Staff

A resident of the Winston-Salem area since 1987, Jo Ellen joined Leadership Winston-Salem in 2005 after three years in organizational development consulting. Prior to starting her consulting practice, Jo Ellen was a Senior Vice President of Wachovia Corporation. During her 18-year tenure at Wachovia, she managed Learning and Development for Operations & Information Technology and Work/Life Initiatives for the corporation.

Jo Ellen graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music. She has served as Board Chair of Smart Start of Forsyth County, as Executive Committee Chair of Have a Heart, a special fundraising event, and served on the ECHO Council's StoryLine and Leadership Committees. She volunteers for Meals on Wheels and tutors a kindergartner through the Chamber’s Corporate Volunteers program. She is married to Dr. Todd Smith and has two daughters, Kyra and Brynn.

Jo Ellen can be reached at jecarson@leadershipws.org or at 336.723.1002

With more than 20 years experience as an administrative professional, Dinny specializes in organizing administrative processes for peak efficiency and effectiveness. A consulting assignment for the St. Petersburg, Russia office of Big Five accounting firm Deloitte & Touche gave birth to the idea of a business dedicated to helping small companies refine and simplify their administrative processes. Founded in 1999, her company, AdminConsulting Inc, has served a wide variety of clients including non-profit community agencies, arts organizations, manufacturing companies, professional services and consulting firms. With a BA in Media Communications from High Point University, Dinny handles marketing and public relations as well as providing logistical support for program days. In July, 2009, Dinny was hired as an employee of Leadership Winston-Salem, and in July 2010, was promoted from Program Assistant to her current position.

She has served on the boards of Piedmont Craftsmen, Inc. and Professional Women of Winston-Salem (PWWS),  has volunteered for RiverRun International Film Festival and has been coordinator of The Jazz Co-Op, a private membership listening group of jazz devotees, since 1996.

Dinny can be reached at admin@leadershipws.org or at 336.723.1002.

Linda recently joined the team at Leadership Winston-Salem as the Development Director. Having spent the past 20 years in non profit in our community, she brings her skills as a fundraiser and friend raiser to our organization. Many of you may recognize her from the many years she spent at the NPR station 88.5 WFDD. In addition, she has raised money for the YWCA, Second Harvest Food Bank, ABC of NC Child Development Center, and many other community service organizations. Currently, Linda serves on the Events and Marketing committee of the Women’s Fund and has served on many boards and committees. Since moving to the city of the arts in 1988, Linda, her husband, Gary, and children, Jennifer and Matthew, think of Winston-Salem as their hometown. 

She can be reached at developmentdir@leadershipws.org or 336.723.1002.

After realizing her love for the non-profit sector, Jacinta decided to merge that with her background in public relations and event planning. She has spent years working in resource and program development with organizations such as Communities In Schools of Atlanta, Atlanta Union Mission, and Crisis Control Ministry in Winston-Salem. A part of the Leadership Winston-Salem team, Jacinta serves as the part-time director for its Flagship (9-month) Program.

Jacinta holds a BA in Speech Communications/Public Relations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a MPA in Nonprofit Management from the Andrew Young School of Policy Study at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. She also holds facilitation certifications from the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project and Timeslips, and is currently in the National Association of Biblio/Poetry Therapy certification program. She volunteers her time with Poetry Behind Bars, the NC Center for Creative Aging, and serves on several committees at her church. She also spends her time professionally as a poet and a poetry writing workshop facilitator through her company, The Word Project. Jacinta, a native of NC, makes her home in Kernersville, after moving there from Atlanta seven years ago.

You can reach Jacinta at programdir@leadershipws.org or 336.723.1002.