DERONDA METZ
Board of Directors
ALICIA VERDUN
President, Board of Directors
Connie spent 6 years as a Nursery School Teacher and retiree as a Personnel Director at E.A. Associates. She is an active member of the National Council of Negro Women, East Bronx Section . She coordinated college bound program for at risk teens from 2005 - 2012. She is Past President of NCNW – EBS and after her tenure, serves as Corresponding Secretary for 4 years and is involved in event planning and fundraising for the section. As an artist, in the entertainment field, she was a band leader and also was one of the business owners of the Sound Pipers for over 30 years. She and her brother started a travel business, ABC Travel, where she handled booking of all destinations, client relations, travel arrangements, hospitality and serviced over 350 clients over 20 years. Connie has performed secretarial duties being on the Board of NCNW and is professional, reliable, and quite skilled in administration. She served as Board Secretary for Healing Vine Harbor for eight years.
Keagan G. Wright is the Owner of Antioch Financial and Insurance Group. His firm is an independent insurance agency with diversified insurance solutions for individuals, families, and businesses. Antioch Financial specializes in insurance solutions for Small Businesses, however, his Practice also provides insurance products for auto and home insurance needs as well as solutions in financial services, such as life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and retirement products. He previously led Nationwide’s largest market in NC, which was almost $130MM in revenue. Keagan attained top awards such as Conference of Champions and Life University. Keagan was a Charter Member and the Vice President of The Core. The Core is a non-profit organization designed to provide youth development and scholarship funding. He provided strategic leadership that uncovered opportunities in our community to serve. He provides operational management and guidance to the Executive Director. Keagan received his BS degree in Business Administration from Claflin University, MBA from Webster University, and is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Before Pamela’s 20 years of event management and facilitating an array of events, she has experienced the event challenges of where you may be today such as: having fabulous ideas, no money or budget to support your ideas, needing a supportive team to help and a lack of strategy to get clients for events. Pamela has taken the hard knocks of school with supportive training to become the Professional and well-respected Entrepreneur that she is as well as building 4 profitable businesses: Howard & Howard Event Management and Catering, Trendy Heels & Totes, A Perfect Choice Hair Salon & Day Spa and NOW, Pamela Plans. She has created and mastered Amazing Event Strategies that are clearly defined in 6 Steps that will give you the event successes that relieve the event pains MOST small business owners are facing today and most of all a profitable return. Her secret to success is driving strategy & value to take care of the bottom line while providing a vehicle to further one’s company’s goals that will leverage spending and returning dollars to the budget!
Pamela Howard
Board of Directors
Ralph is a retired Mechanical Engineer. He has developed and implemented safety programs, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with applicable safety laws and company policy. Identified and developed safety training. Conducted field audits of work sites. Developed safety training materials for office and field personnel. Oversaw implementation of the in-house electronic incident tracking system. Assisted Loss Control in claim management. Developed corporate video messages by designing, recording, editing, and distributing via the corporate intranet. Represented the company on local and national committees. Oversee the company’s compliance with the Voluntary Protection Program and OSHA Partnership. Solicited and managed training projects funded through state and federal grants. As national safety director of 26,000+ member organization, assisted ABC contractors in complying with federal and state-plan states’ OSHA agencies and was responsible for the acquisition and management of federal grants. He is a member of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc., which serves the Charlotte community and is an avid bowler. Ralph earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University and his Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. He lives in Charlotte with his wife Sandy who is also a volunteer with Healing Vine Harbor.
Connie Questell
Born and raised in Huntington, New York, Tim has made quite an impact on the Charlotte community since he planted roots in Myers Park in 1985. After graduating from the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, he quickly dove into the banking industry. Tim is currently the Division President of Park National Bank – Charlotte, an esteemed position that could only be achieved by someone with his level of expertise and commitment to building a brighter future for Charlotte. As Tim sees immense value in serving the Charlotte community, he has served on numerous Boards of Directors, both non- and for-profit organizations. Some of these Boards include Sharon Towers, KinderMourn, Queens Road Funds, Philips Academy, Dilworth Center for Chemical Dependency, and most recently, Healing Vine Harbor, Inc. When Tim is not occupied at the Bank or volunteering in the community, he enjoys spending time with his children, Hannah and Crosby, reading, and working in his yard. Tim also has a great love for travel, nature, and history, demonstrated by his many adventures across the US and throughout Europe. Altogether, Tim believes that the work to reduce homelessness and maintain adequate affordable housing in Charlotte has only just begun. Combining his personal and professional expertise and interests, Tim looks forward to assisting Healing Vine Harbor, Inc. with growing its impact on the community.
Deronda worked for The Salvation Army for more than 30 years providing leadership for the agency’s homeless and housing efforts. She has a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed clinician (LCSW) as well as a licensed addiction specialist. While serving in her job capacity as Director of Social Services for The Salvation Army, she expanded her focus to include a systems approach to creating solutions addressing issues of homelessness and housing in The Charlotte Community. She has been a participant in Mecklenburg County’s Continuum of Care for over 25 years. Currently she is working with the Safe Alliance team on implementing housing solutions for survivors of domestic violence. She is a constant voice for those who are homeless across the Country and has been involved in several advocacy efforts that have resulted in affordable housing solutions. Deronda has received recognition on a national and local level for implementing and creating best practice housing solutions. Her belief is “if we are not talking about housing with those who are homeless, we are having the wrong conversation.” (Deronda Metz, 2014) As an active member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and community volunteer Deronda is a dedicated servant.
TRACEY QUESTELL
Executive Director/Founder
Contact Us
704-561-1128
admin@healingvineharbor.com
5835 Executive Center Drive, Suite 101-I
Charlotte, NC 28212
An energetic and engaged retiree, Jeannine Kring brings Healing Vine Harbor her extensive experience in leading strategic and tactical initiatives across a broad spectrum of IT management disciplines for large financial services companies. Jeannine looks forward to using her almost 40 years of experience in business management, software quality assurance; project management, process reengineering and systems analysis to assist Healing Vine Harbor as the organization grows and expands their reach and impact. A lifelong advocate for supporting and developing women, Jeannine has served as a Board Member for the Dayton, OH based The Linda Vista Project, held multiple leading roles in the GE Women’s Network and the Mint Hill Women’s Club, and is an active volunteer for Servant’s Heart of Mint Hill Assistance Programs. Jeannine received a BS in Business Administration and Management from Redlands University in Redlands, CA and is Six Sigma Certification from JPM Chase. She lives in Mint Hill with her husband and two, very large, Golden Retrievers.
JEANNINE KRING
Vice President, Board of Directors
Board of Directors, Advisory Board & Staff
Tracey Yvette Questell as a young girl always had a love for people. Her compassion for those hurting inspired her to obtain her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Hampton University and a Master of Arts degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from New York University. She began her work as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. mentoring young girls. Her charge is to help those women who are not prepared for adulthood. Because they have aged out of the foster care system/their homes or current housing situation, they are no longer safe or stable. They lack preparation or resources for the future and end up in shelters, jail, or bounced around from place to place. To combat this situation, Tracey has created Healing Vine Harbor Inc., (HVH). Healing Vine Harbor will work towards filling basic needs such as housing, safety and security. HVH's goal is to equip women through a holistic approach. The core values are integrity, education, work ethic, community service, self-awareness and self-sufficiency. Tracey has expertise in counseling, group facilitation, program development, team building, drop-out prevention and retention, college preparation, curriculum planning and coordination. She spent over 20 years in the counseling and education field. She has worked with all populations including youth, women and men. She has worked various modalities including drug rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, college preparation, crisis intervention, individual and group counseling and developing mentoring programs.
Tracey has worked in various residential programs, therefore, knows the inner workings of how to operate a residential program. She founded and managed a college preparation program called F.A.T.C.O. (Future Advancement through College Orientation) and has handled hiring and training staff, budget development as well as curriculum development. She was an educational consultant for the Board of Education and the Governors Committee for Scholastic Achievement and she has gained various experience in management, supervision and training experience throughout her 30 year career in the human services field.
Currently Tracey is a resident in Mint Hill, North Carolina. She is a former college counselor and advisor and current adjunct instructor at Central Piedmont Community College. Knowing how essential God is in her life, Tracey became a member of Intentional Ministries Church in 2023. Although Healing Vine Harbor has not opened a residential facility yet, Tracey spends her free time building the business, fundraising and currently offers monthly workshops for young women ages 18 and older who need life management and independent living skills.RALPH RILEY
Executive Assistant
Advisory Board
Alicia Verdun is the founder of Verdun Consulting. Ms. Verdun’s passion for assisting others is reflected in the company’s mission to foster meaningful connections to information, expertise, legal protection services through LegalShield and opportunities that drive her clients’ business forward. As a Certified Go-Giver Coach, she help clients develop a consistent stream of prospects that are converted into lifelong Personal Walking Ambassadors. While she has dedicated her professional legacy to the success of small businesses, Ms. Verdun’s career includes extensive experience in the corporate sector. She worked for Delta Resources where she played a major role in assisting with the automation of the New York City Transit Authority Budget System and the New York Telephone Yellow Pages. She then moved on to Bankers Trust where she worked as business analyst. Then she accepted an opportunity as a Technology Executive for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Ms. Verdun has received several notable accomplishments throughout her career including being recognized in Ebony Magazine as one of "100 of the Most Promising Black Females in Corporate America."
TIM IGNASHER
Board of Directors
Keagan Wright