Ronny Bell
Ronny Bell, Ph.D., M.S. – UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Ronny Bell, PhD, MS is Professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Bell is also Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement and Director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity at the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Bell received his undergraduate degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and his Master’s and Doctorate in Foods and Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Bell completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Gerontology and completed a Master’s in Epidemiology from the Wake Forest School of Medicine. From 1996 – 2016, Dr. Bell was a member of the faculty in the Department of Epidemiology at Wake Forest, and from 2006 – 2016, he served as Director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. From 2016 – 2020, Dr. Bell served as Chair of the Department of Public Health in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
Dr. Bell is an enrolled member of the Lumbee tribe of eastern North Carolina, and currently serves a Chair of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board. He also serves as Co-chair of the Prevention Subcommittee of the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control. In 2019, he was appointed as Scientific Co-Editor for the North Carolina Medical Journal. He previously served as Chair of the North Carolina Diabetes Advisory Council and the Healthy North Carolina 2030 Task Force.
Charlene Hunt
Charlene Hunt is a member of the Lumbee Tribe and serves as Program Manager for the NC AIHB. Her passion lies within celebrating and connecting resources related to her Lumbee roots. Charlene is a Salem College alumni where she received her BA in Education. She was part of the inaugural cohort for the 2013 NC Native Leadership Institute. She serves on the American Indian Heritage and Guilford Native American Associate planning committees and has worked on various projects including the Healthy Native North Carolinians Garden video below.
Joseph Bell, MD
Dr. Bell is a Lumbee Pediatrician from Pembroke, North Carolina and Medical Director of Children’s Health Pembroke. He is also a Pediatrician with the Catawba Indian Health Service Unit. He is a member of the Association of American Indian Physicians and a liaison to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Native American Child Health. Contact- 910.521.0201 jbell22@nc.rr.com
Gregory A. Richardson
Executive Director
NC Commission of Indian Affairs
In February 1995, Mr. Richardson was appointed Executive Director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, the largest Indian Commission in the United States.
Prior to that appointment, he was among the first to become an employee of the Commission in the 70’s and shortly after serving in the US Army and returning from Viet Nam.
Prior to being appointed Executive Director of the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, he served as the Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in Washington, DC. Prior to that appointment he served as Executive Director of the North Carolina Indian Housing Authority in Fayetteville, NC.
As Executive Director of the Commission, Mr. Richardson is responsible for the overall administration and oversight of all Commission programs and operations. The Commission administers programs designed to address Indian Education, Indian Housing, Workforce Development, Domestic Violence and Indian Child Welfare.
Mr. Richardson reports directly to the Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Administration, as well as the Chairman of the Indian Commission. He has a staff of 18 employees and a budget of 4.5 million dollars, which consists of State and federal grant funding.
Mr. Richardson was appointed to the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Advisory Council on November 2, 2017, by Governor Roy Cooper.
He has served on the US Census Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Natives, prior to the year 2000 and 2010 US Census, at the pleasure of the Secretary of the US Department of Commerce.
He is a March 2015 graduated of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s, Citizens Academy.
Mr. Richardson is engaged in a number of other activities, such as; serving as a member of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), NC Complete Count Commission for the 2020 US Census, where he was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper. He is a member of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Foundation. A member of the American Indian Center’s, Advisory Committee, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a member of the United Tribes of North Carolina Board of Directors.
He is an enrolled member of the state recognized Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, attended the historic Old Haliwa Indian School, in Hollister, North Carolina and is a life-long member of Mount Bethel Indian Baptist Church.
Mr. Richardson holds a BS in Business Management and an Associate Degree in Business Administration. He is a Certified Public Housing Manager and holds a Public Managers’ Certification from the State of North Carolina.
Finally, Mr. Richardson is considered North Carolina’s Chief Advocate for American Indians!
Eric P. Locklear, BS, Pharm.D., Ms, MBA, BCPS
Dr. Locklear serves as Pharmacy Director and Human Protections Administrator at Southeastern Health. He is a Robeson County native who received both undergraduate and doctorate degrees in Pharmacy from UNC and MS and MBA degrees from University of Utah. 910-671-5175 Lockle03@srmc.org
Timothy L. McNeill, JD, MHA
Timothy McNeill, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, is an entrepreneur and corporate attorney in Raleigh, NC. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from UNC-Pembroke followed by service as a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps. Thereafter, McNeill earned a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill followed by executive level healthcare strategy and planning responsibilities in hospitals and health plans. After earning the Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Iowa, College of Law, Mr. McNeill practiced healthcare law and civil litigation at RTP LAW, in Raleigh NC. Since earning an LL.M in Law and Entrepreneurship from Duke University School of Law in 2013, Mr. McNeill advises and represents start-up and emerging growth companies in the healthcare, life sciences and finance industries. 919.609.8888 tmcneill@rtplaw.com
Alice S. Ammerman, DrPH, RD
Dr. Ammerman is a Professor of Nutrition at the UNC School of Public Health, as well as the Director for the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She has worked to create strong practice collaborations across the state to address childhood obesity and was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to serve on the Childhood Obesity Study Committee. More recent research interests focus on school nutrition policy associated with childhood obesity, sustainable agriculture as it relates to improved nutrition, and social entrepreneurship as a sustainable approach to addressing public health concerns. 919.966.6082 alice_ammerman@unc.edu