Staff
Fawn Pattison
Fawn Pattison is currently serving as Interim Executive Director at NCECF. As a consultant she supports nonprofit organizations through leadership transitions. She is also a passionate advocate for children, families, public health, environment, and social justice. Prior to her role at NCECF, Fawn served as Interim Executive Director at the Partnership for Children of Johnston County, and Communications Director & Director of Program Strategy at NC Child.
Lisa Finaldi
Community matters. It’s where dynamic change happens. That’s why I help strengthen the ability of communities to collaborate and accelerate – so they can accomplish what they set out to do. At NCECF, I support community collaboration and business and faith leaders to build a strong foundation for lifelong success for North Carolina’s children.
I’ve also worked with communities around the world, on environmental justice health issues, across Europe and here at home in places like Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana and Stanly and Bladen counties, North Carolina. I have fostered healthy and safe communities through many lenses – from changing policy with a focus on prevention of environmental health threats to enhancing what’s working.
Crystal Folmar
I believe that the key to achieving a more equitable future begins with expanding access to quality education. Having worked for several years in the classroom as a teacher, I have witnessed first-hand the impact that early childhood has on a child’s future. I also understand that sustainable change is only possible through multi-faceted initiatives and community collaboration. For this reason, I am excited to have the opportunity to support NCECF’s vital work creating strong foundations for children across the state.
Dr. Micere Keels
I am blessed to have a mother for whom writing is everything, she paid much of her way through college by winning poetry scholarships. For me, reading is everything; one of my favorite childhood memories is the first time I was allowed to go by myself to the mobile library and then spending the day curled up on my back veranda reading through my newly discovered treasures.
I emphasize the importance of early reading by reminding people that from birth to third grade children are learning to read and then from third grade on they are reading to learn. I will never forget Dr. Carol D. Lee’s statement (one of my former professors): “this is not a technological issue, we know how to teach children to read.” No child should fall behind in school or in life because we haven’t invested the time and resources to ensure that they know how to read to learn.
Kaylan Sloane
As a child growing up with a parent who worked in the Wake County library system, I was privileged to be able to spend many, many hours inside libraries, wandering around stacks of books and seeing the inner workings of a library. At the time, I was intrigued by illustrations more than words and stories, but the constant exposure to literature led me to love reading now and to be curious as an adult.
Knowing that this quantity of exposure to books is not a usual childhood experience (or adulthood for many), I am happy to be able to contribute to the inner workings of NCECF, in hopes that the joy and adventure of reading can be opened to many children in our mission to build a supportive, effective, and equitable early childhood foundation.