Bridges to Better

TANYA ARMOUR has spent her life building bridges – between donors and dreams, healthcare and hope, education and opportunity. As chief philanthropy officer for the Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation, she leads fundraising efforts that change trajectories for families, strengthen a growing region, and quietly shape futures. 

That sense of purpose didn’t appear overnight. It was modeled early and often by her parents, whose lives set the course for her own. 

“Healthcare and education are two things that are really important to me,” Armour says. “And I think that just stems from my family.” Her father, born in 1932, was a trailblazer – leaving high school to serve in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart, then returning home to become the first in his family to graduate college. He went on to earn a master’s degree in divinity and serve as a nonprofit executive, bringing healthcare and dental services to underserved communities in Erie, Pa. Her mother worked in a hospital, caring for people day in and day out. “I was raised old school,” Armour says. “Service before self.” 

Born and raised in Erie, Amour attended Kent State University and later moved to Georgia, where her career in philanthropy began almost accidentally. While studying public administration and working in education, she landed in fundraising at Morris Brown College, a small historically Black college. “The first fundraiser I did was for the band, and I had a really good time doing it – and I was good at it,” she says. Armour had discovered not just a skill, but a calling. 

Marriage and ministry later shaped the geography of her life. Armour and her husband, JERMAINE, moved first to Cincinnati for his pastoral leadership. She spent a decade at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center before raising funds for the University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business. Every move followed his calling. “I am a trailing spouse. This is who I am,” Armour says. 

That journey brought the family to Wilmington in January 2014, when Jermaine became pastor of Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The transition wasn’t easy. Their children were young – fourth and second grade – and the move happened mid-school year. “It was really hard,” she says.  

After settling her family, she began building connections, coffee by coffee, resume in hand. By May 2014, she joined UNC Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services, combining her experience in healthcare and higher education. In 2018, she made the move to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation, eventually stepping into her current leadership role in October 2024. 

Today, Armour leads a philanthropic operation that touches nearly every corner of the community. The foundation acts as what she calls “a bridge,” supporting a variety of initiatives including medication assistance funds for cancer patients; Upward Mobility, an RN Educational Assistance Fund to support internal advancement; and Bridges to Healthcare, a pipeline initiative for high school students. 

That bridge shows up in tangible ways every day: helping cancer patients afford life‑saving oral chemotherapy so they don’t miss or stretch out doses, providing fresh‑food vouchers through Feast Down East because, as Armour says, “food is medicine,” and even paying for bedbug treatment or wheelchair ramps so patients can safely return home. The foundation’s support also powers mobile health units serving rural and migrant communities, bringing screenings and primary care directly to people who otherwise might go without. 

“The hospital can care for you medically,” she explains. “But the philanthropy that we do serves as a bridge for people in so many ways.” 

Programs like Upward Mobility help nontraditional students become registered nurses by covering tuition, providing paid administrative leave, mentorship, and financial counseling. One graduate after another stands as proof of impact – families transformed, parents moved to tears, children watching new futures unfold. “There’s not a dry eye in the house when we host the graduation ceremony,” Armour says. 

Integrity anchors everything Armour does. “It’s important to show people where their funds have gone,” she says. “One thing that makes us unique is that 100 percent of the dollars that we raise here stay here. That transparency builds trust – and keeps donors connected to the lives they’re changing.” 

Despite leading such a large philanthropic efforts for the region, Armour remains grounded in the same values she learned growing up: resilience, inclusivity, faith, and service. She describes herself as malleable – able to adjust, adapt, and keep moving forward. “If I’m nothing else,” she says, “I will always keep moving forward.” 

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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