Women to Watch Awards Finalists-Public Sector

Caress C. Clegg

Communications Supervisor, New Hanover County Schools

Describe your role.

“I am the Communications Supervisor for New Hanover County Schools, responsible for overseeing all communication efforts. My role includes managing public relations and internal communications, developing and implementing strategies to promote the district’s achievements, events, and initiatives.

I work closely with school administrators, staff, and the community to ensure accurate and timely information dissemination. Additionally, I lead a team of five and play a crucial role in maintaining positive relationships between the school district and its stakeholders.”

What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?

“Through various initiatives, I have had a significant impact on the local community. One such initiative is Girls with Pearls at Blair Elementary, which provides mentorship and skill-building for young girls, helping to foster self-confidence and leadership skills. My involvement on the United Way of the Cape Fear Area board has helped to support critical social causes and improve the lives of vulnerable communities. Additionally, my work on the NHCS EDI Committee promotes equity and inclusivity in education. My commitment to community development, education, and social responsibility, I hope, has led to a lasting impact.”

How have you helped to improve your organization or field?

“I have made a remarkable difference in my organization and field. Through strategic communication initiatives, I’ve improved the organization’s reputation and public image. My proficiency in managing and resolving conflicts has created a positive work environment, promoting better collaboration and productivity among team members. In addition, my leadership in community engagement projects has strengthened the organization’s relationship with the local community.”

What’s a future goal?

“In terms of future goals, I, of course, aim to advance my leadership in communications and pursue executive positions such as Chief Communications Officer or Chief Marketing Officer. I aspire to make an impact on the industry through various means such as publications and speaking engagements. Additionally, with a strong passion for community impact, I aspire to continue to focus on addressing social issues and driving positive change as well as stay at the forefront of communications practices. I want to expand my global reach and earn my doctorate.”

Anything else you want us to know about you?

“I am committed to improving my community by ensuring that educational opportunities and access to information are available to all. This is not just a job for me but a passion that drives me to take action. I believe in creating a level playing field for everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances. Providing a fair chance at education and knowledge is essential, and I am dedicated to making it a reality. My mission is to cultivate an environment where educational opportunities thrive. I want to empower individuals to pursue their goals and aspirations, knowing that education is key to unlocking their full potential. In a world where knowledge is power, I strive to be a guiding light, illuminating the path toward a more equitable, informed, and enriched community for all. While there may be challenges along the way, I remain steadfast in my belief that together, we can create a better future for everyone.”

Morgan King

Family & Consumer Sciences Agent, N.C. Cooperative Extension – New Hanover County

Describe your role.

“N.C. State Extension’s mission is to improve the well-being of the family through programs that educate, influence public policy, and help families put research-based knowledge to work in their lives. As a Family & Consumer Sciences Agent, I deliver evidence-based programming in nutrition, health, food safety, food preservation, and local foods. I also collaborate with other agencies through the Cape Fear Food Council to support food security efforts.”

What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?

“Hearing kids – and adults – say things like, ‘I never thought you’d get me to eat vegetables, but this is good!’ is a prime example of my impact! I help demystify food, both in terms of exposure as well as access. Partnering with the Wilmington Farmers Market, community members donate money to purchase produce from farmers that is distributed at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard. So far this year we’ve donated about 290 pounds of local fruits and vegetables.”

How have you helped to improve your organization or field?

“Having only been in my position for about a year, I believe I’ve been successful in building and expanding our network of community partners. Many folks are unfamiliar with Extension, so I’ve been intentionally identifying and communicating the various ways we can support area efforts. In my program area specifically, I’ve put forth great effort to get the word out about how relevant Extension research is – particularly in the areas of food literacy and insecurity.”

What’s a future goal?

“Professionally, I want to see and contribute to a food-secure New Hanover County, where everyone here has the freedom and ability to make informed decisions about their food. Because we have so many groups working in the area of food access, I want to facilitate increased collaboration between organizations working toward these similar goals. Personally, I have many travel-related goals, including visiting all fifty states. I only have three left!”

Kate Marshall

Animal Protective Services Officer, City of Southport

Describe your role.

“I serve the city of Southport as the Animal Protective Services Officer and head of the department. My primary focus is to educate both residents and visitors on the local animal welfare ordinances to ensure their pets remain safe and are humanely treated. Southport’s beautiful waterfront also brings a diverse variety of wildlife to our city. My calls for service can be unique, and I strive to help any animal in need.”

What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?

“I was instrumental in updating the city’s Animal Welfare Ordinance in 2019. Important initiatives such as anti-tethering laws were added to better the quality of life for pets. The addition with the most impact has been the Community Cat Program that provides support for TNR, which means altering, vaccinating, ear-tipping, and returning healthy community cats to the areas where they’ve already been living and thriving. TNR ends reproduction, stabilizes colony populations, and improves cats’ lives.”

How have you helped to improve your organization or field?

“The biggest accomplishment for my department has been earning trust and building relationships throughout the community. I feel the Animal Protective Services field as a whole is moving more toward community outreach and humane education rather than punitive actions. The main goal is to improve the quality of life for the animals by providing assistance and resources, which ultimately benefits the entire family.”

What’s a future goal?

“A goal of mine is to build a more robust Community Cat Program in surrounding communities. As the area’s population continues to grow, an active volunteer-based group will be needed to address the critical issue of overpopulation. I would be able to provide training and guidance to ensure it would be successful.”

Anything else you want us to know about you?

“I am passionate about the work that I do and am proud to represent the Animal Protective Services field. The work is difficult at times, but very rewarding, and it is great to be able to recognize them.”

Fawn N. Rhodes

Health & Human Services Equity Coordinator, New Hanover County

Describe your role.

“I am the first Health Equity Coordinator at HHS (New Hanover County’s Health and Human Services department). I advocate, coordinate, and implement health equity programs. I collaborate with community partners to develop and promote projects that increase access to health and human services. Every month, I offer a free, public virtual webinar to raise awareness and educate our community about the people, places, and partners who deliver equitable services, as well as evaluate our culture, recruiting, and employment methods.”

What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?

“I created the Food Pathways initiative, which links older people to free food, arranged several COVID outreach events, and produced the Equity Matters webinar, a monthly health equity webcast. I designed an Economic Services Outreach program for first-time applicants at participating venues. I established the New Hanover County Health and Human Services Health Equity Council. I arranged a neighborhood SNAP food conference and organized the Minority Maternity Health Community Conversation for minority women to share their stories.”

How have you helped to improve your organization or field?

“In every new hire orientation, I teach Public Health Equity in the Workplace. I examine and offer recommendations for changes to our Health and Human Services practices. I was helpful in changing our company’s vocabulary to stop stating stakeholders and ‘in the field’ and instead use vested partners or in the community. To provide knowledge and training, I have transformed our Equity Matters webinar into a series of seminars.”

What’s a future goal?

“A pipeline from HBCUs and minority-serving institutions to health and human services is a future goal, which would increase the number of minority employees and interns, especially in areas of environmental, mental, and school health. To establish a patient advocate and doula certification program for New Hanover County citizens at NHC HHS.”

Anything else you want us to know about you?

“I am a woman of Christian faith and the proud mom of a 6’8”, sixteen-year-old offensive lineman at Hoggard High School. I graduated from North Carolina Central University, will graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2024 with my master’s in public health with a concentration in leadership in practice, and recently applied to Regent University for my Doctorate in Strategic Leadership. I’ll start in August 2024 if accepted.”

Kristy Williams

Program Manager, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office – Elements Youth Violence Intervention Program

Describe your role.

“My position oversees a team of fifteen employees and manages the functions of our program, which serves approximately 125 youth and families per year. When I began with the program sixteen years ago, I started as a case manager for court-ordered, repeat juvenile offenders who were either gang involved or lived in an area with gang activity. After several years, I took on a program coordinator role, which was an administrative position that managed referrals, conducted enrollment intakes, and scheduled all program activities. I have more recently stepped into the program manager position that directly supervises three team lead supervisors and indirectly supervises three family support specialists and nine youth intervention specialists. Alongside of supervision, I coordinate the program activities, coordinate any facility needs, manage the program budget, maintain marketing for the program, and spend time with the youth both individually and in group settings. Our program is a civilian-based program that is within the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. In addition to other duties, I continue to work on programming to help bridge the gap between youth and law enforcement. Programming that helps build rapport between school resource officers and the youth within their schools, as well as in their communities.””

What are some of the impacts you’ve made locally?

“In the past sixteen years of this career, our program has served over 1,000 youth within our community on an individual basis. The work that this program does is designed to meet each youth where they currently are, individually, and help provide them with the tools to build themselves and their support system up in a way that assists them with moving forward down a path to success. We have seen success in so many ways throughout the years. Success has been youth graduating high school, while others graduated college. Success has been youth entering the military. Success has been youth obtaining legal citizenship and giving back to their community. Success has been youth getting married and starting their own family. Success has been youth starting a career-based job that will provide the income needed to sustain them on their own. Most of all, success has been the youth that continue to come back. Youth who were fourteen years old while in the program, that still to this day at the age of thirty call to check in or stop by just to say hello. The appreciation that is expressed for the program staff who supported them and did not give up on them, and their desire to be that person for kids now because of the impact it had on them.”

How have you helped to improve your organization or field?

“When I began working with this program, we were a grant-based program that had four full-time employees who worked together in a small office space. Throughout the years, I have advocated for the need to grow our program to be able to more effectively serve our community. I have collected data and continuously advocated for growth of the program, its staff, and its facility. The sheriff is extremely passionate about the program and serving youth and families in our community and has been a voice to support the data and help us grow. We have since developed a new family support team, whose position works directly with the guardians of the youth in the program to assist them with any family needs they may have to include jobs, food, clothing, mental health, and shelter. We have expanded from three youth intervention specialists to nine, which has allowed us to develop three individual teams and serve seventy-five more youth per year than before. With three teams we are now able to serve elementary, middle, and high school youth. We also have a facility for the program now that youth can come to for their time with their case managers. Our facility is equipped with staff offices, a youth lounge, a basketball gym, a workout room, and a community garden. I have also worked to develop a mutual program between our team and the school resource officers. For the past several years, we have had the school resource officer from our highest referring school work at our facility during school breaks and in the summer. This program was designed to bridge the gap between law enforcement and our youth but to also build rapport outside of the school setting. During these times the school resource officer spends time with the youth just as the program staff do. They play basketball, go fishing, go kayaking, play card games, have safety talks, and spend time with the youth in their home and community.”

What’s a future goal?

“I am very goal driven and am always looking for ways to support the youth and families in our community. We have been working towards the goal of building our family support team to be able to conduct small groups with parents and guardians. We are also working towards constructing a life skills room for our older youth and our guardians. The goal for our life skills room is to have a kitchen, washer and dryer, a sink, and a computer. Our goal is to teach youth and guardians how to wash, dry, and fold laundry. We would also teach them how to make simple meals and clean the dishes used. In this room, we would also walk them through the process of filling out job applications. We are also exploring ideas of ways our program can partner or offer jobs for the youth in the program. We are currently in the beginning stages of developing a mentoring program where our older youth who have graduated the program come by to support our youngest youth and be a big buddy to them. And finally, we are working on expanding our programming that we are doing with our school resource officers. We would like to have one school resource officer working with each of our teams during school breaks and the summer, continuing the relationships outside of the school walls.”

To view the Women to Watch Awards Finalists main page, click here.

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

To view more of photographer Summer Lambert’s work, go to summerlambertphoto.com.

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