Our Team

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. Currently, Heather is serving 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.

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.

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.

Music & Memory Program Coordinator

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.

Marketing Manager

Diana Shark

Diana has over 30 years of experience in non-profit, mission-oriented communications, corporate branding and customer relationship building. Originally from San Francisco, Diana moved to Washington DC to build her design career, achieving Art Director for a national non-profit fundraising agency by age 27.

After two agency leadership positions, Diana launched her own design firm with fellow coworkers and later transitioned to freelance work while raising her four children. More recently, Diana incorporated her creative skills with her concern for the environment by launching a creative reuse pilot project for Goodwill and relocated to Durham, NC in 2017 to serve as the Marketing Director for the Scrap Exchange.

In her free time as an emerging metal sculptor, Diana creates gates, landscape art and furniture from reused steel.

Director of Finance

Lynne Hicks