Staff

A native of South Carolina, Arlecia has previously called North Carolina home and started her professional career off in the state as a journalist in Eden. She was a journalism educator in Charlotte and later served as a minister in Durham while attending Duke Divinity School, where she earned her Master of Divinity. She is an ordained Baptist minister and formerly served as a senior pastor in the United Church of Christ. She has earned a Health Minister Certificate from Wesley Theological Seminary. Before joining the Council in August 2022, she taught at Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., and directed a project to provide professional development to clergy and lay leaders pivoting during COVID-19. Her interest in health and wellness developed as a newspaper reporter covering health issues and new legislation such as HIPAA. Her convictions are rooted in experiences ranging from seeing members of her family and community plagued by the many comorbidities amplified during the pandemic. She is invested in how systemic issues such as gentrification and food and housing insecurity impact health and wholeness and prevent BIPOC people and those in rural communities from thriving. Arlecia is based in Fayetteville, and she enjoys educating people on her Gullah Geechee culture and publishing books and digital content that she hopes will lead to emotional healing and spiritual renewal.

Carrilea is from Sylva in the mountains of western North Carolina. She attended Brevard College where she played soccer and earned a BA in Health Science Studies. She earned her Master of Divinity and a certificate in Religion and Health from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Carrilea is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church and has served in a local congregation for several years. Her passion for faith, health, and justice led her to join the Council as the West Regional Associate Director for PHW. She currently lives in Statesville with her husband, Andrew, and their two daughters, Saige and Maya. Carrilea loves the outdoors, adventures/traveling, and good conversations.

Donna was born in Miami, FLA, but has resided in Wilkes County, NC, since she was four years old. Donna comes to us from the world of public health. She has spent over a decade on substance use coalition, prevention, recovery, and harm reduction work in public health and non-profit settings. Donna served as Social Action Coordinator for the Appalachian District United Methodist Women from 2017-2021, and has served in a lay servant role for the United Methodist Church since 2015. Donna is also co-founder of Wilkes Rescue Group, a non-profit 501(c)(3) dog rescue in Wilkes County that was founded in 2018. Donna is an Appalachian State University alumni and loves to cheer on her Mountaineers during football season. Donna spends her spare time working with Wilkes Rescue Group, as well as spending quality time with good friends, and her husband and four rescue dogs.

Meredith is a North Carolina triangle native who graduated with her BSW in Social work and a minor in Spanish from Appalachian State University. After traveling to and living in diverse communities both domestically and abroad, Meredith moved from the west side of Chicago in 2018 to Durham, NC, where she pursued a dual Master in Divinity and Master of Social work degree from Duke Divinity School and UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work. She graduated in 2021 from Divinity School with a Certificate in Prison Studies and Social Work School with her MSW concentration in Communities and Organizations. Meredith is particularly passionate about the intersection of faith and justice and is always dreaming about how the Church can be a more creative, innovative, and radically inclusive space that strives to seek justice and shalom in the world, particularly at the margins. She cares deeply about community, both creating community and being part of one. Before stepping into her role as the Program Engagement Coordinator of the Partners of Health and Wholeness Initiative through the Council, Meredith has most recently served as a hospital chaplain at Wakemed Hospital in Raleigh. Outside of her work with the NC Council of Churches, you will most likely find Meredith with her hands dirty in soil at the local urban farm, painting, dancing, exploring nature with her dog best friend Yogi, scheming her next portion of the Camino de Santiago to walk (or other travel adventure), or finding the best local ice cream spot. Meredith is in the final stages of becoming an ordained pastor through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).