Wake Tech Foundation
Community Leaders Join the Wake Tech Foundation Board of Directors
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 13, 2024) – The Wake Tech Foundation is extremely pleased to welcome four outstanding business and community leaders to its Board of Directors.
Tony Holmes, Carnessa Ottelin, Marshall Stein and Christine Vannais will fill strategic needs at the Foundation with their impressive records of local leadership and corporate acumen. All four share a deep commitment to Wake Tech's mission.
Holmes, general manager at Hendrick Automotive Group, has been with the organization for 24 years. He oversees the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands at Southpoint Automall in Durham, along with the Hendrick Luxury Collision Center. He supervises 150 employees and has worked in every facet of an auto dealership, including sales, parts, detailing, service, finance, commercial lending and management. Holmes graduated magna cum laude from Northwood University, a Wake Tech educational partner, with a degree in Automotive Marketing and Management.
Ottelin is director of strategic partnerships for North America at Siemens Healthineers Education & Workforce Solutions (EWS). In that role, she is responsible for business development, partnership management, customer relations and impactful storytelling for EWS Growth & Innovation. Ottelin has broad experience in health care, workforce sustainability, strategy and clinical education, including imaging, medical simulation, compliance, marketing execution, project management, communications and operations. She is actively engaged in the community, working with the Wake Early College of Health Sciences, a cooperative, innovative partnership between Wake Tech and the Wake County Public School System; the North Carolina Food Bank; and Saving Grace Dog Rescue.
Stein is a principal CPA with CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP). He provides assurance, tax and consulting services to construction and real estate entities. Stein works collaboratively with clients and industry partners to maintain excellent relationships and deliver outstanding service. He is well-versed in several specialty areas, such as job costing, accounting system design, cost allocation techniques, strategic business planning and mergers and acquisitions. He is also involved with several civic organizations, including American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. Stein is the president of the Triangle chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association.
Vannais is site head for FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies in RTP. Vannais brings more than 20 years of experience in a variety of industries, including contract biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing, USDA biological vaccine manufacturing and research, FDA and EU small-molecule manufacturing, primary and secondary packaging operations and API potent compound manufacturing. She holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Health from Colorado State University and serves on the Executive Committee for NCLifeSci and the board of the Triangle Heart Association.
The leadership team of the Foundation's Board of Directors includes Chair Candis Parker, a 2013 graduate of Wake Tech's Construction Management Program, who is a senior project manager at Cumming Group in Raleigh. Other Executive Committee members include Will Smith (chair-elect), Tim Burgess (treasurer) and Dr. Scott Ralls (secretary). The Foundation's executive director is Matt Smith.
Other members of the Foundation Board of Directors are Natalie Best, Creighton Blackwell, Angela Boykin, Audrea Caesar, Alisa Wright Colopy, David "Buzz" Crosby, Scarlet Edwards, Tomesah Harrison, Dana Martinez, Nick Neptune, Karen Schaefer, Mari Suzuki, Anna Tison, Sharma Vemuri, Sophia Wajnert, Kevin Walker, Whitney Westbrook and Pat Wilkins.
