New NCBF Board Members Elected, Appointed

Samantha E. Gordon and John R. Cella Jr. have been elected to three-year at-large terms on the North Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors, and Jon Heyl has been appointed to a three-year term as chair of the NCBF Endowment Committee.

The NCBF Board of Directors also includes several new members who begin service in 2024-25 by virtue of their election, appointment or installation during the NCBA Annual Meeting and summer and organizational meetings of the NCBA Board of Governors.

 

Samantha, a white woman with blond hair and brown glasses, wears a white shirt and navy blazer.Samantha E. Gordon is an attorney with McIntyre Elder Law of Charlotte. She joined the firm in 2023. Gordon received her bachelor’s degree from Bloomsburg University in 2014 and graduated with honors from Charlotte School of Law in 2017. She has served as a volunteer attorney with Wills for Heroes throughout her career and has also been actively involved in the Young Lawyers Division, where she currently serves as a division director. Gordon received the Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Award in 2022.

 

John, a man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, burgundy and blue striped tie, and grey suit.John R. Cella Jr. is of counsel with Ragsdale Liggett PLLC in Raleigh. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina School of Law, and University of Illinois Chicago (formerly John Marshall Law School), he is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. Cella has served on the Strategic Planning & Emerging Trends Committee and Development Committee, and he currently chairs the Pro Bono Committee of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section.

 

Jon, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, grey tie and grey suit.Jon Heyl is a partner with Fox Rothschild in Charlotte. He joined the firm in 1998 when it was known as Smith, Helms, Mullis & Moore and remained with its successor, Smith Moore Leatherwood, through 2018 when it combined with Fox Rothschild. Heyl is a graduate of East Carolina University (B.A., with honors) and the UNC School of Law (J.D., with high honors). He served as president of the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Foundation in 2021-22, and is a past chair of the Antitrust & Complex Business Disputes Section and previous recipient of its Distinguished Service Award.

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