OUR BOARD

CARLO DAMON WHITE, SR.

PRESIDENT

Carlo holds a BS in Economics from Clemson University. He served as a Captain in the United States Air Force where he managed a $36 million dollar budget as comptroller of Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait. Carlo has started multiple companies, with White Holdings, LLC, being his most successful, growing to over 3.5 million dollars in sales in 2015. Carlo’s civic involvement includes work on behalf of organizations and programs that support the well-being and interests of business, children, and families. He formerly served on the board of advisors for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for Community Works Federal Credit Union. He also is an active volunteer and supporter of Graduate Greenville, Junior Achievement, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and is an Associate Minister at New Life Church in Spartanburg, SC.

DR. NIKA WHITE

TREASURER / SECRETARY

Dr. Nika White is a diversity and inclusion advocate and practitioner with a great ability to establish and maintain professional relationships and drive positive change. She is a senior executive and strategic leader with 20 years of experience in advertising, public relations, media services, strategic planning, brand development, and project and fiscal management. She is a critical thinker, trained to assess marketing indicators and develop insights to inform strategic planning. Dr. White has well-developed organizational leadership and communication skills demonstrated through extensive interaction and collaboration with executive leaders across corporate and non-profit sectors. She is experienced in fostering open dialogue, building trust, and engaging key stakeholders to assess risk tolerance and build support. Dr. White has facilitated and guided business unit leaders in formulating new vision and strategic direction that successfully repositioned brands as differentiated market leaders. She has expertise managing P&L for national and international clients with total marketing budgets exceeding $50 million.

PASTOR JAMES E. WHITE, II

James E. White, II is a residential builder with over 25 years of experience in construction, design, leadership, and management. He is the principal of James White Enterprises, LLC, a growing company that provides solutions in project management, residential building, interior renovations general contracting, and property management. He holds a BA from Beacon Bible College in Columbus, GA, a Property Manager in Charge (PMIC) Certification from Wyatt Institute in Greenville, SC, and a Project Manager Certification from Villanova University. In addition, he is a Pastor at the New Life of Excellence church and Board Member of the Department of Special Needs.

PASTOR SEAN DOGAN

Pastor Sean Dogan has served as Senior Pastor of the Long Branch Baptist Church since 1997. He loves the community and the people he serves, and under his visionary leadership the church has grown to over 1,100 weekly attendees. He recently led the church in a multimillion dollar building project and a $50,000 environmental improvement project that included a stream restoration, rock sitting area, and planting of over 60 trees. He has always pursued having a church that goes “beyond the walls.” He is a graduate of Clemson University and attended the Shaw School of Divinity in Raleigh, NC. He has been involved with and volunteered on the following Boards: Greenville Health System Board of Trustees, United Way Board of Trustees, Upstate American Heart Association Board, Hollingsworth Fund Board of Trustees, LiveWell Greenville, Mill Community Ministries Board, Public Education Partner’s Board, St. Anthony’s Catholic School Advisory Board, Senior Action Board of Trustees, Generations Group Home Board of Directors, Pendleton Place for Children and Families, UNCF Upstate (Past Chair), S.H.A.R.E Board of Directors, N.A.A.C.P. He was listed as the Best and Brightest under 35 by Greenville Business Magazine in 2010.

HANNAH WHITE

Hannah White graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Master of Science in Development Management in December of 2023. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina's Honors College in May 2022. Hannah majored in Management and Marketing, with a minor in African American Studies, and concentrated on Entrepreneurship. Hannah's research includes a scholarship exploring the impact of contributions and experiences of Black women at the University of South Carolina post-desegregation and a research assistantship analyzing the payments of slave ship owners to the origins of venture capital. In addition, she has earned a certification from the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in partnership with Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, aimed at utilizing stakeholder research to address complex problems such as a lack of funding to minority entrepreneurs in the US and UK.

Hannah's professional experience includes multiple internships as a Government and Public Sector Consulting Intern at Ernst and Young in Washington D.C., where she collaborated with technology consultants, prepared reports, and developed internal and external process improvement procedures. As a Philanthropy Intern at the Central Carolina Community Foundation, she built and maintained online grant applications, conducted due diligence, and provided administrative support. Her leadership experience includes developing an African American History tour of the University of South Carolina and serving as Student Body Vice President, where she advocated for student concerns, developed programs to provide meals and clothing to students in need, and raised funds for students in need through a podcast model. In addition to working with NWC, Hannah is also an Associate at Blaze Group LLC, an ed-tech business ecosystem built by Black women for Black women entrepreneurs. She was awarded the 2021 North America Black Talent Award by McKinsey & Company for her accomplishments.

LAWANNA DENDY

Lawanna Dendy is the Director, Commercial Projects and Initiatives for US LBM, LLC. She gained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Resource Management from Limestone College and her Master’s Degree from Clemson University in Human Resource Development. Lawanna also holds a Change Management certification from Prosci, Professional in Human Resources, PHR certification, and a Diversity and Inclusion Certification from Cornell University.

Lawanna is a well-versed HRBP with over twenty years of valuable and relevant experience in strategic planning, team building, change management, coaching, and collaboration. These skills are used for aligning a diverse skilled workforce with management needs to achieve business objectives.

In addition to her experience, Lawanna’s passion is helping others adopt a growth mindset. She delivers upon this by bridging the gap between people and opportunity. She believes if there is a big enough WHY fueled with purpose, understanding, and clear communication most people will buy-in with the right mindset...a Growth Mindset.