Staff and Contact Information

Born and raised in Dallas, North Carolina, Ted received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; his Master’s from Johns Hopkins University, and graduated from the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Ted is an Eisenhower Fellow for global economics.

His 30-year economic development career has including managing city, county and regional economic development programs, workforce boards, tourism authorities and even an arts commission. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President and COO for the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. Ted has authored national award-winning strategic plans and reports and speaks to over 150 groups annually.

As Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, Ted brings staff expertise in the areas of marketing, economic competitiveness, community assessment and strategic planning, cluster development, workforce strategies and leadership.

Contact Ted Abernathy at tabernathy@southern.org.

Scott Doron provides senior-level guidance to Southern Growth on projects in the areas of science and technology. Scott has authored dozens of report on areas including nanotechnology, innovation and technology, emerging industries, biotechnology, and industry clusters. He has lead the development and production of regional conferences on telecommunications, energy, innovation, and other technological areas.

Prior to joining Southern Growth, Scott was associate manager for strategic research in the South Carolina Department of Commerce. Previously, he managed projects in software, engineering and medicine for Isis Innovation, the technology transfer company of Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Scott holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts from the Albertson’s College of Idaho.

Contact Scott at sdoron@southern.org.

Linda Hoke directs the Council on the Southern Community, and also manages Southern Growth’s long-term alliance with the Southern Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (SCUPSO). She served as editor and contributing author for SCUPSO’s Choices for a Growing South project, as well as the Results-Oriented Government curriculum, which has been used throughout the South and abroad to train government leaders in performance measurement concepts. She has also played a major role in the development of Southern Growth’s other community toolkits, including Seeing the Future, Leading the Future, and South LINK 2000. She also led the effort to create a Southern Community Index to measure state progress in creating healthy communities.

Among Ms. Hoke’s current responsibilities is leading Southern Growth’s Listening to the South process, which includes creating materials to engage citizens in deliberations on important public issues in their communities and creating reports to share these results with regional leaders.

Prior to joining Southern Growth Policies Board, Ms. Hoke worked for North Carolina’s Division of Community Assistance, and was also a consultant for organizations such as the N.C. Rural Center. Linda holds a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University.

Contact Linda at lhoke@southern.org.

Mary Ribando manages the financial and administrative operations of the organization. She has over 25 years of financial management experience in both non-profit and private sector organizations, including work with the Association of Legal Administrators, the Frederick County Association of REALTORS, and Moore Corporation, the world’s largest business forms manufacturer. In addition, she has over ten years of experience in meeting planning, and oversees all the logistics for the Southern Growth Annual Conference. Mary has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Management from Northeastern Illinois University.

Mary can be contacted at mribando@southern.org.

Charity Pennock joined Southern Growth as a policy analyst in August 2005. Charity currently serves as a program manager with the Southern Technology Council (STC) and as project coordinator for the Southeast Agriculture & Forestry Energy Resources Alliance (SAFER). Charity coordinates initiatives, builds partnerships, and researches issues related to technology, innovation and renewable energy.

Prior to joining Southern Growth, Charity worked as a research assistant with the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative. She also spent nearly a year in the Philippines carrying out a research project with the Chalmers Center for Economic Development that focused on small savings and loan groups in and around the metro-Manila area.

Charity received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in economic development from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia and a Master in Community & Regional Planning degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Contact Charity at cpennock@southern.org.

Stephen supports the work of the Council on the Southern Community, conducts data analysis, manages the Innovator Awards program, and directs Southern Growth’s youth engagement outreach efforts.

Stephen has authored or coauthored reports on poverty, social entrepreneurship, and service-learning and civic engagement. Areas of interest include urban and rural poverty, place-based economic development, growth management, and linkages between urban and rural economies.

Prior to joining Southern Growth, Stephen co-authored The State of North Carolina Urban Distressed Communities, which was instrumental in the inclusion of Urban Progress Zones in the 2006 renewal of the William S. Lee Tax Act by the North Carolina General Assembly.

Stephen holds a Master of Regional Planning degree and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His work in the field of sociology focused on the intersection of race, social class, and education.

Contact Stephen at swhitlow@southern.org.

Contact Paula at pbaker@southern.org.

Elizabeth (Libby) started working at Southern Growth in January, 2007 with primary duties of designing all print materials, conference marketing and collaterial materials, and the design and maintenance of Southern Growth’s website. Her years of experience as a typographer, print and website designer, and production specialist spans newspaper, advertising, corporate marketing, business presentations, and educational settings. She has managed production in fast-paced environments while training and supervising staff from 2-20 people and maintaining computer and network equipment. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.

Computer graphic design is a constantly changing field and Libby continues to expand her skills in the discipline while working for Southern Growth. She can be contacted via email at edellinger@southern.org.

Niraj Goswami works as an Accountant with Southern Growth. She maintains the Accounts Payable/ Receivable and all other Finance/Accounting needs of the company. She also coordinates with the administrative staff and works closely with them for day to day operations and in maintaining the upkeep of the office.

Niraj holds a B.A. in English (Honors) from St. Xavier’s College, India, a BS in Accounting from East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from Xavier Labor Relations Institute, India.

Niraj’s outside interests include her family, tennis, yoga, and community affairs. She can be contacted at ngos@southern.org.

Contact Connie at chansen@southern.org.