darr is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was involved from an early age in civil rights and school desegregation. He attended the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1977 and much more recently served on the University's Capital Campaign Committee where he founded the Fulbright Dean's Fund for Racial Justice. Steve is a 1980 graduate (M.Div.) of the Duke University Divinity School and 2015 graduate (M.S.) in Architecture at Virginia Tech. He founded the nonprofit Alliance for Excellence in 1986 and the global nonprofit Peacework in 1989.

Sue Wasiolek

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Senior Advisor

Sunshine Hillygus

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology and Professor of Political Science, Sanford School of Public Policy / Duke University

Thomas Nechyba

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Social Science Research Institute ( SSRI ) Duke University

Thomas Szigethy

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Dean and Director of Duke Wellness Center / Duke University
  • Racial Healing Practitioner
Tom Szigethy has been the Associate Dean/Director of DuWell at Duke University since 2008. DuWell is the public health and outreach branch of Wellness at Duke. Tom teaches students how to manage risk in their lives and to actively promote behaviors to foster a sense of well-being. He is a strong advocate of shaping one's environment and community to foster healthy and safe communities. Previously, Tom was the Director of the Department of Alcohol and other Substance Abuse Prevention at the University of Connecticut. He comes to higher education work after 15 years in the field of Social Work.

Tracey Burns

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Assistant Secretary for Diversity and Cultural Inclusion

Trina Jones

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee

Valerie Ashby

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Dean, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Valerie Gillispie

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • University Archivist / Duke University

Violet Wang

Violet Wang is an undergraduate at Duke University double majoring in Economics and Public Policy with a minor in Computer Science. She is originally from Petaluma, California. After participating in a racial healing circle, Violet felt immediately connected to the TRHT initiative and hopes that more people will have this same opportunity. In the future, Violet aspires to explore careers in law and business.

Wesley Hogan

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Director, Center for Documentary Studies / Duke University

Zoila Airall

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Steering Committee
  • Associate Vice President of Student Affairs for Campus Life / Duke University