Our Board

  • Julie Wells - President

    Julie has spent over 30 years in the non-profit sector working on community-based issues. A North Carolina native, with family originally from Durham, her work has been centered until recently on youth who are challenged to access opportunities in Orange and Durham Counties. Ina addition, she served as the Vice President of Community Engagement for the Latino Community Credit Union and began her board service at SEEDS in that role after spending a year cultivating relationships in the community surrounding Gilbert Street.

    In 2024, she joined the Give an Hour, a national mental health non-profit, as the Director of Strategic Relationships and spend most of her time now on the road- traveling the country upskilling individuals ranging from members of the  military, persons with rare diseases, survivors of mass violence and human made crimes.

    In her spare time, Julie runs to the mountains to sit by a fire and explore the surrounding landscape. She is the proud mom of two strong adult women and deeply invested in building the next generation of community leaders.

  • Paola Kipp

    Born in Peru, Paola is a mixed media artist and dancer who resides in Durham since 2005. A fierce advocate for human, social, gender rights and Neurodiversity inclusion, she believes strongly in intentional active community collaboration and participation to increase the levels of emotional intelligence and mental health. She lives in downtown Durham with her husband and their two dogs.


  • Carlton Koonce

    A N.C. native and product of the N.C. community college & UNC system, I am heading into my fourth year as an academic advisor at Durham Tech and I am the primary advisor for Building, Engineering and Skilled Trades (BEST). 

    I earned my AA from Pitt Community College and a Bachelors from NCCU in mass communications with a concentration in journalism and minors in English literature and global studies.

    I spent more than a decade as a journalist/photographer and editor and taught journalism to high school and college students for UNC-Chapel Hill. I spent almost as much time as director of a Durham-based nonprofit specializing in workforce training (soft-skills, jobs coaching, internships and apprenticeships) and financial capability/literacy.

    I've recently “retired” as a director, communications manager and coach of a Durham-based youth football organization and now enjoy continuing to coach students into successful careers.

  • Emily Nelson-Guzman

    Emily Guzman is currently a Director of Student Development and Support at North Carolina Central University. She previously served as the Diversity Officer and the Director for the Department of Diversity and Inclusion at NCCU.

    Ms. Guzman attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities for her bachelors with a double major in Child Psychology and Spanish. She also studied abroad for an academic year at Tec de Monterrey, Campus Mazatlan, during that time had an internship with Desarollo Integral de la Familia.  Later she received a Masters of Science in Counseling with a specialization in Marriage and Family Counseling. from California State University at Fresno. 

    At NC Central, Emily serves as a vital resource for students, faculty and staff from various backgrounds, providing support, guidance, development and advocacy. The workshops and events she and her team facilitate aid the development of long-range strategic planning goals, as well as recruitment, retention, matriculation, and graduation rates of under-represented populations. She is also responsible for advising faculty, staff and alumni the importance of embracing an inclusive and welcoming environment. She works collaboratively with other departments to sensitive and educate the campus community.

    Prior to joining NCCU in September 2016, Emily worked with transitional aged and emerging adults, ages 16-21. She provided case management services, empowerment, and vital resource connection including mental health services. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor and has served as a mental health therapist, health educator, and social worker within the Black, LGBTQ and Latine communities. She has provided workshops on working effectively with diverse populations, implicit bias, and Safe Zone.

    In 2009, she became an immigrant rights activist when a crisis affected her family. This sparked her to create a blog that received national attention in the Washington Post, LA Times, Huffington Post, and Democracy Now. Her blogs were later edited and published as a chapter in a textbook called, Living Together, Living Apart: Mixed Status Families and Immigration Policy.

    Her experience and passion as an advocate and educator with the various marginalized communities has been demonstrated throughout her entire career.