Triangle Community Foundation adds four new members to Board of Directors

July 30, 2012

Durham, N.C. – Triangle Community Foundation today announced the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors: Dianne Birch, Chatham County Community Volunteer; Easter Maynard, Executive Director, ChildTrust Foundation of Golden Corral, Inc.; Michael J. Schoenfeld, Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations, Duke University; James H. Speed, Jr., President & CEO, NC Mutual Life Insurance Co.

“One of Triangle Community Foundation’s greatest assets is its board leadership,” said Dr. Phail Wynn, Jr., interim president and CEO.  “We are fortunate to have dynamic leaders from all facets of the Triangle who have chosen to assume a leadership role at the Foundation,” he said.

Dianne Birch relocated to Fearrington Village from Virginia Tech and has engaged deeply with several Chatham County nonprofits. She has served on the Chatham United Way board, worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Eastern Piedmont, and is a volunteer tutor. Birch has served on TCF’s Community Grantmaking Committee and the Send A Kid To Camp™ Steering Committee. 

Easter Maynard has served as Executive Director of ChildTrust Foundation since 2005, where she continues the philanthropic tradition of the Maynard family and the Golden Corral family of businesses.  Maynard serves as a board member of Golden Corral Corporation and on a number of key local boards including NC Center for Women in Public Service, Methodist Home for Children, Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County, NC Conservation Network, and Camp Corral.  She received her Master’s in Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill and her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Communications from Wake Forest University.

Michael J. Schoenfeld oversees Duke University’s communications, government relations and external affairs and serves as the university’s chief spokesperson. He came to Duke in 2008 from Vanderbilt University. Previously, Schoenfeld was senior vice president for policy and public affairs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, D.C. He started his career as a broadcaster at the Voice of America and rose to chief of staff. A 1984 Duke graduate, Schoenfeld earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harriman School at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He currently holds leadership roles with the National Academy for Media Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Public Relations Society of America, and the Association of American Universities. He also serves on a number of local and regional boards, including the Durham Public Library System and the Chamber of Commerce.

James H. Speed, Jr. became the president of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in 2004 after holding the positions of senior vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to joining NC Mutual, he served as the president of Speed Financial Group and in various capacities with Hardee’s Food Systems Inc., including senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Speed has been a director of the Charlotte Office at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond since January 2006. He also serves as a director of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. Speed has been a director of Mechanics & Farmers Bank and its holding company, M&F BanCorp., Inc. since 2009 and Investors Title Co. since 2010. He is a member of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Nottingham Investment Trust, North Carolina Central University School of Business, United Way of the Greater Triangle, UNC Healthcare Systems, Communities in Schools of North Carolina and Central Children’s Home of North Carolina. He received his MBA at the Atlanta University and his Bachelor’s degree at North Carolina Central University. He is also a graduate of the North Carolina Bank Board College in Chapel Hill, NC.

About Triangle Community Foundation
Triangle Community Foundation is a nonprofit charity that manages $145 million in funds established by families, businesses, individuals, and organizations. From these funds, it makes grants to nonprofit organizations and administers a variety of programs for the community’s benefit. The Foundation currently manages over 750 funds, ranging in size from $10,000 to $10 million, primarily for the benefit of Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties. During the 2010-11 fiscal year, the Foundation granted more than $14 million to nonprofits, schools and community efforts.