Vice President Part-Time

HEATHER EDWARDS

*** ******* **, ******, ** 919-***-**** ************@*****.***

Mission-driven leader with over 10 years of experience advancing agriculture, community-driven food systems, and equitable farming practices. Proven track record in coalition-building, strategic program development, and resource mobilization that bridges farmers, nonprofits, and funders. Skilled in designing and scaling innovative initiatives that prioritize ecological health, economic resilience, and social justice. Experienced advocate and part-time farmer with deep roots in Western North Carolina, committed to transforming food systems through collaboration, education, and sustainable innovation. Adept at leading diverse teams and fostering inclusive environments that drive systemic change. Possessing over 13 years of experience at the Vice President level and above in major banking institutions, I bring seasoned expertise in leading high-level strategic initiatives, managing cross-functional teams, and aligning complex systems to mission-driven outcomes.

Paired with nearly a decade of grassroots leadership in food systems and rural communities, I offer a unique ability to bridge corporate strategy with community-centered solutions—mobilizing people, programs, and partnerships toward equity, resilience, and transformational change.

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, Appalachian State University

• Phase 1 Racial Equity Training, Racial Equity Institute SOFTWARE EXPERTISE

• Microsoft Tools: 20+ years’ experience with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access)

• Database Tools: SAS, 10+ years’ experience with SQL, Teradata, MySQL (ORACLE), and various IBM tools (UMO, UNICA, SSIS)

• Other project management and finance tools: Microsoft Project, Visio, cloud-based CRM systems, QuickBooks PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Principal WaterSpirit Healing, LLC, Marion, NC

2023 to Present

• Create the business plan and implement the marketing and branding strategy.

• Design and facilitate personalized wellness groups and one-on-one sessions that combine restorative yoga, somatic breath work, and spinal energetics techniques to support nervous system regulation, trauma release, and emotional resilience.

• Conduct weekly yoga classes for all levels of experience, including at a local middle school. Executive Director McDowell Local Food Advisory Council (LFAC), Marion, NC 7/2018 to 5/2024

I envisioned the idea for and founded the Foothills Food Hub. As a community volunteer, I presented to a private funder my vision to support farmers and food-insecure community members through aggregation and distribution. Strategic Program Leadership

• Championed farmer-centered initiatives and developed strong partnerships with local producers and agricultural programs to boost economic resilience and equitable market access: Resume of Heather Edwards Page 2

o Implemented programs to support local farmers and food hubs with funding and staffing to distribute food to those in need in the Community, specifically groups who have been systemically marginalized. Paid farmer food boxes distributed through the pantry network in McDowell County beginning in 2022, expanded to Burke County in 2023.

o The McDowell LFAC paid local farmers $100,000+ in 2022 and $200,000+ in 2023 using private and government program funding.

o Supported seniors in the Community with local food access and health awareness.

• Conducted the feasibility study, hosted community meetings, led fundraising initiatives, and managed contractors to develop blueprints for—and ultimately led—the construction of the Foothills Food Hub, a $1.2 million project. The Foothills Food Hub fostered farmer engagement and infrastructure to scale local food distribution. Funding sources were primarily private foundations, private donors, and state and federal grants.

• Initiated the N.C. Medicaid Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) Project for the McDowell LFAC as a Human Services Organization and secured over $330,000 of grant funding for two years to create a profitable arm of the Food Hub. In the first year, HOP brought in over $600,000 in revenue. In the second year, the Pilot exceeded the project’s initial goals, and we expanded staff and services to include healthy food box delivery with local farmer food whenever possible.

• Established and hosted regional food system meetings with representatives from six western N.C. counties to formulate coordination and logistics across rural western N.C. food systems.

• Partnered with McDowell Technical Community College to start a Culinary Arts Program.

• Led COVID-19 funding initiatives, raising over $300,000 for staffing and food support from private foundations.

• In 2019, I was awarded the Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award, acknowledging my work at the McDowell LFAC.

Operational Duties

• Managed distribution operations, program development, and budgets for the organization: fundraising (over $3 million), marketing (website, social media, and public relations), community coordination, farmer engagement, and grant writing to increase farmer marketing opportunities.

• Established and managed stakeholder relationships with the Manna Food Bank and the estern N.C. chapter of Feeding America.

• Worked with McDowell LFAC equity workshops and the Shift Happens team to ensure staff and board members have the DEI tools and a foundational understanding of how best to serve the Community.

• Directed COVID-19 response efforts and served 1,000+ households a week at the height of the pandemic. Managed, staffed, and operated more than five food distribution sites weekly. Responsible for distributing over 1,000,000 pounds of food in 2020, and similar amounts in 2021 and 2022. Conference Presentations

• Community Food Strategies—N.C. State Food Gathering—2023

• Center for Environment Farming Systems Conference—2022

• Wallace Center Food Network Conference in New Orleans—2020

• Southeast Consortium on Hunger, Poverty, and Nutrition, Appalachian State University—2019

• N.C. Rural Center Research Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) Program—2019

• McDowell Community Conversation—2018

Volunteer and Community Strategic Thought Partner, Marion, NC 2013 to 2024

Resume of Heather Edwards Page 3

I have been actively engaged in food justice efforts and activities in McDowell County since 2013. In 2017, I was awarded McDowell Health Coalition Volunteer of the Year.

:

• Supported Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) nonprofit groups and grassroots leaders: o Engaged with Latino farmers to ensure their inclusion in community discussions. o Developed strategies to host community forums and build successful partnerships. o Collected data for a food access survey to help better understand the needs and priorities of people experiencing food insecurities.

o Established the Keeping it Fresh Community Garden by BIPOC youth. o Data analyst for the Community Engagement Project, Centro Unido Latino-Americano (CULA), and West Marion, Inc., to determine strategies for engaging structurally excluded communities on health equity projects.

Leadership Committee Memberships

• Community Engagement Project

• McDowell Access to Care and Health (MATCH)

• Marion Tailgate Market

• McDowell BCBS Foundation of N.C. Community Centered Health with Focus on Childhood Obesity

• Food Justice Planning Initiative Food Council, Regional Food Council leadership team

• MANNA (Feeding America in Western NC) Partner Advisory Council member, 2019

• Member of the McDowell County Cooperative Extension Advisory Council, 2015 Vice President Bank of America, Charlotte, NC

8/2010 to 7/2018

• Managed home loan campaigns and ensured partners' requirements were fulfilled using Bank of America data and processes. Used datasets of 1,000,000+ records from multiple databases and various platforms. Built or altered code to align with partner Business Requirement Documents (BRD). Experienced with ETL processes and procedures.

• Acted as the translator between product and marketing partners and the more technical production team of project managers and data analysts, and SAS and SQL developers in the US and India.

• Responsible for ensuring the data used meets the intention set forth and approved by legal and compliance partners, and federal regulations around privacy and usage.

• Provided information-based analysis through implementing and designing automated pricing metrics and reports using SQL and SAS. Reported KPIs to senior (Sr and Exec VP level) management.

• Translated and compiled standards for home equity and mortgage data conversion after the purchase of new loan portfolios.

Vice President Tidelands Bank, Mt. Pleasant, SC

4/2007 to 8/2010

• Member of an eight-person senior management team reporting to the Chief Operations Officer. Established strategic marketplace vision, direction, and leadership consistent with Tidelands’ goals and charter.

• Successfully launched six branch grand openings in three different regions in eleven months, growing from approximately $336 million in assets to $770 million during that time. Resume of Heather Edwards Page 4

• Led brand transformation initiatives across all bank branches, internally and with existing and new customers.

• Created new products that delivered new customer segments; successfully managed new creative marketing initiatives that included various publications and direct mail campaigns across coastal SC (with excellent ROI). Senior Vice President D2K Corp, Durham, NC

1/2005 to 4/2007

• Created, delivered, and managed training programs for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software systems (led delivery and customer behavior modeling using customer actions and overall experience with various channels (email, direct mail, calling efforts, face-to-face) for both Synapse and BankMetrix.

• Consulted with banks to assess the overall sales, marketing, and customer contact process as part of CRM implementation to ensure successful integration of the tool with the existing culture, partnering with Synapse on several engagements.

• Conducted needs assessments of bank marketing and sales procedures and identified risks and opportunities to meet and expand program goals.

• Developed and implemented strategies to expand D2K products and created and maintained strategic business partnerships.

Vice President SunTrust/National Commerce Financial Corp, Durham, NC 12/2001 to 1/2005

• Created and managed the delivery of face-to-face training to all NCFC branch retail sales associates (400 bank branches) during the rollout of the company-wide contact management system (Synapse—CRM—behavior modeling software).

• Responsible for the overall direction and coordination of NCFC marketing database programs from conception to evaluation: ROI presentation, business analysis, data and process modeling, quality assurance, data warehousing, data integrity, and compliance with bank, federal, and state privacy policies (DNC, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, DMA standards).

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