About
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -- Nelson Mandela
Stephanie was born in Boston and grew up in Richmond, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. She graduated from Beaver Area High School in Beaver, PA, a small town just a little north of Pittsburgh. Of course, she is a Steelers fan!
She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with double minors in Occupational Safety and Psychology from Virginia Tech and joined Phi Mu Fraternity for Women while there.
Before moving to Wilmington, Stephanie worked as a Safety Engineer or Risk Manager for several Fortune 500 companies (Allied Signal, Martin Marietta Aero and Naval Systems, and Proctor and Gamble Cosmetics and Fragrances Division), where her job responsibilities not only included managing the day to day employee safety and workers compensation programs but also conducting Diversity and Team Building training for local P&G facilities and the entire C&F Division. She maintains the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation, consults locally and regionally, and serves on the Board of the Wilmington Regional Health and Safety School.
She has been married to her husband Walt, also a Virginia Tech engineering and Drexel graduate for 33 years. They have two successful grown children, Allie, a cardiac ICU nurse at Mayo Clinic, and Max, who works in the front office for the Washington Nationals. They both went K through 12 in the NHCS system and enjoyed academic, athletic, and extracurricular success. Still at home are their 4-legged children, their wide-open Australian Shepherds, Milo and Stella. They moved to Wilmington in 1995 and immediately became involved in community activities. They have both coached youth sports teams and volunteered throughout the community and in their children’s schools. Walt is also an accomplished musician, playing with the Harbour Towne Fest Band, the Wilmington Big Band, and the Carolina Bones Trombone Ensemble. He is regular musician at several churches’ services during the Easter and Christmas holidays.
Stephanie is an Alumnus of Leadership Wilmington (class of 1999). She served as the Director of Christian Education for St. Andrew’s on the Sound Episcopal Church and worked for the Wilmington Hammerheads Professional Soccer team back in the day as their Events and Community Relations Coordinator. One of her favorite job activities there was taking the players to local schools and community youth organizations to spend time with the kids, promoting healthy active lifestyles and the importance of staying in school and getting a good education.
Stephanie is an active volunteer in the Wilmington community!
- North Carolina Azalea Festival Youth Art Contest and High School Writing Contest Chairperson, doing her part to keep the arts alive in the public schools
- Communities In Schools Board member, a local affiliate of a leading state and national drop-out prevention organization
- Volunteer Recruiter for Ironman NC 70.3 and several other local marathons and triathlons, helping school and civic groups and teams raise money to support their programs
- PTA / PTO leader and volunteer, mentoring parents on how to advocate for their children and their schools and to establish community partnerships between schools and school PTAs
- NHC Council of PTAs Vice President and Action Based Learning Chairperson
- NCPTA liaison for helping charter and re-charter new PTA units
- Wilmington Regional Safety and Health School, a NC Department of Labor supported non-profit organization that provides annual environmental and occupational safety and health training to public and private sector companies
- NC Department of Labor Star Team Assessor, conducting safety and industrial hygiene audits of businesses across the state with OSHA IH&S Consultants for adherence to Star program requirements