BELIEVE – Stroke Recovery Foundation is fortunate to have an incredible Board of Trustees who contribute to the strategic direction and play a critical role in ensuring stroke and brain injury survivors in need receive the financial support and resources they deserve to continue on their journey to recovery.
Michael Erwin
Michael Erwin, Chair, is a stroke survivor. Erwin spent 40 fruitful years in a dynamic career in retail before a stroke changed his life. After graduating with an accounting degree, he began his career working for J.C. Penney in many of their subsidiaries as a Controller. He was known as a troubleshooter for 27 years, before he retired from JCP as the Director of Capital Funding and New Ventures. Erwin spent the latter part of his career in Merchandise Financial Planning for a new internet company and ended his career as a Senior Vice President of Merchandise for a closeout merchandise company.
Erwin formed this Foundation for people to Believe in themselves, to Believe in a new world, to smile each day and to find your strength and courage!
BELIEVE! Mark 5:36
Kimberly Baradei
Kimberly Baradei is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has committed her career to serving adults with neurogenic disorders, and is the founder of Elevate Speech Services. Her passion in this field started 18 years ago, and has only magnified after experiencing the need for neurogenic rehabilitative services herself. She is in the unique position to relate to her clientele’s struggles, having taken her own healing journey. Baradei hopes to advance BELIEVE’s mission through partnership, advocacy, and service.
Kris Bracy
With a passion for serving others, Kris Bracy brings more than 30 years of financial accounting and consulting experience to BELIEVE – Stroke Recovery Foundation. She began her career as an auditor with Price Waterhouse and then balanced the joys of motherhood with the challenges of running her own consulting practice. As a consultant, Bracy enjoyed helping identify and solve problems for her clients, many of which were non-profit organizations. Eventually, she gravitated to the Raleigh real estate industry where she currently holds a financial leadership position at one of the most philanthropic and well-respected commercial real estate firms in the state. Bracy is a Certified Public Accountant and has a B.S. in Business Administration from Meredith College.
Jennifer Erwin
Jennifer Erwin brings a diverse skill set from more than 30 years of professional administration and management experience with various industries, including hospitality, staffing, textiles, retail, real estate and land development. Her strength lies in the ability to adapt and build strong business relationships while pinpointing operational challenges, and subsequently, implementing best practices for success. Erwin knows the effect of brain injury all too well as the wife and caregiver of a stroke survivor and having lost her sister to a traumatic brain injury. Her passion is to help and encourage others on their road to recovery.
Susan Fewell, MS, CBIST
Susan Fewell has worked with the brain injury community in NC for over 40 years. Fewell has a MS Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Vocational Evaluation from East Carolina University. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer (CBIST) through the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA). Fewell worked as Vocational Services Director for 15 years at the Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlotte, NC and for the Brain Injury Association of NC for more than 15 years providing resources and training. She is currently a co-leader for three support groups for persons with brain injury and their caregivers. Connecting families to resources and helping them find the therapy they need, plus offering support and information is Fewell’s passion.
April Starling
April Starling is a Public Relations professional with more than 20 years of experience working for top healthcare public relations agencies in New York City, and now, in North Carolina. Starling’s main focus has been in healthcare, nonprofits and special education. Her expertise lies in strategy development, messaging, brand launches, crisis communications, building advocacy relationships and marketing materials. She represents myriad clients in her own Public Relations company, Link Communications.
Julie Webb, DNP, RN
Julie Webb has nearly 25 years of nursing experience, with an emphasis in the emergency department setting. She is currently the Neurosciences Program Manager at Duke Regional Hospital. Recently, she served as the Stroke Program Manager and led a local Stroke Support Group, where she developed a passion for helping others find hope and positivity after a brain injury or stroke. Linking survivors, families, and caregivers to others in similar situations is what she loves to do. During Webb’s Doctorate studies, she knew she wanted to give more to her community – in a different form than through her nursing job. She feels a strong connection to BELIEVE – Stroke Recovery Foundation and is excited to serve on the Board where she can be a part of the important work the foundation does in the community.