Meet the Team

Staff | Board of Directors | Festival Committee Chairs

Staff
	Melissa Driver Beard Executive Director Melissa has worked for almost 20 years in nonprofit management, having served most recently as the CEO of an international nonprofit focused on providing access to modern healthcare in developing nations. Melissa’s passion has been travel and foreign languages and cultures since she began studying French in the sixth grade. Before pursing her MPA, Melissa received a BA in Economics and International Students from UNC-Chapel Hill. Melissa continues to enjoy language development and travels frequently. In the past three years, she’s visited over twenty countries on four continents! [top]
Board of Directors
	Bearta Al-Chacar Powell Board of Directors Festival Committee Chair: Dance Demonstrations Bearta Al-Chacar Powell is an author, business owner, dance instructor, and UNICEF Ambassador. As a Lebanese immigrant she has made Raleigh her second home for over 20 years. A graduate of NCSU, she speaks three languages and currently learning Spanish. Bearta has received the Presidential Volunteer Award in 2010. Currently she is devoting some time to help with various projects in the Lebanese community and the International Festival as the festival brings the world to Raleigh. [top]
	Chad Cochran President, Board of Directors Chad Cochran is an attorney at Vann & Sheridan, LLP in Raleigh wherein he focuses on various forms of business litigation throughout North Carolina. He is involved in numerous community activities including leadership responsibilities with the North Carolina Bar Association and YMCA. Chad moved to Raleigh in 2006 with roots in Knoxville, Tennessee. He first met Clodagh Bastian during their participation in Leadership Raleigh where Chad’s excitement for the possibilities of International Focus, Inc. began to flourish. Chad travels internationally multiple times per year and says, “Life is all about interacting with people from different cultures and backgrounds.” International Focus, Inc. provides a vehicle to accomplish exactly that. [top]
	Alfa A. Whittick Board of Directors Alfa was born in Jamaica and spent most of his life there. He graduated, Summa Cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics & Telecommunications from the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica. His worked in the international transmission team at Cable & Wireless’ prior to migrating to the United States where he joined the network operations team at Nortel Networks (Nortel) then Avaya, Inc. Alfa has travelled to countries in the Caribbean, North America, Europe and South America. He enjoys meeting people, building relationships and learning other cultures and customs. He is happily married to Reina and together they have three beautiful children. Alfa enjoys cooking, swimming, gardening, playing football (soccer) and a good game of cricket. [top]
	Todd Phillips Board of Directors Todd is on the Wells Fargo Business Banking Sales Team here in the Triangle! He has been a business banker for more than a decade. In this role, he advises clients on financial matters that help improve efficiency, increase profits and reduce risk to their business. He brings financial expertise to our organization. Todd also spent 10 years as a non profit fundraiser and helps International Focus obtain sponsors for the festival and other programs. Todd also spent 7 years in the association management industry serving as a Membership VP for a large statewide Chamber of Commerce. Todd is an avid runner and lives in Holly Springs, NC. [top]
	Dikran Kabbendjian Board of Directors Festival Committee Chair: Green Committee Born to Armenian parents in Nazareth, Dikran had the unique experience of growing up among Palestinians within a Jewish state, and attending a Catholic elementary school as well as a Southern Baptist middle school. While working in his father’s photography shop, he was exposed to pilgrims from all over the world. He came to Raleigh in 1976, and while attending Wake Technical College, he worked in Raleigh’s first gourmet food store. He accepted a position with IT&T, the predecessor of his current employer, Alcatel-Lucent. After a career in environmental health and safety, as well as in human resources, he is now a corporate real-estate operations manager. He also graduated, Summa Cum Laude, with BS in business administration from North Carolina Wesleyan College. During his many years in Raleigh he remained engaged in the cultural, musical, and multi-cultural scene of this growing city. He is active in the local Armenian community and has participated in the Raleigh International Festival since 1990. [top]
	Nazi Kite Board of Directors Festival Committee Chair: International Bazaar Nazi Kite has been involved with the International Festival since 1987. At first, she was involved with the Iranian Cultural Society of NC and helped present Persian culture in the Cultural Booth, Dance Presentation, Demonstration and Iranian Sidewalk Café. In Early 1990, she joined the International Focus Board of Directors. Since then she has served in different capacities including 6 years as the President of the Board and member of the Festival committee for several years. Nazi is an experienced Project Manager in the IT area and has worked in RTP over 27 years. Nazi is also very active with the Persian community in the triangle area. Nazi and her husband Gary live in Cary. Her interests are in traveling, volunteer activities, reading and spending time with family and friends. [top]
	Susan McNally Board of Directors Festival Committee Co-Chair: Volunteer Coordination Growing up in a military family, Susan has had the opportunity to live and travel around the world. From Italy and Ireland to Japan and Australia, she has experienced other traditions and cultures first hand. In 1985, Susan moved to Western NC and spent many summers enjoying the International Folkmoot USA Festival in Haywood County. She came to Raleigh in 1993 and graduated from North Carolina State University in the Engineering program. Susan currently works for Avaya Inc as a Project Manager and is active in numerous community activities. She spent 7 years volunteering with Special Olympics and is serving the International Festival in her second year as Volunteer Coordinator. [top]
	James McConnell Board of Directors Being the child of a military father, James spent the formative years of his youth in Panama, which instilled in him a desire to travel and a love of Hispanic culture. His father was later reassigned to a post in Arizona. Over the course of a month, the family drove from Panama to Arizona. Throughout the journey, James acted as the sole interpreter for his family. This experience later inspired him to complete a Master’s Degree in Hispanic Literature at the University of Arizona. During his stay in Arizona James ran diving trips to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico until he was recruited to work for as a scuba instructor for an international travel program for teenagers based in Raleigh. He currently teaches Spanish at NC State University and runs their Study Abroad Program in Segovia, Spain. In his off time, James is an avid mountain biker and enjoys traveling just about anywhere. [top]
	Sheila Rennert Board of Directors: Treasurer Sheila is the owner and president of Quick Bookkeeping, Inc., a company specializing in QuickBooks training and providing bookkeeping services for small or startup companies. She brings her 20+ years of accounting experience to our board to handle the Treasurer position. Sheila moved from Long Island, New York 16 years ago. She lives in Raleigh with her husband Bruce, two children, a dog and a cat. I am extremely excited to be involved with International Focus and working with the variety of cultures in our community. [top]
Festival Committee Chairs
	Shy Butler Volunteer Coordination Shy grew up a military family, and has lived all over the country. Shy has a deep appreciation and understanding of different cultures all over the world. She has had the opportunity to attend school and work alongside individuals from various countries such as Lebanon, Italy, Portugal, Tanzania, and Switzerland, just to name a few! Shy moved to Raleigh, NC in 2001 and joined the International Festival in 2010. Shy is currently serving as the Co-Chair on the Volunteer Committee. [top]
	Rafe Colburn Website & Registration System Rafe Colburn is a Texas native who has lived in the Raleigh area for the past 15 years, attending the International Festival regularly for nearly that long. He is a professional software developer, and is responsible for building the registration system for International Festival participants. He and his wife are involved with the Portuguese Association of North Carolina. He specializes in recommendations about what to eat at the Sidewalk Cafes, so don’t be afraid to ask. [top]
	Karen Edwards Main Stage Mrs. Edwards has been involved with the International Festival since its inception. She has been in charge of the Main Stage for twenty-one years and the Young People’s Matinee prior to that. Karen Edwards is owner and principal teacher of The Dancer’s Studio. She is Artistic Director of Concert Dancers of Raleigh, a youth ballet company beginning its 35th year. She is a regular reader for the Triangle Radio Reading Service and a judge for the Silver Arts Follies of the Senior Games. She was given the 2005 City of Raleigh Medal of Arts Award in recognition of her volunteer service and commitment to teaching. [top]
	Greg Dahlin Sophia’s Corner Gregory K. Dahlin is an Upper Elementary Educator at the Montessori School of Raleigh, where he is best known to all as Mr. D. Greg believes young people are the greatest resource our planet possesses, and has been honored to serve as Chair of the Sophia’s Corner Committee for the International Festival of Raleigh. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, Christine, and his son, Noah. [top]
	Deniz Ender Cooking Demonstrations Deniz Ender, born and raised in Turkey, moved to United States 25 years ago. Now she works as a medical librarian at Rex Hospital and teaches Turkish cooking classes at her free time. She is also the coordinator of Turkish Cooking Club since 2006. [top]
	Glenn Hunt Souvenir Booth Glenn Hunt is a lifelong resident of North Carolina. Although he had to be physically dragged to the first festival he attended in 1993, he has marked his calendar and eagerly anticipated it every year since. To anyone who will stand still long enough, Glenn can be heard telling them that in his opinion the International Festival is the best event of the year in Raleigh. Glenn joined the Festival Committee in 2009 and was invited to join the board of directors in 2010. He currently serves as the board secretary and on the Finance committee. He is also working on the Programing Committee to plan and launch new International Focus events including an International Dining Club and an International Travelers Lecture series.
	Tim Palo Cultural Exhibits Tim was born in Finland but grew up in Waukegan, IL, outside Chicago. Tim and his parents were members of the local Finnish community. Tim joined the Army and was discharged from the Army at Ft. Bragg, N.C. in 1988. Tim moved to Raleigh, N.C. where he joined the Triangle Finnish Association (TFA) in 1989 and become involved with the TFA’s participation with the Raleigh International Festival in 1990. Tim has been an active member with TFA and their participation with the International Festival since. In 2004 Tim has became an active volunteer with the International Festival. Tim has been on the Festival Committee in charge of the Cultural Booths since 2009. Tim is also in charge of the Festival’s load-in and load-out. [top]
	Jonathan Serxner Sidewalk Cafes Jonathan has been a participant in each International Festival since the first one in 1986. He started out as a member of the Dutch cultural club, DeWieken, helping set up and working in the Cultural Booth, World Bazaar and the Dutch Sidewalk Café. In 2003, Jonathan joined both the Board of Directors of International Focus and the International Festival Committee. For three years he served as Village Square section chair and then took over as the Sidewalk Café section chair of the Festival Committee. For three of his six years on the Board of Directors he served as the Secretary. [top]
	Karin Shank Cooking Demonstrations Karin Shank is a scientific and business research librarian in RTP. She has always had a fascination with cultures different from her own, and remembers a favorite childhood activity of writing to embassies to request information, photos and other souvenirs from their countries. Now she explores other cultures mainly through a love of food and cooking, eating at international restaurants and learning new dishes from friends and at events like the International Festival. Karin is thrilled to be able to participate behind the scenes with this year’s cooking classes at the Festival! [top]