Barbara developed a passion for not only increasing the availability of affordable housing but also increasing the financial state and economic status of persons once considered impoverished during her 21 years of service as the City of Fayetteville’s Housing and Community Development Administrator. In this role, Barbara newly designed and implemented 11 service providing programs, two of which were recognized as best practices by UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Government. She also played an integral role in the building of 19 multifamily affordable housing development projects, 175 affordable single family homes, three newly developed subdivisions and three neighborhood revitalization efforts – all of which created jobs.
Barbara earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting/Finance and Management as a double major from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and graduated magna cum laude. She received her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Campbell University.
She is the owner/founder of Rising to Stand, LLC. This organization’s mission is to educate, counsel and provide paths to prosperity and economic wealth to at-risk adults and youth. It also serves as a central hub for counseling, training, referrals, minimal financial assistance for crises, and other services in exchange for labor and/or payment.
Outside of work, Barbara enjoys gardening, landscaping and writing. She has recently published a children’s book that is a true autobiography of a grandchild raised by grandparents (her spouse and she) entitled Born to Be GRAND with Grandparents. Barbara also currently has three additional literary projects underway, to include a timeline of affordable housing provisions within her local area from the 1940s to present, which includes the injustices and disparities that are unfortunately and perpetually supported by the government even at our current point in time.
Barbara’s research interests are in support of her mission/purpose of helping as many individuals as possible in becoming safely and securely housed and self-sufficient, economically stable and financially prosperous. They include social entrepreneurship — ways in which business can be utilized to solve social problems and funds earned to invest back into the community; federally-funded programs’ role in creating economic stability; housing stability serving as a catalyst to economic stability; business and government roles to reduce and decentralize poverty; methods to make equitable housing affordable; the socio-economic benefits of developing mixed income communities; and the socio-economic benefits of forgiveness, second chance, mentoring and coaching programs.