New Board Members, VPs Join NCBA Board of Governors

Seven new members of the NCBA Board of Governors were elected to three-year terms at the NCBA Annual Meeting in June. Joining them as they begin their service this year are five new vice presidents who were elected by the Board of Governors in April.

Let’s learn a little more about the newest members of the NCBA Board of Governors:

Board Members (Serving three-year terms through 2023-26)

Kate Deiter-Maradei (Deiter Mediation, Raleigh) is a certified mediator who founded Deiter Mediation in 2013 and was a partner in Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham, LLP for nearly 10 years. Deiter-Maradei is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina School of Law. She is a past chair of the Dispute Resolution Section.

Jennifer Gilbert Mencarini (Fox Rothschild LLP, Greensboro) serves as Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Fox Rothschild and previously served as Director of Career Development at Elon University School of Law. Mencarini is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Emory University School of Law. She is a past chair of the Pro Bono Committee.

Jeremy Locklear (Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh) joined Parker Poe this year as an employment attorney after practicing with multiple firms and serving as a law clerk to Associate Justice Cheri Beasley. Locklear is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University School of Law. He has held leadership roles in the Minorities in the Profession Committee and Young Lawyers Division.

Tammy Nicholson (Truist Bank, Charlotte) serves as Associate General Counsel at Truist, where she has worked for more than 10 years following service as RBC Bank/PNC and Wachovia/Wells Fargo. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University School of Law. She is a past chair of the Corporate Counsel Section.

Jane Paksoy (IQVIA, Raleigh) serves as Senior Counsel for IQVIA, which she joined in 2020 after serving as Counsel for Syneos Health. Paksoy served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Barbara Jackson following graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law. She is a past co-chair of the Minorities in the Profession Committee and member of the NCBA Leadership Academy (2016).

Courtney Thomas (K&L Gates, Raleigh) is a partner at K&L Gates, which he joined in 2022 following service as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Trilliant Networks. Thomas is a graduate of Duke University and New York University School of Law. He has served on the Minorities in the Profession Committee where he co-chaired the Summer Associate Program.

Shannon L. Vandiver (Shannon L. Vandiver, PLLC, Huntersville) is the managing member of her firm, which she started in 2009 after serving as a partner at The Bray Law Firm. Vandiver served as a Federal Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia following graduation from the University of North Carolina School of Law and Campbell Law School. She is a past chair of the Sports and Entertainment Law Section.

Vice Presidents (Serving one-year terms in 2023-24)

Chief Judge Martin Reidinger (US. District Court, Western District of N.C., Asheville) has served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina since 2007 and as chief judge since 2020. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law, and engaged in private practice in Asheville from 1984-2007.

Senior Resident Judge Phyllis Gorham (N.C. Superior Court, Wilmington) has served as a Superior Court judge since 2007 and previously served as a District Court judge and Assistant District Attorney. Judge Gorham is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University School of Law. She is a past chair of the Dispute Resolution Commission.

Judge Carrie Vickery (N.C. District Court, Winston-Salem) has served as a District Court judge in Forsyth County since 2017. She began her legal career with the Holton Law Firm following graduation from Western Carolina University and Elon University School of Law, where she was a member of the charter class. Vickery is a past president of the Forsyth County Bar Association and received the NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award in 2022.

Dean Zachary Kramer (Elon University School of Law, Greensboro) joined Elon Law in June following service as the interim dean and the Jonathan & Wendy Rose Professor of Law at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Kramer is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois College of Law, and served at UCLA School of Law, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and Penn State Law before joining the faculty at Arizona State in 2010.

Vice President (Serving three-year term through 2023-26)

Christopher G. Browning Jr. (Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, Raleigh) is a partner in Troutman Pepper, which he joined in 2014. Browning is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law. He is a past chair of the NCBA Appellate Rules Committee and immediate past chair of the ABA Judicial Division.

Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.