Staff

Janet Copenhaver
Technology Instructor

Janet is a part-time technology instructor who joined NCI in 2019. She earned her Associate’s Degree in Education at Patrick Henry Community College then transferred to Radford University to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Library Science. She continued her education with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at Radford University. She currently serves as a board member at PHCC, and she is a board member for VSTE (Virginia Society for Technology Education.) Janet is also and Apple Distinguished Educator.

Stacey Davis
Customer Service Receptionist

Stacey Davis joined the NCI Staff in July of 2018. As Customer Service Receptionist, Stacey’s responsibilities include providing exceptional customer service to visitors, clients, and students at New College Institute. Stacey comes to New College Institute with many years of experience, Stacey is currently the owner/operator of Infinity Dancewear. Stacey previously worked with PHCC as an Administrative Assistant for their Early Childhood Program and served in many roles supporting PHCC’s Patriot Players. Stacey obtained two Associate Degree’s in General Studies and Small Business Management with a major in Entrepreneurship/Small Business Specialization.

Christina Easley

Customer Service Receptionist

Christina Lee Easley lives in Rocky Mount, VA. and has worked in Customer Service over 20 years and Reception about 5 years. She has certificates thru Fast Track in Phlebotomy, E.K.G., Med Aide, and C.N.A. Christina came to NCI to provide customer service for visitors, clients, and students as she enjoys meeting/interacting with people. Christina is currently enrolled in classes at Patrick Henry Community College for sign language and Spanish.

James Goggins
Security Staff

James Goggins joined the NCI staff in October of 2017. As a member of NCI’s Security Staff, James provides safety and security operations for NCI. He is responsible for maintaining security of NCI, and he routinely assists staff, students, and visitors.

James retired from Good Year Tire and Rubber Company after 26 years of service and served in the Army as a Unit Supply Specialist distributing equipment to trainees. He is a Chatham High School graduate.

Clifford House

Quality Assurance Instructor

Clifford House serves as Quality Assurance Instructor for NCI’s Advanced Manufacturing. Clifford has worked in the industrial field since 2005 as a welder, metal fabricator, and CNC operator, setter, and programmer. House brings over ten years of experience in the North Carolina Community College system as an instructor for industrial, manufacturing, and machining.

Rebekah Hughes
Website and Marketing Administrator

Rebekah Hughes serves as NCI’s Website and Marketing Administrator where her responsibilities include managing the agency’s website and the continued development of NCI branding and marketing strategies.

A graduate of James Madison University with a Communications/Journalism degree, Hughes brings more than 20 years of experience in website development, graphic design and marketing to the NCI team.

Karen Jackson
Interim Executive Director

As Interim Executive Director, Jackson is responsible for supervising and providing leadership over all program planning, organizing, operating, and staffing.

Jackson served as Virginia secretary of technology from January 2014 through January 2018 under then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe, according to her resume. Among other things, she was responsible for overseeing the commonwealth’s information technology, making policy, working with the legislature and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. She was instrumental in launching a number of nationally recognized programs, including the expansion of broadband availability in rural areas and luring Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia.

Evan Kissel
Advanced Manufacturing Trainer/Instructor

Evan Kissel serves as the Advanced Manufacturing Trainer/Instructor for NCI. Evan previously served in the United States Marine Corps as an Electrical Engineer Technician and attended Strayer University where he majored in Information Technology.  

Teh-Way Lee
Manager of Technology Integration

As Manager of Technology Integration, Teh-Way Lee oversees NCI’s IT Department, assists staff in technical issues, and updates NCI’s technology. He was previously employed at Henry County Public School for almost 20 years as Systems Administrator where he was also the Director of IT and the IT supervisor.

Teh-Way earned his Associates Degree in Information Systems from Mackenzie Presbyterian University and his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Radford University. He is fluent in English and Portuguese and proficient in Chinese.

Terresa Leopold
Customer Service Receptionist

Terresa comes to NCI with a combined 30+ years of experience in customer service and business management. Her responsibilities at NCI include providing exceptional customer service to visitors, clients, and students. She also enjoys doing various projects for the staff.

For Terresa, art and education are the corner stones of life. Some of her most cherished classes and experiences have been through various art mediums. Before moving to Martinsville, she owned and operated an art studio where the focus was free expression of creativity. She is also a classically trained Chef.

John Maxwell
Coordinator of Health and Human Services

John has an extensive background in health care administration and strategic planning, including roles as Chief Operating Officer for Culpeper Regional Hospital and Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County (now Sovah Health – Martinsville) as well as Chief Executive Officer of Central Carolina Hospital. John earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma before going on to earn a master’s degree in human relations and later a master’s in health care administration. An active member of the community, John is involved with various volunteer activities and organizations.

Erica McDaniel
Event & Administrative Program Coordinator

Erica joined the NCI staff in December of 2020. As Event & Administrative Program Coordinator, she is the point of contact for reserving and scheduling all classrooms and Lecture Hall spaces at each of NCI’s buildings. She also serves as coordinator and facilitator for all NCI events, as well as assists with and supports marketing efforts as a member of the NCI marketing team. Erica also coordinates the LIFE Learning is ForEver Program and supervises the customer service receptionists.

She is a 2013 graduate of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications/Public Relations and minor in journalism. She comes to NCI with experience in event planning, communications and supervision.

Chris McDonald
Student Engagement Specialist

Chris McDonald serves as the Student Engagement Specialist and helps NCI expand and maintain the number of students participating in academic programs (including the Online Virginia Network). McDonald is responsible for making contact with prospective students, assess their interest and qualifications, and assist with program identification, application, financial aid, and matriculation. McDonald measures outcomes through data collection and analyses, meetings with partner institutions, community organizations, as well as high volume outreach and meetings.

Chris Niblett
Human Resources & Board Relations Coordinator

As Human Resources & Board Relations Coordinator, Chris oversees the agency’s human resource activities, services, policies, procedures, requirements, and needs in accordance and compliance with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Human Resources Management (DHRM) and contractual agreement with DHRM’s Shared Services Center to ensure a positive culture and effective delivery of Human Resource services. Board relations responsibilities include polling, coordination of meetings, taking minutes, and assisting with Board member travel related paperwork. Other duties include coordination with fiscal department on grant information, completing required forms and assistance with facilities maintenance and operations including developing and implementing operational policies and best practices.

Margaret Omwenga
Chief Program Officer

Margaret is a Cross-functional Leader and Educator with an extensive and comprehensive background and experience in Leadership and Service, Teaching and Learning, and Training and Development, including over 15 years of Higher Education Administration. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.), specializing in Educational Instructional Technology, and currently has a Master of Education in Instructional Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Media Communications and Technology. 

Dunieski Otano
AWS/Azure Certified IT & Programming Instructor

Dunieski Otano studied English Language and Literature in the University of Havana, Cuba and graduated in 2002. In 2011 he finished his Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction with concentration in ESOL in Concordia University. He later went for his Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering from Keiser University and graduated in 2017.

He is an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate, AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate, AWS Certified Developer Associate, and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional. He is also Microsoft Azure Certified: Azure Administrator Associate and Azure Fundamentals

To learn more, visit his website at: www.dunieskiotano.com.

Brian Pace
Coordinator of Advanced Manufacturing

Brian provides and coordinates specialty training in advanced manufacturing and performance film. Brian develops, implements, and evaluates the NCI Center of Excellence program with a focus on preparing participants with industry recognized credentials in demand by local and regional employers.

Kim Phillips
Public Relations Specialist

After a career in Human Resources, Marketing, and also being a small business owner, Kim comes to NCI in 2021 as the Public Relations Specialist.  Kim maintains the website and social media content for NCI.

Kim enjoys time with her family, sports, and painting with acrylics and oils.

Karol Quezada

Customer Service Receptionist

Karol Quezada is one of NCI’s Customer Service Receptionists. She comes to NCI with a total of nine years of experience in customer service. In addition to her customer service experience, Karol holds many skills. She is bilingual, being fluent in English and Spanish. She is also a certified paralegal and received her certification in home remodeling. She is currently taking online classes to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a juvenile probation officer.

Christina Reed
Assistant Director of Finance & Operations

Christina joined New College Institute in 2011 after working for The Harvest Foundation for seven years. At NCI, she focuses on needs surrounding accounting and finances, but she also brings experience in various areas of operations. Christina is a first-generation college graduate who earned a BS in Accounting from Averett University. In addition, she has completed several continuing education courses and various other training classes and leadership training.

Ken Russell
Chief Information Officer

Dr. Ken Russell is a respected and award-winning servant leader, technologist, coach, and innovation amplifier. A technology investor and pioneer, he developed early Intranet systems for large banks which led to his participation in developing one of the first successful Internet-based training platforms. He was a valued voice and key influencer in the development of the North Carolina Research Campus (which focuses on Human Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition), leading the technology development (as CIO) for the renowned Murdock Research Institute (DHMRI). Dr. Russell has held executive roles at Duke Energy, Bank of America, Cisco, and Curran Biotech. Additional academic/executive/board roles at Wichita State University, Pfeiffer University, and the University of Houston.

Joann Shellhammer-Fox
Finance & Operations Analyst

Joann joined NCI in 2018. She provides operational support with the fiscal, human resources, grant management, and procurement areas to ensure continued and effective operations for NCI. Joann participated in the NCI intern program and is a first generation college student who graduated from Patrick Henry Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Accounting. Joann volunteers with the local United Way, the Virginia Museum of Natural History, and fundraises for the Mycocarditis Foundation.