Freida Mitchell

Freida Lynn Mitchell serves as the Flagship Program Director for Leadership Winston-Salem, where she leads the design and delivery of the organization’s nine-month leadership experience. In her role, she works alongside alumni, volunteers, community partners and local leaders to create meaningful opportunities for participants to better understand Winston-Salem—its history, its people, its challenges and its possibilities.

A native of Wilson, North Carolina, Freida is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Journalism and African American Studies. She later moved to Chicago to pursue another longtime passion, earning a degree in baking and pastry arts. Her career began in hospitality and grew to include restaurant service, sales, event planning and community engagement. After more than a decade in Chicago, she moved to Winston-Salem to help open the city’s first boutique hotel in the historic former R.J. Reynolds headquarters. She later served as Event Manager for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens.

Freida’s relationship with Leadership Winston-Salem began as a member of the Flagship Class of 2021—affectionately known as “The Most Virtual Class Ever” and, more officially, the Bridge Builders. The experience deepened her love for the community and strengthened her belief that meaningful leadership begins with curiosity, honest conversation and a willingness to see beyond what is familiar. She eventually joined the LWS staff, first supporting alumni engagement and now guiding Flagship participants through the same kind of community-centered experience that had such a lasting impact on her.

Freida is a devoted wife and mother and an active member of the Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Whether through her work, her service or a conversation around the table, she is happiest when she is helping people feel connected and encouraging them to find their place in the community. When she slows down, you can usually find her reading a good book or in the kitchen taking on a baking project that was probably supposed to be simple.