Board of Directors
Kelly Willis, President
Kelly moved to Charlotte from upstate New York in 2002 to begin a teaching career with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. In 2005, she joined Charlotte Latin School as a Lower School Spanish teacher and in 2017 became the Director of Global Studies. Bitten by the bug early on as a Rotary International Exchange Student in the Canary Islands, Kelly has a passion for building long-lasting relationships through cultural exchanges, curricular programming, and language acquisition. She and her husband Cory live just across the border in South Carolina with their daughter, Mila.
Johnelle Causwell, Vice President for Community Engagement
Johnelle hails from Kingston, Jamaica and helms the is past Chair of the Charlotte International Cabinet. Since 2022, she has served as Managing Director of the Coalition for International Cooperation. Her passions include International Relations, Sustainability, Community Development, and International Business. Johnelle is very involved in the Charlotte community and sits on multiple boards and committees. Johnelle has been recognized for her leadership and service with numerous awards and accolades.
Manish Mittal, Treasurer
Manish Mittal is vice president at Wells Fargo, leading strategic initiatives in the area of Fixed Income and Commodities derivatives trading. Manish is a CFA Charterholder and MBA in finance. A resident of charlotte for 15+ years, Manish and his wife Niketa have two daughters, Nandini, a sophomore at Weddington High and Megha, an eighth grader at Scholars Academy. Manish enjoys volunteering in community and currently serving on Planning board commission at Town of Weddington and the board of Johnston YMCA. In Past, Manish had served as a treasurer at Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy board. Manish enjoys cricket & football and likes to play golf.
Stacey Hepp, VP Global Affiliations
Stacey, originally from Florida, has lived in the Charlotte area since 2006. She is very active in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, and Past-President of the Charlotte North Rotary Club. She studied abroad and speaks German. Stacey is married to David Hepp, and they have 3 daughters. She has worked in the marketing and events world for over 25 years with Harrah’s Cherokee, Radio Disney and most recently the Olympic Sports sector as the marketing director for USA Softball, and USA Canoe/Kayak. Stacey continues to work in sports marketing and is very active in serving the community.
Dr. Felicia Eybl, Secretary
Dr. Eybl is a native North Carolinia, who grew up in Fayetteville. She lived and taught in Germany for 17 years before returning to the US and settling in Charlotte. She attended Gardner-Webb University and received the Master of Arts in School Administration and the Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership. She has served as the Principal of South Academy of International Languages (S.A.I.L.), formerly Waddell Language Academy, from 2015 to 2023. She is married to Dirk Eybl and has two children and six grandchildren.
David Lynn, Past-President
Dave is the Principal of South Academy of International Languages (S.A.I.L.), a CMS K-8 Magnet School focused on language immersion. Previously, he served for a decade as Director of International Studies at Charlotte Country Day School. Dave is the current Chair of the Charlotte International Cabinet and is an active Rotarian. He and his wife, Ming, are raising four globally-minded children and regularly welcome exchange students from around the world into their home. He served as President of Charlotte Sister Cities from 2020 to 2023.
Niketa Mittal, Board Member
Niketa works in the area of Business Process management and holds a Masters degree in International business. She is a resident of Charlotte for the last 18 years. She is a very well-connected social activist and deeply involved with various non-profit organizations. She is a driven leader with a passion for community engagement. Niketa currently serves on several boards: Young professionals at International house; Charlotte International Cabinet; Framework for future; International women's day committee; and Festival of India. Niketa is married to a wonderful husband, Manish, and blessed with two beautiful daughters, Nandini and Megha, ages 15 and 12 .
Sean Smith, Board Member
Sean is a Product Designer on the Artificial Intelligence team at Wells Fargo, where he has designed experiences used by millions of customers daily. Sean was born in NYC and raised in an English and Sicilian-speaking household. He studied Nuclear Engineering and International Relations at NC State University, with a special interest in US foreign policy and nuclear disarmament. Sean is currently also a member of American Mensa and served as CSC’s Vice President for Global Affiliations from 2021 to 2023.
Diane St. John, Board Member
Diane grew up in Michigan and decided to move to Charlotte right out of journalism school (MSU) because she had never seen a mountain or ocean and Charlotte was right in the middle. After 19 years in journalism and public relations, Diane founded and led her consulting firm, Communication Strategies, for more than 20 years. She has visited three of our Sister Cities and developed university collaborations with Arequipa and Baoding. In addition to her journalism degree, Diane has an MBA from Duke University. Diane is Charlotte Sister Cities’ immediate-past VP for Global Affiliations.
Benjamin DeSollar, Board Member
Benjamin is CEO of Sumter Packaging Corporation, a custom packaging manufacturer with six locations primarily serving the Southeast United States. Mr. DeSollar is active in US manufacturing and has served on the NAM (Presidents Council, China Committee), the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (Board of Directors) and Corrugated Packaging Foundation (Board of Directors). Mr. DeSollar speaks Chinese, Cantonese and Spanish and lived seven years in Asia and South America. He has an A.B. Degree in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Jessie Hermann, Board Member
Jessie currently works as an Assistant Vice President at Foundation For The Carolinas. She is a native Charlottean who is actively engaged in many community initiatives and has had a diverse career in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Jessie holds a BA in International Studies from American University and is pursuing a Master’s in Public Administration at UNC Charlotte.
Rich Majerus, Board Member
Rich is the vice president for planning and strategy at Queens University of Charlotte, where he leads the university’s strategic planning efforts and the human resources, institutional research, and campus safety offices. His decade of higher education experience has ranged from serving as principal of a data science and strategy startup to assistant dean of admissions and assistant vice president of donor relations and advancement strategy. Prior to his work in higher education, Rich was a high school Latin teacher in Minnesota.
Solomon Agyemang, Board Member and Kumasi Chair
Solomon Agyemang is the president of Asanteman Association of the Carolinas for the past 10 years. Solomon holds a master’s degree in marketing from Strayer University in Washington DC. He previously held positions as Area Coach for Pizza Hut, District Manager for Sears Roebuck & Company, District Manager for Bojangles Restaurant and currently owns a group home with his wife for children with mental disabilities. Solomon enjoys playing soccer and believes in the saying that “we make a life by what we give”
Joël A. Gallegos, Board Member
Joël is Associate Provost for International Programs at UNC Charlotte where he oversees campus-wide internationalization efforts including education abroad and exchange, international students and scholar services, intensive English language training, intercultural outreach and on campus internationalization efforts and programming. Gallegos currently serves on the board of directors and chair of the education committee for the World Affairs Council of Charlotte and is a trustee on the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA). In 2022, Joël was named Honorary Consul of France for Central and Western North Carolina.
Alina MacNichol, Board Member and Wrocław Chair
Alina graduated from Princeton University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and transitioned to Non-Profit management in 2005. She was the Executive Director of Charlotte Sister Cities and the Charlotte International Cabinet from 2005 to 2011 and has been with Opera Carolina since 2014, managing subscriber and patron relationships, maintaining and expanding community partnerships and developing new engagement initiatives. She is married and has three adult daughters, who all live in Charlotte.
Steven Kropp, Board Member and Arequipa Chair
Steven Kropp is the Honorary Consul of Guatemala to North Carolina (emeritus). He is CEO and President of Comexxco, Inc. as well as Managing Director of the Tencate Nicolon Latin America Division. He has worked in six continents with a focus on developing new foreign markets, business turnarounds, and negotiation at high government levels. Mr. Kropp speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and Catalan, and is conversant in French and Portuguese. He graduated from ELISAVA (formerly the Rocosa School of Textile Design and Engineering) in 1969, and the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters from the University of Barcelona in 1966.
Susan zumBrunnen, Board Member and Krefeld Chair
Originally from Gastonia, Susan lived in Atlanta before moving to Charlotte in 2006. She worked in Leadership Development for The Coca-Cola Company as well as being an entrepreneur. Susan has a lifelong passion for learning, travel, and cultural exchange, with strong ties to Krefeld. Her son, Jack, did a Krefeld exchange in 2013. Susan and her family have fully embraced their German ‘family’ and travel each year to visit them. She works as a Coach/Mentor and, along with her husband, John, are active volunteers in the Charlotte community.
Dr. Yongling Gorke, Baoding Chair
Dr. Yongling Gorke is a Shanghai native, has lived in Liverpool, the UK, Minnesota and Oklahoma before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2017. Yongling is a Chinese instructor and international educator at UNC Charlotte, and she is the Chair of the Charlotte Baoding Sister Cities Committee. Yongling speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, English and German, and she is also learning Japanese.
Dasha Tretiu, Voronezh Chair
Dasha Tretiu was born and raised in Voronezh. She moved to Charlotte in 2000 with her mom, and has been part of the Chatlotte community ever since. Dasha works at Novant Health but also has her yoga teacher’s license. Working hard to re-establish relationship with Voronezh and Charlotte.
Jerald Melberg,
Honorary Lifetime Director (2023)
Jerald Melberg, the owner of Jerald Melberg Gallery, has been involved in the visual arts for nearly half a century. Previously, Melberg served as a curator at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has traveled to Arequipa, Peru, more than thirty times and has been instrumental in the growth of the Charlotte School, serving low-income students in our first sister city. He and his wife Mary remain leaders in Charlotte’s art community.
Mayor Richard Vinroot,
Honorary Lifetime Director (2024)
Mayor Richard Vinroot, a Charlotte native, Vietnam veteran, and practicing attorney, served as the 52nd Mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. He holds the distinction of being the first and only Charlotte Mayor to visit all seven sister cities. The City of Charlotte's Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award is named in his honor.