Our Board Of Directors

President
Nancy Cox is a member of the Sister Cities of Durham executive committee and Board Secretary. She most recently worked at Bike Durham as Director if Development and Communication and has a career in K-12 Public Education.

Voice President
Chris Boyer retired from a career with Durham City administration. She is the chair of the Toyama city committee and has led the committee in developing an annual exchange between Toyama and Durham Tech.

Treasure

Min Shu is a member of Sister Cities of Durham Executive Committee and served as the Treasurer. She has currently works for a Local Government Federal Credit Union as a Senior Data Infighter. 

John Felheim - John is currently serving as the Board Secretary having been voted to the Board for temporary service by the SCD Board. We are happy to bring his nomination before the SCD membership. John is interested in blending media and culture into engaging content that stands out from the conventional. Most recently, John held a professional position coordinating Internal Events and Communications for a faith community in Durham. John has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a Japanese Culture minor from the University of South Carolina and he studied at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. He has also joined the Toyama committee.

Salma Rashid grew up with immigrant parents and has always been interested in learning about other cultures and societies. During her undergraduate and graduate studies, she had the opportunity to travel ti South Africa, Oman, and Ghana, and this sparked and even greater interest in her to learn more about how cities work together ti create cultural connections. She works in local government and its a member ayr Arusha, Tanzania City Committee.

Violet Evans is the co-chair of the Kunshan City Committee. With a background in biostatistics, she is interested in applying quantitative methods to issues at the intersection of China, demographics, and culture. She is specifically interested in understanding China’s growing global influence and emerging economic growth through a public health lens.

Zenani Fogg is a Durham native. Her professional background spans over a decade in public education, where she taught grade two to nine in NC, MD, and the United Arab Emirates. She later transitioned into teacher support and leadership roles, and she is currently an education consultant, providing coaching and professional development to teachers teacher and administrations. She lived overseas foe 6 years and visited over 20 counters.

Katie Vanhoy is the Associate Director of the Duke Homestead and Tobacco Museum. She has served on the Kavala, Greece City Committee since 2018 and was part of SCD's initial delegation to Kavala in 2028 to partner with Kavala's Tobacco Museum.

Leslie Fischer is a nutritionist. she has traveled extensively including in Turkey. Leslie is also serving as the Interim Office Manager through January 2025.

At Large Member

Susanna Ochala is an at Large director at Sister Cities of Durham and Executive Staff, Event Planning, and Community Engagement at Self Help.

Dot Borden is the founder of Sister Cities of Durham.

Gwenn Bookman serve as co-Chair of the Arusha Committee and Associate Professor of Plitical Science at Bennett College and has a focus on Global Studies.

Patricia Shepard is an at large director at Sister Cities of Durham and membership committee chair. She retired from a career in retail product and productivity specilaizing in international markets

Mark Goodwille had a career in education and video production. He developed our ties with Zhuzhou, China as a sister city with Durham.

Lusia Li ls a Senior Procrammer Analyst with Duke University 




 

Dr. Carolina Vera Reséndiz a prosthodontist from Mexico City, earned her DDS from UNAM in2000 and completed her MS and specialty training in Prosthodontics and Oral Implantology at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Eve Marion is a past President and works at Duke University's Clinical Research institute.

Randy Griffin has an earlier career in Durham's Tobacco industry, which took him to Turkey and Greece.

Name

Mitch Scurtu has close ties to Ramona and a 30+ career in major Pharma and CRO companies.

Ronda Pierce is a board memeber with Sister Cities International (SCI), serving as the SCI country Representation to Tanzania.

Celeste Holtzman - Celeste will be a new member to the Board. Celeste is the Humanities and Adult Programming Coordinator for Durham County Library. She is a graduate of UNC-Asheville with a Bachelor of Arts degree focusing in the art of printmaking. She also received a Master of Library Science degree from NCCU focusing in public libraries. Celeste shared these thoughts about her nomination to serve, "I am honored to join Sister Cities of Durham, whose mission of building peace through respect, understanding, and community resonates deeply with me. Community service has long been a part of my life, and after a pause, I am glad to return to volunteer work. Having partnered with Sister Cities through my professional work, I look forward to continuing collaborations and helping strengthen the connections that bring our community closer together.

James Long is the co-chair of the Kunshan City Committee. With a background in international business and venture development, he focuses on strengthening economic and cultural ties between Durham and Kunshan through business, innovation, and educational exchanges. As an entrepreneur with active projects in China, James is determined to build  a bridge for others hoping to follow the same path. He believes that mutual understanding is key to unlocking opportunities. Drawing on his experience in China’s startup and investment ecosystem, he is particularly interested in how cross-border collaboration can foster sustainable growth and mutually beneficial technological exchange between the U.S. and China. 

Alma Reynaga - Alma is currently serving on the Board having been voted on for temporary service by the SCD Board. Professionally, Alma is the Director, CSP Operations ISG - Global Supply Chain at Lenovo US. Alma graduated with Honors as Engineer in Computer Sciences, and a Master in Innovation for the Entrepreneurial Development degree by the ITESM University. Alma lived and worked in the Triangle from 2010 to 2012 and was happy to return from her hometown in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2019 to assume her current position with Lenovo. Alma has been an active member of the Celaya, Mexico City committee and also volunteers with Raleigh Sister Cities. She is very passionate about connecting with different cultures, and sharing her Mexican heritage