Board of Directors
William J. Barber II is president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. Since 1993, Rev. Dr. Barber has served as the pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Goldsboro. He is the chairman of Rebuilding Broken Places Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit faith-based organization committed to the development of economically distressed urban and rural communities in Goldsboro and Wayne County. Dr. Barber received his bachelor’s degree from NC Central University, his Master of Divinity from Duke University, and his PhD from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He has served on the Justice Center’s board for one year.
Asa L. Bell, Jr. is a partner in the law firm Becton, Slifkin, & Bell in Raleigh, where he practices personal injury law. He is a member of the NC Association of Black Lawyers and has served as a guest faculty member for the Trial Advocacy Programs at NC Central University School of Law, UNC School of Law and Duke School of Law. Mr. Bell received his Master of Business Administration and his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has served on the Justice Center’s board for two years.
Dhamian A. Blue is with the law firm of Blue, Stephens & Fellers, Raleigh, North Carolina. His primary practice area is civil litigation, representing clients in a wide variety of cases that range from business litigation to severe personal injuries. Dhamian began his legal career as an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group of Dickstein Shapiro LLP in Washington, D.C. After leaving Dickstein Shapiro, Dhamian joined Temple Law Offices, also in Washington, D.C., where he handled litigation matters that included police misconduct, employment discrimination, and predatory lending. Dhamian served as the Chair of the Washington Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division from 2006 through 2007. Dhamian graduated from the Duke University School of Law in May 2003, and also earned an A.B. from Duke in 2000 where he majored in Public Policy Studies and Economics.
Anita R. Brown-Graham has served as the Director of the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) since 2007. Brown-Graham worked at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's Institute of Government since 1994. Prior to that, she served as law clerk to the Honorable William B. Shubb in the eastern district of California and as business litigation counsel in a Sacramento, California, law firm. Brown-Graham has provided significant training and written books and articles focused on developing the economic base of distressed communities. She also currently serves on the boards of several development organizations and foundations. Brown-Graham earned an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University and, after attending graduate school at LSU, she earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jean Cary is a professor of law at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, with a focus on family law and trial advocacy. She is currently director of the South East Deposition Program for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Ms. Cary received her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She has served on the Justice Center’s board for two years.
Christopher T. Graebe is an attorney with Graebe, Hanna & Welborn, PLLC in Raleigh, where he focuses his practice on business litigation. Chris has been actively involved in pro bono litigation on behalf of consumers and tenants for many years. In 2008, the North Carolina Bar Association presented Chris with the William L. Thorp Pro Bono Service Award, its highest pro bono honor for members of the private bar. Chris also serves on the board of directors of The Justice Theater Project, an advocacy, activist theater company based in Raleigh. Chris received his B.A. from Wabash College, his M.Div. from Duke University, and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina. He joined the Justice Center board in 2008.
Richard Hooker, Jr. is the co-founder and executive director of the Cleveland County Business Development Center in Shelby, NC. For the past 25 years, he has advocated for minority business development, community problem-solving, civic participation, leadership development and education outreach. He serves on the Cleveland County Schools’ Board of Education, chairs the local United Negro College Fund and is a life member of the NAACP and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Mr. Hooker has served on the Justice Center’s board for two years.
Fiorella Horna-Guerra is the program consultant for the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program and founder of Latin Life, a cultural-diversity and Spanish-language training service provider in Cary, NC. She is the disaster coordinator for the governor’s Emergency Management Human Services Team, and she serves on the Office of Rural Health’s Eliminating Disparities Committee and the Steering Committee of the Wake Mental Health Association. Ms. Horna-Guerra received her bachelor’s of health studies degree from Hunter College in New York. She has served on the Justice Center’s board for one year.
Kenneth Jerald Jones, Sr. is the founder and volunteer coordinator for Roanoke Rapids’ Downtown Community Club, a community-based recreational organization for youth, and is working on developing a 15-acre park for children living in Roanoke Rapids. In addition to his civic activities, he is active in the NAACP. Mr. Jones received his teaching certificate from North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. He has served on the Justice Center’s board for two years.
Raquel Lynch is the community outreach director of the International House in Charlotte. International House is an organization promoting international understanding by serving as a center for diversity, advocating for people of diverse national backgrounds and facilitating professional and cultural programs. Ms. Lynch received her bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University. She has served on the Justice Center’s Board for two years.
Dr. Gregory Moss, Sr. is president of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, Inc. Since 1998, Dr. Moss has served as Pastor of Charlotte’s Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Moss’ passions are expressed in his ministry focus. One will observe that passion in the St. Paul Youth Ministry or in the Samson Ministry for men or in the Chosen Vessels Ministry for women or in the Discovery of Spiritual Gifts Ministry for all who fellowship in St. Paul. He is bold and innovative in ministry and has infused worship at St. Paul with drama, arts and music. He has developed a Christian education ministry that equips the whole community in empowerment that reaches the soul, expands the mind, renews the body and heals the spirit.
Gene Nichol is professor of law and Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina. He teaches courses in constitutional law, federal courts, civil rights and election law. From 2005-2008, Nichol was the 26th president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia – the second oldest university in the United States. Nichol was Burton Craige professor and dean of the law school at the University of North Carolina from 1999-2005. He served as law dean at the University of Colorado from 1988-1995; and as James Gould Cutler Professor and Director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary from 1985-1988. Nichol has also been a faculty member at the University of Florida and West Virginia University. He founded the Byron White Center of Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado (1990) and the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina (2001). Nichol attended Oklahoma State University, where he received a degree in philosophy (1973) and played varsity football. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Texas, graduating Order of the Coif, in 1976.
Orage Quarles III has been setting professional and personal goals for more than 20 years. And he has achieved many of them. One of those goals was becoming a publisher by age 35. And though he missed it by a year, Quarles' dream of being the top guy at a newspaper was realized. He landed his first publishing job at The Coloradoan in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1987. He has since held the publisher position at four other Gannett and McClatchy newspapers. In 1993, he became the first African American Publisher of a daily newspaper in the south when he accepted the post at the Herald in Rock Hill, S.C. He is now the publisher of The (Raleigh) News & Observer. Quarles accomplishments include being named 1990 Gannett Newspaper Publisher of the Year; he was past president of the Newspaper Association of America; he was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalist’s Hall of Fame Region IV in 1993; and he is a founding member of the National Association of Minority Media Executives.
J. George Reed is the executive director of the North Carolina Council of Churches. He is a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh. Mr. Reed received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, his Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He has served on the Justice Center’s board for one year.
Geraldine Sumter is a partner in the firm of Ferguson Stein Chambers Gresham & Sumter PA., Charlotte, North Carolina. Since joining the firm in 1982, Geraldine has concentrated on employment litigation. Her other areas of practice include workers’ compensation, small business, non-profit, and other civil rights work including voting rights and school desegregation. Geraldine received a B.A. from Howard University and received her J.D. from Duke University in 1981. After clerking for The Honorable Charles L. Becton of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, she joined Palmetto Legal Services as a Staff Attorney in its Lexington, South Carolina office where she did consumer, landlord and domestic work. She has been active in the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers; North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys; National Employment Lawyers Association; Employment Law Sections of the North Carolina and Mecklenburg County Bar Associations; and the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers (serving as President, 1991-1995).