Women to Watch Awards Finalists – Nonprofit
Meet the 2026 Finalists
Tanya D. Armour
Chief Philanthropy Officer, Novant Health Foundation
Describe your role and work that you do.
“Leading a team of professionals that build trusted relationships with individuals, corporations, families, and family foundations who are committed to enhancing healthcare in the lives of individuals in our region through philanthropy.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Like my father, who led a community nonprofit, I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to work in a job that allows me to help make an impact on the lives of others. I am deeply grateful to follow in his legacy of service.”
What is the most rewarding part of your nonprofit work?
“Knowing that philanthropic commitments to our health system help to advance innovation and access to health services for our communities.”
What are you most passionate about?
“Offering access and exposure to people to provide them an opportunity to become aware of possibilities they may not have imagined or thought would be possible for themselves.”
Anything else you want us to know about you?
“I am grateful for my family and close friends – especially my husband who is an incredible encouragement to me.”
Karmen Custer
Executive Director, Hope Harbor Home Inc.
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Since joining Hope Harbor Home in 2014, I have served twelve years, becoming executive director in 2019 at age twenty-eight, the youngest in organization history. I was named Brunswick County’s Future 10 in 2021, a 2023 Woman of the Year finalist, and led Hope Harbor Home to two consecutive Community Impact Awards. This year, I secured a contract to build Brunswick County’s first purpose-built domestic violence shelter, expanding hope, safety, and services for future survivors.”
What is the most rewarding part of your nonprofit work?
“The most rewarding part of my job is knowing that every day I have the opportunity to change the trajectory of someone’s life. Having experienced domestic violence myself just a few years before joining Hope Harbor Home, I understand what it feels like to believe you’re alone and not know help exists. Today, I get to be the voice I once needed, helping survivors find safety, hope, and the confidence to rebuild their lives. Now, as a mother, that purpose is even greater. I have the privilege of raising a daughter who will never have to discover her worth through hardship because she’ll grow up knowing her voice matters, her strength is unwavering, and she is capable of overcoming anything.”
What are you most passionate about?
“I am most passionate about educating our community on the realities of domestic violence and breaking the misconceptions that often surround it.”
Emilie Hart
Regional Director, Catholic Charities
Describe your role and work that you do.
“As regional director for Catholic Charities’ Cape Fear Region, I have the honor to lead a dedicated team of eight serving five counties through food services, disaster services, immigration legal services, and emergency assistance services. Together, we combat food insecurity, support individuals experiencing homelessness, rebuild lives after disasters, and help families navigate legal pathways to immigration status.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“I’ve had the privilege of growing our regional office from a 900-square-foot space into a 10,000-plus-square-foot community resource center, exponentially expanding both services and impact. I helped lead our community’s recovery after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence and have been called to support disaster recovery efforts in other communities.”
Anything else you want us to know about you?
“Being a social worker isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am at my core. Long before it became my profession, it was how I moved through the world. As a shy child, teenager, and young adult, I often found it easier to help others find their voice than to use my own. That instinct never left me. I believe hope is a verb. It means showing up, listening first, leading with an open mind and an open heart, and recognizing that people are the experts in their own lives.”
Mireya Lupercio
Staff Psychotherapist, Community Counseling Center
Describe your role and work that you do.
“I am a bilingual mental health therapist providing trauma-informed, culturally responsive care to adolescents and adults navigating a diverse range of mental health concerns. … Beyond therapy, I engage in community collaboration, mentorship, and nonprofit leadership to improve access to behavioral health services.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“The greatest highlights of my career have been the opportunities to serve beyond the therapy room. I have been honored to serve on nonprofit boards and community advisory councils, where I help shape initiatives that improve health and well-being. It has also been a privilege to represent my community by speaking at the YWCA USA 68th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women … advocating for equity, mental health, and the voices of underserved communities.”
What are you most passionate about?
“I am passionate about creating spaces where people feel they truly belong. Whether I’m sitting with a client during one of their hardest moments or advocating for equitable access to care in the community, I want people to know they matter. I am especially passionate about reducing stigma around mental health, uplifting underrepresented voices, and helping others discover the strength they already possess.”
Meg McBride
Pastor, Hope Recovery UMC/Executive Director, The Warming Shelter ILM
Describe your role and work that you do.
“At Hope Recovery UMC, our mission is to create spaces of hospitality and healing to service our neighbors. We accomplish this task by offering our church building on Winston Boulevard as a gathering place for the recovery community and other groups seeking connection. Additionally, we work in the streets helping to alleviate the suffering of persons experiencing homelessness by hosting a winter overnight shelter that offers warmth, comfort, and safety on Wilmington’s coldest nights.”
What are some of your career highlights so far?
“Highlights are founding and directing a respite home for homeless hospital patients that offered a time of recuperation free of charge. In eighteen months, my team assisted seventy-two guests with hospitality, compassion, and connection to resources. Secondly, is the publication of The REAL Homeless Herald ILM, a street newspaper written by and about the important topics and perspectives of persons experiencing homelessness. In October, we will celebrate one year of publication!”
What are you most passionate about?
“My passion is for creativity in all ways: art, music, drama, and words – especially poetry! … I am curious about and inspired by creative practices that draw out ways in which we can better understand ourselves, others, and our world through the abstract and endless possibilities.”
To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.
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