Amanda Davis

DurhamCares Volunteer

I grew up in Old Fort, NC, a tiny town East of Asheville that you probably only recognize if you're from there or got a ticket driving through! I attended Appalachian State University where I graduated with degrees in Exercise Science and Nutrition. I hope to combine my background in exercise science and nutrition and experience as a personal trainer to build a career in sports nutrition. I currently work part-time as a freelance health and fitness writer and will be starting my masters of nutrition at ECU in the fall. I randomly fell into the DurhamCares team when Sandy came to look at my apartment in Boone as a potential renter. She called back a few days later with an offer to participate in the adventure of a lifetime and I couldn't resist! I look forward to the shenanigans and hilarious stories that 20 people who barely know each other traveling across the country in an RV is sure to bring.

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Chip Denton

Racer

Trinity School

I grew up in Knoxville, attended Emory, taught school in Memphis for three years, went to Trinity Seminary in Chicago, moved to Durham to do a doctorate at Duke (New Testament), worked at The Church of the Good Shepherd, and then became Headmaster of Trinity School. Married Desiree Park in 1982, and we have three children: Teddy, who graduated from WFU in 2009 and is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail; Jenny, a sophomore at Duke, who is heading to Tanzania next year and will be riding with me on RAAM; and Chad, a senior at Trinity, who loves baseball and is heading off to college next year. I've been Headmaster at Trinity for fourteen years, and the school is in its fifteenth year. It's a great job, with many challenges and amazing opportunities for influencing young people and creating an institution which will embody the good news about Jesus for this community for years, decades, and even centuries, God willing.

Why RAAM with Durham Cares? When Henry called me, I jumped at the chance--to test myself against such a challenging goal, to be part of a team of great folks who share my passion for cycling and for working for the public good in Durham, to support the good work of DurhamCares, and to promote my own school, Trinity.

As Headmaster of Trinity, I'm involved with other educators in all sorts of schools, public and private, religious and secular. I'm a member of the downtown Durham Rotary. Our family sponsored an exchange student from Venezuela through the Rotary. We're members of The Church of the Good Shepherd, and I have friendships with pastors in many churches in Durham and Chapel Hill--one of the great blessings of Trinity is that we have over 70 churches represented among our families. At Trinity, we've supported several key organizations that are doing important work in our communities: the Augustine Project (literacy), Habitat for Humanity, the Durham Rescue Mission, the Reality Center. We've also had a close connection to Young Life. And some of our parents have been instrumental in the founding of the Samaritan Health Center.

My favorite DurhamCares Partner?  It's hard to pick one. Mark Piehl is an old friend, and his work with the Samaritan Health Clinic is a dream being realized. I'm very excited about what he and Chris Garrett and others are making happen there. The Mills' work at Durham Rescue Mission has earned the respect of all of us in the community. My son played football with the Durham Eagles, and I'm very impressed with Don Jones and the amazing thing he does with young men there.

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Christopher Gergen

Racer

Founder, Bull City Forward and Duke University

Christopher Gergen is a founding partner of New Mountain Ventures, a leadership development and consulting firm, and co-author of Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives (Warren Bennis Leadership Series; Jossey-Bass). Additionally, Christopher is a visiting lecturer and Director of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative at Duke University within the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy's Hart Leadership Program. He is also the "Innovator in Residence" at the Center for Creative Leadership.

Christopher is the co-founder and a current board member of SMARTHINKING, the leading online tutoring provider in the United States-serving over 200,000 students from more than 1,000 universities, colleges, and high schools. Other entrepreneurial ventures include starting a coffeehouse/bar dedicated to promoting the arts and music in Santiago, Chile and helping to launch the "Entrepreneur Corps"-a national service initiative sponsored by AmeriCorps*VISTA that placed 400 full-time business volunteers for a year of service in over 90 non-profit organizations across the country. Previously, Christopher started LEAD!, a non-profit leadership, entrepreneurship, and service program for Gonzaga College high school students in Washington, D.C. and is a founding board member of the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School also in D.C.

Further professional experience includes serving as Vice President of New Market Development for K12 Inc. and Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for New American Schools. Christopher received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Duke University, a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the George Washington University, and his M.B.A. from Georgetown University. He lives with his wife and two children in Durham, NC where he is spear-heading a community-led effort to establish the region as a national model of economic development through social innovation and entrepreneurship - the center-piece of which is a 30,000 square foot social innovation campus to be located in downtown Durham.

Why did you want to ride RAAM with DurhamCares? To set off across country with a stellar team, to push myself physically while on a great adventure, to renew my appreciation for our beautiful country, and to support high-impact organizations in Durham that are helping transform our community.

How are you involved in the local community? Through Bull City Forward we are making Durham a national model of economic and community development through social innovation and entrepreneurship. Through my work at Duke, teams of under-graduate students are teaming up with community organizations to develop sustainable social enterprises. Our family also loves living in Durham.

What is your favorite DurhamCares partner and why? Crayons2Calculators since they are bringing much needed resources to Durham's classrooms. They are also an alum of our program at Duke!

Contact Information:
New Mountain Ventures
801 Gilbert Street Ste. 208
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: 888-657-0422
Email: cgergen@newmountainventures.com

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Dave Hofmann

Racer

Kenan-Flagler Business School

Dave is the Associate Dean for the MBA Program and Professor of Organizational Behavior and Strategy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. He teaches courses and executive education in organizational behavior and leadership. In addition to his work at DurhamCares he is an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd and has recently chaired an ad hoc committee for Trinity School. He lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and daughter.

http://profiles.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/index.php/2009/david-hofmann/

http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/Faculty/search/detail.cfm?person_id=32

Why did you want to ride RAAM with DurhamCares? I thought that it would be a fun way to bring attention to the great work of DurhamCares, to enjoy working along side a great team of riders and support folks, and to see our great country from coast to coast. I mean who can pass up the opportunity to ride across Kansas at 2:00am into a headwind and driving rain!

How are you involved in the local community? First and foremost, I am involved in public education as a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Associate Dean at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other involvement includes a DurhamCares board position and ad hoc task forces at both Trinity School and Church of the Good Shepherd. My wife and I also financially support several other ministries in Durham.

What is your favorite DurhamCares partner and why? I have seen the Samaritan Health Clinic go from a vague idea in the head of a local Physician to providing free health care to 100s of Durham residents. It is inspirational for me to see the transformation of this idea into bricks, mortar, and outreach.

Franklin Gover

Team Support

DurhamCares

I am from Cleveland NC a small town outside of Salisbury. After
graduating from West Rowan High School in 2004 went to Appalachian
State University. Completed my B.S. in Community and Regional Planning
finishing the degree with an Internship with the Town of Mooresville.
As a Professional Planner I specialize in Community Development
concentrating on CDBG and HOME Programs, and grant writing.
I am an outdoorsman and jump at any oppurtunity to be active outdoors.
I spend a lot of time on the Watauga and New Rivers fly fishing with
friends from school. I aslo enjoy hiking and just laying out on the
river banks of the High Country. As a fellow cyclist I will bring
words of encouragement ans support to the Durham Cares team.

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George Linney

Racer

Tobacco Trail Church

George is a pastor, teacher, and outdoor enthusiast. He has lived in Durham for nearly a decade with his wife Kristen Nevins Linney who grew up in Chapel Hill. They have three young children, George IV, Kathryn, and William. His ministry in Durham crosses the boundaries of traditional church, but is also closely tied to many of the worshiping communities in our area. He is currently pursuing a church plant called Tobacco Trail Church. He is a 2006 graduate of the Duke Divinity School and was ordained to professional ministry in 2008. Since graduation from Furman University in 1998 George has lived, worked, and snowboarded in Breckenridge, Colorado. He has worked as an Assistant Director and kayak instructor at various summer camps in North Carolina. He has taught scripture and humanities at various local Durham schools. George has also worked in outdoor retail in various Durham specialty stores. He has been running since age eight, cycling since age 33 (which is only one year), but hopes to be on the fast-track in regards to the latter in order to help his RAAM teammates this June. Coincidentally, if the team finishes in seven days, he can celebrate his 35th birthday on the final day of their RAAM adventure, Saturday, June 18.

Why did you want to ride RAAM with DurhamCares?

It's a daunting task, riding across the country, and not just the cycling. I competed in the Colorado Outward Bound Relay in 2006. It was a 12 person running relay that lasted only 24 hours. Even in that short event I struggled more with the rest and travel than with running. After the event I suffered for six or more months with chronic back pain. It's been four years since that event and I am ready to have another go at a relay event that will require a lot of travel. I think now I am in better physical shape and I know how to relax when it is time to just chill and nap.  And if you want to keep up to make sure I'm training, check here and you can check out my blog as well.

More importantly I wanted to ride RAAM to bring attention to our own great Bull City--Durham, North Carolina! I am honored to serve as an ambassador for Durham, a community that I believe embodies loving one another in the unlikeliest of circumstances, just like the Good Samaritan who found himself caring for a victim in a ditch. Sometimes I think Durham is considered the ugly step-child of the Triangle and ironically, she's my favorite place in the state, and that's coming from someone who grew up in Charlotte and has lived in Brevard, two pretty great places in their own right.

How are you involved in the local community?

And here are a couple of my favorite Durham related sites:

Duke Youth Academy

Bull City Running Company

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Henry Kaestner

Racer

DurhamCares

Henry is the co-founder of DurhamCares and the Executive Chairman of Bandwidth.com, a local telecommunications company listed by INC Magazine as the 4th fastest growing privately held company in the country over the past 5 years. Prior to co-founding Bandwidth.com with his partner, David Morken, Henry was a principal in Chapel Hill Brokers, Chapel Hill Broadband and Bandwidth International. In addition to his work on DurhamCares, Henry is a member of the Local Outreach Committee at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham, is on boards and involved in several Durham based charities and is a co-founder (along with David) of MinistrySpotlight.org, a new organization to be launched in January 2010 highlighting Christian word and deed ministries worldwide. Henry lives in Durham with his wife Kimberley and their 3 sons.

Why did you want to ride RAAM with DurhamCares?
I'm grateful to be able to be an Ambassador for Durham and celebrate the Bull City from coast to coast. This isn't just about our team riding coast to coast, it's about a whole city rallying together around 18 nonprofits that are courageous enough to set and publish outcome-related goals. I'm excited to ride with 7 awesome community leaders in Durham as well and to build relationships with them throughout the trip.

How are you involved in the local community?
I am a member of the Local Outreach Committee at my church, The Church of the Good Shepherd. I'm on boards and involved in several Durham-based charities as well. I helped co-found, alone with David Morken, MinistrySpotlight.org, which is a great new organization that highlights Christian word and deed ministries worldwide. It's an organization that seeks to be a major contributor in the movement to provide resource mobilization throughout the entire Kingdome of God while transforming the recipient AND the donor.

What is your favorite DurhamCares partner and why?
It's hard to pick one favorite partner because all of the DurhamCares partners are doing great things in our community and are courageously setting and publishing goals but my favorite partner is the Durham Eagles. Don Jones has done an excellent job at incorporating the community into the program. All of the coaches volunteer their time and energy to develop relationships with these young boys. It's great to see how committed the staff and volunteers are to the program.

Henry McKoy

Racer

Fourth-Sector Financial

Henry McKoy is Founder and CEO of Fourth-Sector Financial in Durham, NC. Fourth-Sector works with financial institutions, governments, and investors structuring innovative processes in Impact Investing related to social, environmental and economic development. McKoy is a former Executive with Central Carolina Bank, now Suntrust, where he created, grew and led several multibillion dollar divisions in areas of commercial and installment lending, operations and technology for over a decade. Since founding Fourth-Sector in 2004, McKoy has steadily grown the firm and worked with small early stage enterprises up to large multi-nationals as well as local, state, regional and federal governments and agencies.

McKoy sits on many national, statewide and local boards including the Congressional Black Caucus Green Advisory Roundtable, the Responsible Endowments Coalition, American Forests, SJF Advisory, the NC Community College Foundation Board and Bull City Forward, among others. In 2009, McKoy was appointed by Governor Beverly Perdue to both, the State Economic Development Board, and the NC Energy Policy Council where he serves on the Widely Shared Prosperity and Energy Efficiency subcommittees, respectively. McKoy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated from the Kenan-Flagler Business School with a BS in Business Administration. McKoy was born in Fayettville, NC and attended UNC-CH from 1991-1995.  He has 4 sisters and 1 brother and has been married to his college sweetheart Euba, a high school math teacher, for 14 years. They live in Durham with their 10-year-old daughter Jamila Anne and 8-year-old son Jalen Anthony.

Why RAAM with DurhamCares?  Because I'm excited about bringing attention to the Durham community, the DurhamCares organization, and the organizations that it supports is important to me.

Since 1993, I have been involved in more than 125 local charitable organizations as a volunteer or supporter

Favorite DurhamCares partner? I love the Durham Eagles because they use sports to transform the lives of young men and Big Brothers Big Sisters because they connect caring adults with deserving young people in ways that will transform both parties.

James Roberts

Bandwidth.com

One of New Zealand’s finest ever export’s James Roberts has lived in the Triangle area since arriving in the US in 2001. A graduate from the School of Knocks and the College of Life James is most especially proud that he is not an Australian. James has driven past Durham on a couple of occasions on 147 and has been known to care in the past. Quite frankly no one is quite sure what James will contribute on the RAAM (he initially thought it had something to do with sheep – and then thought it was to do with driving Dodge pickups across the US) but he has promised to do the New Zealand Haka in every state they pass through.

James is the proud father of Charlie and Lily Grace and hopes they will watch the race on ESPN 206. He currently works at bandwidth.com in Enterprise Sales. Henry heard James once worked as a bike mechanic in a previous life and is hoping his sense of humor will make up for overall lack of talent. James wrote his profile as no one had anything nice to say about him that they wanted to put in writing.

James will be a jack of all trades on the RAAM team – mostly driving, wrenching and providing light humor mixed with the odd profanity.

"I jumped at the chance to work the RAAM – this is a lifetime experience and one I cannot wait to be involved in. I look forward to arriving in Maryland with the Durham Cares RAAM team, throw down a haka and proudly use the words of Sir Edmund Hillary when he conquered Everest “We knocked the b*****d off” – without the *s of course"

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Jenny Denton

Racer

Duke University

I'm always thrilled to be able to tell people at Duke, where I am a sophomore undergraduate, that I'm one of the rare Duke Durhamites. Well, technically I grew up in Chapel Hill, but as we all know and don't like to admit for fear of appearing disloyal to our team, Durham and Chapel Hill are really two close, close relatives. My family moved a few miles down the road from CH to Durham when I was in middle school and my love for Durham has been growing ever since. I attended Trinity School, where my dad is the headmaster, until 8th grade, which at that point was as far as you could go. It's weird to think that Trinity will have their first graduating high school class this year! I then went to Durham Academy for high school, an experience highlighted by some wonderful teachers, a senior year service-learning class that tutored at Forest View Elementary, and four years on the track and volleyball team. Youth Group (at the Church of the Good Shepherd) and Young Life remained my spiritual constants throughout this part of my life. It wasn't until after my senior year of high school that my dad borrowed the bike of Jenifer Hoffman, wife of my co-rider Dave Hoffman, for my first experience on a road bike. I loved it but wasn't ready to invest the dollars or time in the sport, especially since I had enough on my plate transitioning into college. But towards the end of my freshman year at Duke I wanted that bike more and more, so when I decided to spend the summer working in Knoxville, TN I knew the time was right. I found my Discovery Team Trek on Craigslist for $450 and rode it furiously all summer, except for the few weeks I spent out in Oregon. My dad pulled me through my first century the day before my 20th birthday, on August 8th. I joined the Duke Cycling team when I came back to school, completing my second century (the Habitat 100) on October 31 and racing with the club team in the spring. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of the RAAM team, to represent the city I love so much and especially the women of Durham. I might not be the fastest in our group but we all have our roles and I feel like my spunk may just come in handy somewhere along the road.

Why did you want to ride with DurhamCares?
To be honest, when my dad first told me that he was going to be a part of the DurhamCares RAAM team I was simply jealous because of the cycling aspect of it. It has only been since this that I have really looked into DurhamCares, but I'm so glad that this opportunity has forced me to do so because I have become more and more excited and supportive of everything DurhamCares is doing. I knew of Henry Kaestner through my parents but it has only been since signing onto the RAAM team that I have realized what an amazing, humbling, and exciting opportunity it is to be riding for an organization that represents Durham - all that we are and all that we can be.

How am I involved in the local community?
I mentioned that I tutored at Forest View Elementary during my senior year of high school and I would say that has probably been one of the most meaningful experiences I have had as far as volunteering locally (http://www.augustineproject.org/). I tutored a third-grader all year, a body named Rudy Perez, and we still stay in touch and spend time together when I am on breaks from school. At Duke my sorority (ADPi) has taken on the Durham Ronald McDonald house as our philanthropy. I took a class last semester that was taught by Sam Wells, Dean of the Duke Chapel, and he gave us a great overview of Durham, its many layers, and the various ways to get involved. One the most influential class field trips for me was visiting the homicide vigils in Durham that are put on by the Religious Coalition for Nonviolent Durham. At Duke I have found that one of the simplest and yet most meaningful ways to connect the often disparate Duke and Durham is to befriend the wonderful housekeeping and food services employees we have. I have been lucky to make some close friends among them.

What is your favorite DC partner and why?
My favorite DC partner is probably TROSA. During Sam Wells' class we had the opportunity to visit TROSA and hear from some of the residents and staff. I had grown up knowing that TROSA was the company responsible for our Christmas tree and the people we called when we needed to move something big. I often saw their trucks around and their store downtown. But when we actually had the chance to visit their site I was blown away by the power of the stories we heard, the incredible success of the program, and the vivacious energy behind it all. I love that TROSA is almost completely funded by the work of its residents and that it works hard to help these residents transition slowly back into society by giving them everything they could need.

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Jesse Oxford

Filmmaker

Jesse Oxford

Jesse Oxford is a Chicago-based freelance Creative Director with skills in filmmaking, design, and live event production.

In his nearly 8 years as Creative Director of Willow Creek Community Church's high school ministry, Jesse produced over 400 events for teenagers working with nationally known speakers, leaders, and musicians. His eye for design informs each project he is involved in, whether on screen, stage, fashion or in print. Jesse has traveled extensively, including multiple shoots in Africa and Southeast Asia filming for humanitarian organizations. Working alongside organizations like The ONE Campaign and Nuru International to eliminate extreme poverty brings him great joy. In 2008 he produced the VOX Film Festival with partner Participant Media (THE SOLOIST, GOOD NIGHT & GOOD LUCK, FOOD INC), which gave teenage film-makers the opportunity to have their work screened by Hollywood executives. Jesse has also received a TELLY Award for Christianity Today International's REDUCING THE RISK (3rd Ed.) which he directed about child sexual abuse in faith communities. This summer, Jesse will begin production on self-produced documentary on Immigration. He is proud to play a part in DurhamCares' RACE ACROSS AMERICA. www.jesseoxford.com

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Josh Condray

Self-proclaimed Gopher and Navigator

High School Student

I was born in Charlotte, NC, capping off the family at five. My family moved to High Rock Lake (Lexington, NC) when I was seven, thus the greater portion of my life has been spent there. I have been home schooled since kindergarten, and yes, I am very socially integrated. Some of my favorite interests include piano, basketball, and wake-boarding. I have taken piano for five years from a great mentor and pastor. Our home school organization has many sports programs available--golf and basketball being my two of choice. I'm in the process of completing work on my Eagle Project after 10 years in scouting. I recently returned from a five week study-abroad trip through Europe with my sister Lyndsey and her husband, who are currently stationed in France. I have participated on an environmental science team for the past four years, placing 3rd in the NC State Envirothon this past spring. I'm approaching 16 years of age and looking forward to my junior year this fall when I will begin dual-enrollment classes at our community college . I would like to attend UNC Chapel Hill after completing high school, majoring in Business Management and Economics and minoring in computer science. My brother, Lance Condray, is one of the racers, so crewing for him will be great. Since I am the youngest member of the team, I'm sure I will be deemed the gopher as well as a navigator, but I think the trip with the DurhamCares RAAM team will be an amazing opportunity. Experiencing RV life with 20 people, on a 24/7 operation, traveling coast to coast, should be a unique adventure not to be forgotten.

Katy Smith

DurhamCares Volunteer

I grew up in a small town about 30 miles east of Charlotte, the town of Oakboro, North Carolina. After having lived there for the last 18 years, I decided to carry on the tradition in my family and attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies with concentrations in Media Production and Interpersonal Communication. After graduating in May, I am looking to find a job near Durham that will allow me to stay close to my family for a while. The plan is to go back to school next year to get my Masters degree in Educational Psychology. As for now, I am currently unemployed which led me to saying absolutely when Lance, my brother-in-law, informed me about this amazing opportunity to travel across America while helping to raise awareness for Durham. I have never done anything like this before and am very excited to see what lies ahead for this crazy adventure of 20 strangers living out of an RV with the intentions of getting across America on bikes within a week!

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Lance Condray

Racer

Bandwidth.com

Lance grew up in Florida and later Charlotte, NC. He came to the Triangle for undergrad at UNC to study Economics and after graduation he moved to Durham and has stayed ever since. He was a member of the original Bandwidth.com team (founded in 2001 by Henry Kaestner and David Morken) and was CFO from 2001 to 2008. Lance currently runs the Strategic Services Group.

Lance is married to Mary Blake Condray, and they have three children: Jack, 5; Marin, 2; Nick 1.

Why did you want to ride RAAM with DurhamCares?  We have talked about doing a team for a few years and the opportunity to use the event to promote the city of Durham and DurhamCares made perfect sense. I hope that we can use this crazy event to grab people's attention and focus it on the amazing organizations working to improve our city and citizens.

How are you involved in the local community?  I am primarily involved as a member of Summit Church and the programs they sponsor. I am also on the Durham Public School Principal Leadership Team.

What is your favorite DurhamCares partner and why? Durham Eagles. I think the most effective tool we have to improve our city is to invest in our children, both by improving their educational opportunities and effective after school programs. The Eagles program makes a marked improvement in almost 100% of the kids that it mentors.

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Scott Seibold

Filmmaker

DurhamCares

Scott was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on a breezy summer day in the middle of July. From a very young age he desperately wanted to be an astronaut but, it is likely enough that, rooted in this desire he simply wanted to float. In addition to several years of event and program management experience, Scott graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in Communication and went on to spend 6 months in East Africa doing medical work and teaching 1st grade. After returning he started Missions of Health, a project designed to support hospitals in the developing world. One of Scott's life goals is to eat lasagna in Italy. He also loves to travel, listen to Stevie Wonder and create things that didn't previously exist.