Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) announces the election of its fiscal year 2021-2022 executive officers: Michael Olander, board chair; Dee McDougal, board vice-chair; Carmen Hooker Odom, Secretary; and Zeke Bridges III, treasurer. The executive officers will lead a team of 17 statewide volunteer leaders dedicated to child well-being and family strengthening efforts across North Carolina.
Michael Olander is the former President and CEO of the Apple Gold Group he founded in 1984, a franchisee of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bars, operating more than 130 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants in NC, SC, GA, KY, IN, OK, and AR. In 2018 he sold the Apple Gold Group and is currently developing Zambreo Mexican with a Mission in the Carolinas as President of the Phoenix Restaurant Group. He served as co-chair of the PCANC communications committee in FY 2018-2019, chair of the operations committee in FY 2019-2020, served on the governance committee and strategic planning committee in FY 2019-2020, and served as treasurer in FY 2020-2021.
Dee McDougal is Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Capco. Prior to her current role, she was Senior Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion at Pacific Western Bank (formerly Square 1 Bank), and her previous experience includes roles of increasing responsibility in financial services and commercial real estate development at companies including Credit Risk Management, Concord Hospitality, and Regency Centers. McDougal earned her bachelor’s degree in communications studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition to her service to PCANC, she currently serves on the boards of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham, Orange Counties and Empower Dance Foundation, as a member of the American Bankers Association Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group. She was named one of Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2018 and was included as a BizWomen Headliner and Rising Star by American City Business Journals. She lives in Raleigh, where she was born and raised.
Carmen Hooker Odom currently works as an independent health policy consultant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from Springfield College and a master’s degree in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. From 2007 – 2013, she served as President of the Milbank Memorial Fund and Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2007. She also served as Vice President of Government Relations for Quintiles Transnational Corporation and as the Group Vice President for Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS). Prior to moving to North Carolina in 1995, Carmen served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for eleven years, including four years as House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care. Carmen served on the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) from 2009 to 2015. She was a long-standing member of the initial Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, where she also served as chair of the Research Committee. From 2013 -2017, Carmen served as an Advisory Committee member and an independent technical consultant to the Aspen Institute’s project of working with state health leadership teams. From 2014-2016, Ms. Hooker Odom served as a board member and then chair of the Community Care Clinic of Dare; co-chair of the Dare County Task Force on Healthy Weight and Chronic Disease; and board member of Trillium Health Resources. Presently, Carmen is Chair of the Board of Directors of Cardinal Innovations. She also serves on the UNC Press Advisory Council, the Steering Committee for the Charlotte Resilience Project, is a public member of the ACCME/ACGME Coordinating Committee, the ACGME Public Policy Committee, and the ACGME Council of Public Members. She is also a public member of the Coalition for Physician Accountability and is an advisor to the Winer Family Foundation. Carmen joined the PCANC Board of Directors in March of 2019 and served on the Programs and Policy Committee in FY 2020-2021.
Zeke Bridges, III was named vice dean of Campbell University School of Law in 2020, after serving as assistant dean of administration since 2014 and previously director of mentorship. As vice dean, Bridges serves as the chief administrative and financial officer for the law school, supervising all administrative assistant deans and department directors, including admissions, alumni relations, the Career, and Professional Development Center, communications, mentorship, student life and Pro Bono activities. Prior to law school, Bridges received a BA in Political Science with a focus on Cultural Studies and a BA in Criminal Justice, both from the University of Georgia. Following graduation from Campbell Law School, Zeke founded Bridges Law Firm, PLLC, in Cary, and in October 2009 founded Western Wake Law Group. He is active in the legal profession, holding memberships in the American Bar Association (ABA) in the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, North Carolina State Bar, Tenth Judicial District Bar, North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA), Wake County Bar Association, the Craven Everett Inn of Court and the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Law School Administration and Finance. He serves on the NCBA Small Firm and Technology Council and the Education Law Section. Bridges was voted “Administrator of the Year” in 2016 by the student body and named a “40 Under 40” award winner by the Triangle Business Journal in 2015. Zeke joined the PCANC Board of Directors in August 2014 and served on the Operations Committee in FY 2020-2021. He lives in Wake County with his wife, two daughters, and yorkiepoo Buster.