Our Team
“They were the only people there for me when I desperately needed help with my mother.”
“The staff is remarkable!”
Email us info@DementiaNC.org to connect with our team!
Executive Director
Heather Hooper
Passionate, strategic and a natural capacity builder, Heather Hooper has over 15 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit industry. After losing her father to lung cancer in 2005, she committed to working with organizations that are improving health while bolstering quality of life for those throughout her community. As she took several organizations from start-up mode to sustainable businesses, Heather cultivated expertise in strengthening team cultures, diversifying funding streams and building efficient systems. Heather has served as the proud Executive Director at Dementia Alliance of North Carolina since 2018.
Prior to her role with DA-NC, she was the Director of Development for the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University and the Executive Director of the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina. Heather has a BA in Communication and a minor in Nonprofit Studies from North Carolina State University. She also has a certificate in nonprofit management from Duke University.
Beyond her dedication to nonprofits, you’ll find Heather traveling to new places, running half marathons with her friends, sampling a variety of craft brews, listening to hours of podcasts, cheering on her NC State Wolfpack as well as spending time with her beloved kids and husband.
Senior Director of Programs
Lisa Levine
Lisa Levine, BS, CDP, is the Senior Director of Programs for Dementia Alliance of North Carolina.
She is responsible for educational outreach and the implementation and evaluation of DANC’s programs and services.
Lisa collaborates with government agencies, colleges, other non-profits, faith-based and service-related organizations to implement the mission of Dementia Alliance of North Carolina which is to provide support, services, and resource information to North Carolinians with dementia, their families and the community-at-large.
After graduating college, Lisa began working in skilled nursing facilities as an activity director. It was there she learned how passionate she is about assisting people with dementia and their families. To this day she continues to work toward improving the quality of life for people living with cognitive impairment and dementia.
Family Services Director
Dee Dee Harris
Since graduating from Concord University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree, Dee Dee has spent her career working with people with dementia, their families, and professional caregivers.
She has been at Dementia Alliance since April of 1999. As Director of Family Services and Support, she works daily with families helping them through issues related to the disease process. She provides a safe place, a listening ear and an understanding heart. She guides them and gives them resources to help them through the journey. Dee Dee also leads caregiver support groups once a month and oversees all the DA-NC support group leaders across the state.
Besides working with for Dementia Alliance, Dee Dee’s other loves are her
family and her church.
Development Director
Morgan Zoellner
Morgan is passionate about building relationships and connecting with others to make a positive impact in the community.
She joined the Dementia Alliance of North Carolina in 2022. Morgan began her nonprofit career after two years of national service with AmeriCorps. Since then, she has worked for large and small nonprofits in Tennessee and North Carolina. In her role as Development Director with the Dementia Alliance of North Carolina she works closely with supporters to improve the lives of all North Carolinians impacted by dementia.
Outside of work, Morgan enjoys drinking strong coffee and spending time with her family.
Director of Finance
Lynne Hicks
Lynne Hicks has managed all of the accounting needs for the organization since 2016. She received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Albright College in 1986 and obtained her
CPA license in 1993. She has been assisting with the accounting needs of various companies and organizations on a part time basis since 2002. She enjoys splitting her time between Cary and Boone with her husband and supporting both her children and grandchildren in whatever ways she can.
Program Manager
Phoebe Brush
Phoebe Brush, MS, is a Durham, NC based documentary artist and narrative gerontologist with a focus on creative engagement with older adults. A master multitasker, Phoebe has spent the last several decades striving to maintain an artistic practice in addition to building a career in nonprofit management and arts administration.
In 2021 she earned a Master’s in Gerontology from UNC Greensboro where her research interests were narrative medicine and the role of the arts in health and wellbeing. She is passionate about increasing access to personalized music as a vital therapeutic for those living with dementia and their care partners.
In her spare time, Phoebe enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and speaking Spanish with anyone who is up for chatting.
Operations & Development Assistant 
Pamela Lietz
As an enthusiastic leader, Pamela brings a desire to help, with a dose of joy, to the front office. Her non-profit health care experience, plus the entrepreneurial aspect of having owned her own company enables her to understand the administrative responsibilities of the business. She has been a part of taking proven scientific discoveries into clinical practice and hopes that dementia research will similarly advance, making a difference for everyone impacted by dementia.
Pamela has an MBA from Wake Forest University and a BS in Marketing from Northern Illinois University and considers herself a lifelong learner. In her spare time, she enjoys flower gardening, e-biking, needlepointing and loving on her family.
Program Assistant
Addie Piper
Addie Piper began her college journey in nursing but discovered a passion for working with older adults during clinical practice, particularly those with dementia. This led her to switch her major to Gerontology where she graduated in May 2024 with a BS in Aging Studies at Barton College. As a part of her work, Addie interned with Dementia Alliance and gained valuable insights into dementia care and supporting families. Her knowledge also helped her assist her own family in caring for her grandfather. Committed to educating others and supporting families, Addie is dedicated to making a positive impact in the field of aging and dementia care.
Dementia Navigator
Regina West
As early as Regina can remember she has always had an interest in helping people. Regina believes she gleaned this characteristic from her grandmother. It was this character trait that pushed her into the field of Social Work. After graduating from Wright State University, Regina started a new career as the Director of Social Services at several nursing facilities.
All too well, Regina knows personally and professionally the challenges individuals and families face with when living with cognitive decline and dementia brings day to day. Although this disease is very complex and challenging Regina believes that all persons involved deserve to be heard, helped and respected. Regina always reminds her families that she is there to help them in the best way she knows how. She believes that she can do this by empathetically listening to her families and providing follow up as needed.
Outside of her work at Dementia Alliance, Regina enjoys going to church, Facetiming with children and grandchildren, watching movies, laughing, traveling and shopping and more shopping.
MEET THE BOARD
Andrea Bozoki, MD
Memory Disorders Clinic, UNC Chapel Hill
Dion Bennett
First Bank
Josh Chapin
ABC 11
Cris Charbonneau
Fidelity Investments
Randy Fraser
Retired, Time Warner Cable
Cory Howes
Partner, Strauss Attorneys
Tara Lau, Chair-Elect
North State Bank
Steven Martin
Constellation Quality Health
Sandra Massey, Secretary
Evolent Health/Wake Med Key Comm. Care- WKCC
Tim Murray, Chairman
CINCH CCM, Inc.
Adrienne Schutte
PwC
Lynnette Sommers
Guardian Angel Thrift
Kathleen Welsh-Bohmer, PhD
Joseph and Kathleen Bryan ADC,
Duke University