Chatham Magazine Dec/Jan 2021

PHOTO BY BRIANA BROUGH

NOTED.

WHAT WE’VE HEARD AROUND CHATHAM

ON THE MOVE Abundance NC Executive Director Tami Schwerin will transition out of the position on Dec. 31. Tami says she’ll be “standing by in the wings to help,” but new leadership – specifically, the organization is looking to hire “a powerful staff member of color” – will take over in the new year. “It feels like perfect timing as we start 2021, and our community is ripe for moving into a more just and equitable world,” Tami says in her farewell letter. She’ll move on to work on the master plan of The Plant.

Abundance NC has also received an anonymous matching grant of $10,000 and is seeking donations to help them

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CHATHAM MAGAZINE

reach that total to “have a $20,000 cushion to start 2021.” was named the advocacy and civic engagement program manager for Maria Gomez Flores

El Vínculo Hispano/

in October. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2018 with a degree in political science and Latinx studies. Through education and mobilization, Maria hopes to directly empower Latinxs to collectively work to address issues of common concern.

The Hispanic Liaison also welcomed Bryant Parroquin as its new marketing communications manager in September.

Born and raised in Siler City, Bryant graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in The Hispanic Liaison

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2021

Compiled by Jade Earnhardt

2019 with a degree in sociology and journalism. While at UNC, Bryant volunteered with LatinxEd (SLI), Chispa and UNC’s Latinx Center.

Finally, Elena Gonzalez also joined the team in October as its new workers’ rights coordinator. Elena grew up in Mexico, but also lived for many years in Guatemala. She moved to Siler City in 1999. Elena has been a part of El Vínculo since then, first as a client, then as a volunteer. She’s also served as a member of the board of directors for 10 years.

The Chatham County Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension added Kaley Lawing and Tara Gregory to its team in October. Kaley is the new community resource development/4-H extension agent and will help with programming provided by N.C. A&T State University.

She previously served as the 4-H extension agent for Mitchell County.

Tara, a registered dietitian with nearly seven years of experience working with the Chatham community as part of the Chatham County Public Health Department, comes on board as the organization’s new family and consumer sciences (FCS) agent.