Building Bridges Board of Directors |
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James Deese:
Treasurer
James Deese is a North Carolina native and has been an Asheville resident since 1979. He studied social work and community organization at Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC from 1966 to 1970. He has an extensive work background in the area homelessness and indigent populations and additionally studied business administration and human services at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. James is a long time participant in Building Bridges serving previously as Co-Chairperson of Building Bridges, a facilitator and now serves as the Treasurer. |
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Fred
Simms
Executive Director
Fred recently retired after 30 years in sales and
marketing in the electrical equipment manufacturing business.
He and his wife Jackie moved to Asheville from St Louis, Mo in
1990 following a change in Fred's job location. Jackie spent
8 years with Building Bridges and originally brought Fred to
the fold about 9 years ago. He also currently serves as the
Executive Director of Building Bridges |
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Stuart Zitin:
Stuart has been involved with Building Bridges since its beginning, three times as a participant, and three times as a facilitator. A member of the steering committee since summer 2005, he has lived in Asheville for 17 years, married for 23 years with an 18-year old daughter and a 13-year old son. He is a general contractor with 33 years of experience and formed his company, Building for Life, in 1995 with an emphasis on green, environmentally sound, energy efficient projects. Stuart maintains balance in his life by hiking in the woods with his dog about an hour every day. He is committed to working with integrity to create a just society where all living things co-exist harmoniously, and where all people have equal opportunity for fulfillment and equal access to the rights and privileges of human dignity and respect.
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Lewis Isaac
Lewis has lived in the Asheville-Buncombe County area since moving here in 1971. He has served on a number of Boards and Commissions and has been involved with Building B ridges as a Participant, Facilitator and member of the Steering Committee prior to assuming his current leadership position. He also assists in the training of facilitators for each Building Bridges Session. He is employed as the Training Coordinator for the City of Asheville. |
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Carol Duin
Retired
R.N. Carol Duin moved to Asheville in 2000. She
participated in Building Bridges that same year and became
involved as a facilitator and joined the steering committee
in 2002. |
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Ron Ballard
Chairperson
Ron first attended Building Bridges in January 2003 and started serving as a facilitator in 2004. He joined the Steering Committee in the fall of 2004 and is currently the Vice Chairperson. He also serves in the areas of strategic planning and community partnerships. Ron is co-owner of Productive Consulting Resources and works in the community as a volunteer. |
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Kathryn Liss
Kathryn Liss is a mediator and educator. She was director of training for The Mediation Center in Asheville from 1993 to 2002. During that time she also was a participant, facilitator and served on the Building Bridges steering committee, at times co-chairing it, training facilitators and helping rewrite the manual. She was also very involved in the Asheville Buncombe VISION dialogues. She has been training people in mediation, conflict resolution and prejudice reduction for more than 20 years. She has a Masters in Intercultural Communication from the School for International Training and lived in Kenya for a year. |
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Wanda Taylor
A native of Western North Carolina, Wanda has been involved in Building Bridges since 2004. She has worked as a teacher, a newspaper columnist,
and as North Carolina state president of La Leche League, an international parenting and breastfeeding information organization. She is currently an employee of Yellow Book USA in Western North Carolina. Her interests include history, community theater (acting and directing), writing, gardening; she also teaches a course on Mark Twain when she has time. "Building Bridges is important because it encourages self-examination and open dialogue about issues that are frequently difficult to discuss. Building Bridges is a safe place for honest communication, education, and self-discovery." |
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Liza Cherner
Liza became involved with Building Bridges after relocating with her family from Florida in 2006. She holds a masters degree in social work from the University of Central Florida and has spent many years working in education and social work. |
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Linda Block
Linda Block coordinates the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at UNC-Asheville and has worked as an environmental educator in Baltimore City, central Pennsylvania, and Houston Texas before arriving in NC. She earned her master's degree in Environmental Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Linda volunteers locally as a community mediator with The Mediation Center, as a big sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and as a facilitator for Building Bridges (since 2003). In every place she has lived, Linda has actively worked with organizations towards the healing of racism. She speaks Spanish fluently and has studied in Mexico. |
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Katie Green
Vice Chairperson
Katie Green first attended Building Bridges in January 2006 and has since served as a facilitator. Originally from Dahlonega, Georgia, she is a graduate of Berea College with a degree in English. She works as the assistant to the Dean of Work at Warren Wilson College and also serves as a volunteer with the Literacy Council of Buncombe County. She is eager to continue learning and serving with Building Bridges. |
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