Staff

Graig Meyer has been the coordinator of BRMA since August of 1998. Through his years in the program, Graig has learned to love the special phenomenon of introducing mentors and mentees who would not know each other without the role of this program. These relationships knit a tighter and more healthy social fabric in our community.

Graig is a 2003-2005 William C. Friday Fellow for Human Relations through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative. Graig has served as a board member for many local organizations including Traction, APPLES, and the Orange County Schools Committee for Raising Acheivement and Closing Gaps. As a consultant, Graig provides anti-racism training and organizational development assistance to non-profits and educational organizations. Graig is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of Wooster, and was trained as a social worker at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. He is the father of Ashley, Mason, and William and the husband of Jennifer Meyer. He also served as a mentor to Henry Carmichael through Henry's graduation from high school in 2004.


Teresa Bunner is the Academic Support Specialist for BRMA. This is her first year with the program and she is very excited about joining the team.  She loves working with young people of all ages. Her greatest passion is helping students learn to love learning, especially reading.

Teresa was born in South Carolina, but moved all over the U.S. as a child. She was a classroom teacher and reading specialist for 17 years in California before moving to North Carolina with her family 3 years ago. She has had the privilege of teaching elementary, middle, high school and university level classes. When she is not working with BRMA, she is probably driving one of her four boys to a sports practice or game, where she always has a book with her to read. She is married to Don and is the very proud mom of Nathaniel, Colin, Ian and Devin.

50382/p11063835_56066.jpg

Lorie Clark has been the high school specialist for BRMA since January, 2002. She is also the service advisor to the Blue Ribbon Youth Leadership Institute. She believes the work she does with the program is her life's work. What she finds most rewarding is being able to provide opportunities for high school students and seeing students flourish, grow and live to their potential.

Lorie was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a graduate of Chapel Hill High School and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Lorie worked in commercial and public broadcasting for over 15 years. Lorie has served on several boards including The Women's Center of Chapel Hill, Teens Climb High Advisory Board and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History and the Board of Christian Education- First Baptist Church. She enjoys photography and traveling and being a mom to her sons Landon and Jamaal. Lorie is a mentor to Mayte Rodas.

Granvel Johnson is the New Match Support Specialist for BRMA. Prior to joining the team, he served in leadership and supportive roles with mentoring organizations in Durham, Raleigh, and Los Angeles.  He is interested in helping individuals increase their capacity to embrace life’s opportunities, which he believes is essential to success in every area of life.  His motto is, “It might not be our fault that it is broken but it is definitely our responsibility to help repair it.”  There is no other way he wishes to spend his life than working in the field of youth advocacy.

Although he is a native of Los Angeles, his heart now belongs to North Carolina.  Granvel says “The Triangle has the best of everything... great cultural opportunities, a world class educational system, and unspoiled natural beauty.” Before moving to NC in 2007, he worked in information technology for twenty years. He earned a B.A degree from Vanguard University of Southern Ca. and is completing a M.Div. degree at Duke University. He is a published author, he enjoys photography, and nature hikes.

50382/p71578645_56067.jpg

Sofia Pitts is BRMA's Elementary and Middle School Advisor. During the 2009-10 school year, Sofia worked as the BRMA Middle School tutorial intern through the NCLiteracyCorps Engage Americorps program.  She is excited to be working with our students as a full time staff member!

Sofia graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.A. in Spanish, a Certificate in Translating, and a minor in film studies. Sofia has lived in Chapel Hill since 1992 and graduated from East Chapel Hill High School in 2004. Sofia is currently pursuing her Masters in School Counseling from the School of Education at North Carolina Central University. Sofia is a mentor to Samantha Salazar who is a senior this year at Carrboro High School.

Carla Smith is the Parent Involvement Specialist for Parent University.  Carla's passion is education; it's not just her career.  Prior to joining the team at BRMA, she has been a parent advocate, school administrator, and teacher.

A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, she received her B.A. in Psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill; Middle Grades Teaching Certification from Catawba College; and a Masters in School Administration from UNC-Charlotte.  A North Carolina certified school administrator and classroom teacher with nearly 19 years experience in public school education and parental education/training, she plans to complete a Doctorate in Education with a focus on providing multicultural/diversity training for parents and school staff with the goal of improving home-school relationships and the education of African-American males.

Carla considers parenting her most challenging and awarding venture. Carla and her husband Johnny are the parents of two young men, Jonathan and Cameron.

Anna McCreight is the BRMA high school tutorial coordinator for 2011-12. She is serving in this position as an NCLiteracyCorps AmeriCorps member. In addition to providing academic support to students in our tutorial program, Anna is excited to be supporting Lorie Clark with the Blue Ribbon Youth Leadership Institute.

Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Anna graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in journalism in May, 2011. She studied video production, multimedia, and graphic design, and she looks forward to bringing this passion for visual storytelling to our students. Anna is always looking for opportunities to learn from young people, and she also loves to bake and doodle.

Kelly Sanders is an NC Literacy Corps/AmeriCorps member, serving with Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate during the 2012-13 school year. Kelly will be the Middle School Tutorial Coordinator and will be holding tutorial 4 days a week at Phillips Middle School. This is Kelly’s second year as an NCLiteracy Corps/AmeriCorps Member.

Originally from Morganton, North Carolina, Kelly graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in Spanish in May, 2011. She enjoys working with students and hopes to be a positive role model for the students in Blue Ribbon. More importantly, she is looking forward to having fun this school year!

Kim Turner is a former Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate student. She graduated from the program and East Chapel Hill High school in 2006. She has returned as an NC Literacy Corps/Americorps member and is serving with BRMA as the Academic Skills Coordinator during the 2012-2013 school year.

Kim’s primary goal is to provide the students of BRMA with fun innovative ways to approach academia. Kim recently received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from North Carolina Central University. She is now pursuing her Licensure in Professional Counseling.

Deanna Davis is a final year student in the UNC School of Social Work and will be interning with Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate for the 2012-2013 school year. In addition to supporting Parent University, Deanna is also enthusiastic about assisting with Blue Ribbon’s Youth Leadership Institute. Originally from Greensboro, NC, Deanna attended UNC-Chapel Hill where she completed a B.A. degree in Sociology in 2010.

Deanna is passionate about minority issues, specifically as they relate to educational access and opportunities, and hopes to be able to develop programs in the future that strengthen the connections between students, families, communities, and schools. She believes that individuals who have been graced with the opportunity to be successful in any capacity have a responsibility to give back.

Bonita Joyce is in her final year at the UNC School of Social Work and is completing her field placement with Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate and Parent University. Prior to entering social work school, Bonita worked as the site director of an an afterschool program in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

Bonita enjoys coordinating youth programs and working with families. Bonita is also interested in how educational equity and parent engagement affect student success in and out of school.


Eugenia Floyd has been involved with the BRMA since 2003. Her participation with the program began during her sophomore year at East Chapel Hill High School when she joined the Youth Leadership Institute. Eugenia is now a graduate of UNC-Greensboro with a B.A in History and is currently seeking a teaching licence at North Carolina Central University. Eugenia believes that it is very important to give back to an organization that has been such a blessing to her, so much so that she has been the YLI Assistant Camp Director each summer since 2009. Eugenia considers it an honor and privilege to be able to work under the tutelage of Lorie Clark and Graig Meyer. She truly believes that with their help and understanding of YLI's mission, she has transformed into the person that she wants to be. In her spare time Eugenia enjoys hanging out with her friends and family or watching a good movie. Eugenia loves her nephew EJ.