Board of Directors

 
 
 Brad Merlie, Piedmont Natural Gas, Board President

Brad Merlie serves as Vice President - Information Services for Piedmont Natural Gas, a gas utility with 1,000,000 customers in NC, SC and TN. He is responsible for Piedmont's information technology architecture, infrastructure, and business services. His 28 year energy industry career includes a variety of leadership roles in the areas of engineering, operations and technology, both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining Piedmont, he was employed by Williams International, and was based in Caracas, Venezuela, where he became fluent in the Spanish language. Brad and his wife Barbara have two college aged children, and are very happy to call Charlotte, NC home.
 
 

Vince Altamura, Wells Fargo & Company, Vice President

Vince Altamura is a Managing Counsel within the Law Department of Wells Fargo &Company, a leading financial services company. Born and raised in the New York City area, Vince has spent the past 16 years in the Charlotte area working for Wells Fargo and its predecessors.

Vince has his undergraduate degree in Politics from New York University and received his J. D. from Stanford Law School. Other civic interests include serving as a Board member for Loaves & Fishes, a Charlotte based organization that provides food to families in need, and serving as a reading tutor for a child at Ashley Park Elementary School. Vince is married with two children.
Cynthia Aziz, Aziz Law Firm, Secretary
 
In 1990, Cynthia founded the law office of CA Aziz P.A. now recognized as the Aziz Law Firm. From its inception, its focus has been U.S. immigration and nationality law. Cynthia is a North Carolina State Board Certified Specialist in immigration and nationality law. Originally from New England, she received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts and her J.D. from New England School of Law in Boston. She was admitted to the Massachusetts bar and, following her move to the South, was admitted to the North Carolina bar. Her professional memberships are numerous and she has often served in leadership roles for these organizations. She has been an active volunteer with the International House for over 20 years, assisting with the citizenship classes as an instructor. She has also been a major financial supporter of International House including sponsoring the annual gala and attending with her staff for many years.
 
 
Tom Hawkins, President, Firm Resolve LLC, Board Treasurer

Tom Hawkins is a native of Charlotte and a veteran international executive. Growing up in Charlotte, he was educated in the CMS school system, and later earned his undergraduate degree from UNCC and his MBA from Wake Forest University. In his first professional role, Tom was a senior consulting manager for Accenture, in the Carolinas practice. He then served as a Senior Vice President for First Union’s International Division, responsible for product development and information technology. Most recently, Tom was Chief Operations Officer for MassMutual International, Inc., including service as President and CEO of MassMutual Japan, MassMutual’s largest international subsidiary. During his international corporate roles, Tom traveled extensively in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Today, he is President of Firm Resolve, LLC – dedicated to helping small- and medium-sized businesses succeed.
 
 
 
 Karim Azar, Globe Express Services
Karim Azar is the Director of sales administration & planning for Globe Express Services, an international transportation and logistics company with over 30 corporate offices worldwide. Prior to relocating to Charlotte in 2001, Karim resided in London for 15 years, working in similar jobs in the transportation and logistics industry. He has also held various senior positions in the all-cargo airline industry, and resided for several years in each of the assignments in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Those overseas postings in various countries gave him a deep understanding of various cultures. Karim is originally a native of Lebanon, where he earned a BA in Political Science & Public Administration from the American University of Beirut. Since his relocation to Charlotte, Karim has been active in such organizations as The Metrolina Phoenician Club, The Middle East Council of the Carolinas, and The Mayor's International Cabinet. He and his wife Leena have a daughter named Sofia.
 
  Nini RB Bautista de Garcia, PhD
 
“Dr. Nini” is a well-known and respected community leader in Charlotte. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Carolinas Asian American Chamber of Commerce. She also holds leadership roles with the Charlotte International Cabinet, the Levine Museum of the New South & the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas, to name a few. She envisions Charlotte as a city that understands the value immigrants can bring to a community as professionals, workers & citizens and embraces the strength that comes from cultural diversity. Dr. Nini speaks five languages, including Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, and Chabacano, another Filipino Spanish dialect. She is also a published author and award-winning scientist. Dr. Nini holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry, a Master’s Degree in Chemistry, an MBA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. Her previous professional experience includes working as a Nuclear Safeguard Inspector, UN International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria until 1998 when she moved to Charlotte.
 
 
 
 Camille Evans

Camille Evans was most recently a principal in the International Corporate Services Group of Washington National Tax at KPMG LLP, based in Charlotte, NC. She has extensive technical experience addressing complex tax, legal, business and policy issues. Prior to joining KPMG, Ms. Evans worked at the IRS Chief Counsel Office where she was Special Counsel to the Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (International – Technical). In this role, she reviewed regulations, technical memorandum and other guidance on a wide range of international tax issues. Camille holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, along with a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in accounting from the Wharton School.

 

Brian Heslin, Moore & Van Allen, PLLC

Brian Heslin is Partner at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, where he represents natural gas companies before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state utility commissions. Brian provides guidance to his clients on contract and capacity acquisitions matters, advises regarding capacity release and secondary market activity, develops FERC compliance plans and associated training, and has conducted internal investigations in response to FERC Office of Enforcement inquiries. Brian gained invaluable experience representing various federal agencies as an attorney with the United States Department of Justice and litigating complex criminal matters in the U.S. Army.  He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Southern California and a J.D. from George Mason University.

 

Dana Hicks, President, Huber Technology, Inc.

Dana Hicks is President of Huber Technology, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of stainless steel machines and systems for the treatment of municipal wastewater and industrial process water.

Dana earned his Bachelors Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech. He studied at the Technical University of Berlin (Germany) on a World Student Fund exchange scholarship and completed executive MBA courses at Northwestern University. He has traveled to over 30 countries on 6 continents, is fluent in German, and conversant in Spanish.He is a long-serving member of the NC District Export Council, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and a member of the Charlotte World Trade Association, Mayor’s International Cabinet, and World Affairs Council Charlotte.
 
 
 
 
Violeta Moser, Latin American Women’s Association
 
Violeta is a native of Lima, Peru. She is Executive Director of the Latin American Women’s Association, a non-profit organization that supports the educational advancement of Latinos in the Charlotte region. Violeta began her career as Management Trainee in bank operations at Connecticut National Bank in 1980. In 1983, she moved to North Carolina with her family and joined Barcalys Bank as a Bank Operations Officer. In 1997 she was employed by H-Option, Inc., a multicultural training company, as a Senior Training Consultant to provide technical and cross-cultural training for US and Latin American textile employees. Two years later, she joined ReMark, Inc., a market research company, as a business partner and co-owner until 2010.  Violeta has been actively involved in her community as a volunteer serving on various boards and committees and assisting on issues related to the Latino community. She earned a BA in Business Management and Education at Montclair State University. 
 
 
 
 Peter Pampillonio, Protiviti
 
Peter Pampillonio is an accomplished business professional and entrepreneur. He has founded two start-up companies, including a 200+ employee information technology management consulting firm focused on strategy, change management, risk management & process improvement. His international experience includes establishing a financial services practice in the Netherlands while managing the privatization of their largest government-owned bank. He has also worked with the National Bank of Kuwait and the Central Bank of Bangladesh, and he served on the US-India Business Council in Washington, DC. Peter, who holds Bachelor’s Degrees in mathematics and physics, is a nationally-recognized speaker as well as an active member of Charlotte’s community, having served on the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council in addition to many other service activities.
 
 

Monte L. Ritchey, Conformity Corporation

Monte Ritchey is the President of the Conformity Corp. Among other duties, Mr. Ritchey is responsible for the investigation of development opportunities, construction administration and the coordination of marketing and sales. The Conformity Corporation has been recognized by the American Institute of architects and Mr. Ritchey has been honored as a “Preservationist of the Year” by Historic Charlotte, Inc. and by the Business Journal as one of its “40 under 40.” Mr. Ritchey has been active on several City of Charlotte advisory committees and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Congress for New Urbanism. Mr. Ritchey was nominated to attend the United States Military Academy by both Senator Arlen Spechter and Congressman John P. Murtha and attended the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.

 
Rev. Robin Tanner, Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church
 
Rev. Robin Tanner is the pastor of Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte. She completed a Chaplain residency at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. Robin received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Religious Studies from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 2006. Her Master of Divinity in Parish Ministry is from Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, 2009, and she was ordained as a Minister in December, 2009. Robin’s compelling internships include one year at First Parish in Malden, MA, where she participated in services, preaching and leading time for all ages with the children. She also facilitated religious education, provided pastoral care and regularly attended committee and board meetings while there. The second was a two year, part-time hybrid internship with the First Church in Boston, and the Office of Ministry and Professional Leadership at the Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters.

 

 

 

T. Minh Tran, Piedmont Natural Gas

Minh, who was a Vietnamese refugee, arrived in Greenville, SC, in April 1975 and graduated from Clemson University in 1982 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is the Managing Director of Utility Operations for Piedmont Natural Gas, with responsibility for overseeing all distribution pipeline constructions. He demonstrates his passion for this industry by staying active in several professional organizations. He is member of both the American Gas Association and Southern Gas Association’s Managing Committees for Utility Operations. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, from which he will be receiving a Distinguished Service Award in June 2013. He currently is on the Board of Directors for the PNG Foundation and Upstate SC Alliance. He is a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow at Furman University. He is also a graduate of the Leadership Diversity Initiative and the Innovation Institute at the McColl Center in Charlotte.

 

Satoshi Watanabe, Wells Fargo & Company

Satoshi Watanabe is a senior vice president and Head of Cross Border Strategic Initiatives for the Wells Fargo International Group. In this role, Satoshi leads cross border related strategic initiatives and directs a team that partners with business units company-wide to develop and coordinate all infrastructure, control, and risk mitigation initiatives for international business activities. Satoshi has also worked for A.T. Kearney, a leading global management consulting firm, the Boston Consulting Group and the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, now Shinsei-Bank. Satoshi has more than 22 years of international experience and has lived and worked in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US. Satoshi earned a B.A. in Economics from Waseda University in Tokyo and an MBA from Harvard Business School. An active supporter of Wells Fargo diversity initiatives, Satoshi is the president and integration lead of the ASIA Team Member Network. He also actively serves in the local community on the board of the Diversity Council of the Carolinas and the Japanese Association in Charlotte.