The UNC Asheville Board of Trustees, and all boards within the state university system, is comprised of 13 trustees. Eight trustees are appointed by the UNC Board of Governors, four appointed by the Speaker and President Pro Tem. The President of the Student Government Association also serves as a trustee and is elected annually among the student body. Contact the Board of Trustees at bot@unca.edu.
Robby Russell
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Robby began his banking career with Central Fidelity Bank in Richmond, Virginia as a commercial lender. In February 1990 he joined First Union in Charlotte, as a Small Business…
Roger Aiken
Roger Aiken has over three decades of experience in the financial services industry. Roger also holds the CFP® certification as a financial professional. Roger has written a bi-weekly Op-Ed column for The Asheville Citizen-Times, and for ten years, provided the morning business report for WLOS-TV in Asheville. He served as…
Karen K. Brown
Karen Keil Brown is a proud alumna of UNC Asheville, having graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine art. Karen is a full-time artist specializing in landscape oil paintings and her studio, Pink Dog Creative, is located in the Asheville River Arts District. She enjoys connecting…
Jim Peterson
Jim Peterson was born and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, spent nearly 30 years in Minnesota and has resided in North Carolina since 2006. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Illinois University and his MBA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Jim began…
Lauren Braswell
Lauren Braswell is the president of UNC Asheville’s Student Government Association and the student representative on the Board of Trustees. She was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, and she is currently majoring in Biology with a minor in Africana studies. During her time at UNC Asheville she has…
Richard J. Lutovsky
A native of North Dakota, Rick earned a Masters Degree in Economics from North Dakota State University and served in the US Army Adjutant General Corps. Rick retired as President & CEO of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce in 2010. Previously, he served as President of the Greater Binghamton…
Louis Bissette
Lou practices law in the areas of economic development, land use and zoning, serving the needs of clients ranging from private individuals to large businesses and institutions. He tackles corporate law issues, representing foreign and domestic companies establishing or expanding operations in the Western North Carolina region, providing legal counsel…
Stephen De May
Stephen De May is president of Duke Energy’s utility operations in North Carolina that serves approximately 3.4 million electric retail customers and 746,000 natural gas customers. In this role, he is responsible for the financial performance of Duke Energy’s regulated utilities in North Carolina, and managing state and local regulatory…
George Groome
George Groome has had almost five-decades of professional leadership at Colton Groome & Company, a 70-year-old private financial advisory firm headquartered in Asheville, NC. He is the senior partner and principal as well as board chair. George earned his B.S. from UNC Chapel Hill in business administration and M.S. in…
Dr. Patrice A. Harris
Dr. Patrice A. Harris is among our nation’s most important and reputable medical leaders and visionaries. Her expert thoughtful leadership during the recent COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed her role as an advocate for health innovation and moving medicine toward a more equitable future. Patrice is a native Appalachian, born and…
Peter Heckman
Peter Heckman is the former President and CEO of Horace Mann Educators Corporation, a company focused on providing auto, home, property, and life insurance, as well as retirement annuities for K-12 teachers and educators. Prior to retiring in 2014, he served in this role for three years following his stint…
Chuck McGrady
Chuck McGrady is a graduate of Rhodes College and Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Georgia. After teaching law at Wayne State University Law School in Michigan and clerking for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, he spent several years in private practice before being recruited as legal counsel for…
Oscar Wong
Oscar is a retired licensed professional engineer who started a new career in beer manufacturing in 1994, the first legal brewery in Asheville since Prohibition. He is still active in the business as his daughter takes over the helm. Over the years, Oscar has been recognized by the Tourism Development…
