About the Board of Directors

Melissa Brumback

Melissa Dewey Brumback is a litigation partner at Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, where she focuses her practice on construction law, primarily representing architects and engineers in construction-related claims, including construction administration and management, plan defects, testing failure claims and delay claims. She is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Courts in North Carolina, as well as the 4th Circuit and the United States Supreme court, and has received an AV® Preeminent Peer ™ Review rating, the highest rating of Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell. In addition to the Mace UDI, Melissa maintains membership on the NCBA Design Professionals Liaison committee and blogs on construction matters at www.constructionlawNC.com

Rene Cummins

Rene Cummins is the Executive Director of Alliance of Disability Advocates, Center for Independent Living, based in Raleigh and serving 5 counties. Prior to becoming Disability and Health, and she served as a consultant on all of the projects through that office. Rene is a trainer for the Southeast Disability and Technical Assistance Center and the ADA Center in Atlanta, where she provides training on the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as various other disability rights laws. She earned a doctorate is Psychology in the Public Interest from NC State University, which reinforced her passion for advocacy and community organizing on behalf of the disability community.

Steven A. Fisher

Steven A. Fisher is a charter member of the UDI Board of Directors. Fisher ReSOURCE, his building and interior design business specializing in adaptive, universal, and accessible design, is online at www.fisherresource.com. With professional and personal interest in universal design, he earned First Place in the 1998 Award for Excellence in Universal Housing Design and was honored by The Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities.

Gary Giles

Gary Giles graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1964. He has maintained an Architectural practice in Chapel Hill and Carrboro since 1972. Gary has served on numerous public and private boards including the Chapel Hill Recreation commission, Sounding Board for Orange county Minimum Security Prisoners, Community Home Trust affordable housing board, numerous positions at the Community Church of Chapel Hill UU, and presently, the Board of The RL Mace Universal Design Institute.

Theresa Rosenberg, LEED AP

Theresa Joan Rosenberg, Architect and Attorney, consults on building code issues and practices construction law. She teaches and is the author of numerous papers concerning the design, adoption and implementation of the NC State Building Code, including a chapter in the 2006 and 2010 North Carolina Construction Law Deskbook. She is the Secretary of the NC Bar Association's Construction Law Section, chairs the Industry Liaison Committee of the NC Chapter of AIA with the Construction Section of the NC Bar Association, serves as a member of the NC Bar-AGC Joint Committee. Theresa also developed the North Carolina Residential Arbitration Program for the NC Bar Association.

Richard L. Slagle

Richard Slagle joined the Board of UDI to apply his interests and experience in organizational finance and residence issues for older households. Richard has worked in accounting for 37 years. Currently, he is the Executive Director for The Carolina House of Wake Forest, a Brookdale Senior Living community which he joined in January of 2011. In his role as Executive Director, he is responsible for all the operations of this 45 bed assisted living and memory care community. Under his leadership the Carolina House of Wake Forest achieved a four star rating from the state of North Carolina in 2011. From 2004-2010, he was the Director of Financial Services for The Cedars of Chapel Hill Club, Inc. which is a retirement community in Chapel Hill. In addition to his financial responsibilities, he has served as Chair of the Safety Committee and as a member of the Corporation Compliance Committee. He has performed the role of Controller for over 23 years, working in distribution, telecommunications and chemical industries. Richard also serves on the Board of a small business which provides officials for basketball and softball to local communities. He has served in various roles with the Raleigh Chapter of the National Association of Accountants. In addition, he has served in several leadership positions with First Baptist Church of Cary.

Jeane R. Suddarth, Ed.D.

N.C. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Jeane was a UNC Senior Leader with the Institute of Aging, and is currently a Senior Tarheel Legislature Delegate and member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging, Triangle J. Jeane's career has included instructor of music, speech, drama radio and television, author, instructor and director of educational television class on Personality and Behavior Development for West Virginia University, and Kellogg Faculty Fellow for the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Marital Health. She was a partner with husband in the N.C. Legislature and commercial real estate development. She volunteers with gerontology projects, and most recently, as an advocate for veterans and seniors. The past two years were devoted to the role of caregiver for her beloved husband, former State Senator, Purple Heart and WWII Veteran and attorney Tom Suddarth, who passed away September 26, 2010. Mrs. Suddarth was a Counseling major, Radio & Television minor at Virginia Tech.

Kyle Gray

Kyle Gray became the Director of Development for the Department of Allied Health Science (AHS) at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Medicine in 2006 with a background in higher education fund-raising, communications, and research administration. Previously, he served as the Assistant Dean for Development and Communications at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government from 2001-2005, where he launched and managed the Friends of the Institute of Government Program to increase public and private financial support for the school. Prior to coming to North Carolina, Gray served as a career specialist and job developer for the Boston Private Industry Council at Boston Latin School and as a senior program instructor for the Close-Up Foundation in Washington, DC. Gray has a master's degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor of arts in political science with a minor in urban studies from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO.

David E. Yoder, Ph.D.

David E. Yoder is Professor and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Allied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, and Senior Associate and Director Emeritus of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is recently retired from the position of Executive Director of The Council for Allied Health in North Carolina (www.alliedhealthcouncilNC.org).