NC-HCAP News

Benton assumes leadership roles
10.01.07

CHAPEL HILL – Patrena N. Benton, M.S. was named the 5th executive director of the North Carolina Health Careers Access Program and officially assumed this role on October 1. She had served as interim executive director since November 2006. As executive director, Benton will provide leadership for strategic planning, policy development, fundraising, financial management and programmatic planning for the organization. She succeeds Dr. Carolyn M. Mayo who served NC-HCAP for 16 years and is now on faculty in the Department of Communication Disorders at N.C. Central University. Previous executive directors were the Honorable Eva Clayton, Dr. E. Lavonia Allison and Dr. Robert Thorpe.

Benton was also named regional director for the southern region of the National Association of Medical Minority Educations, Inc. (NAMME). She has served as regional director-elect for the last two years. As regional director, she will work with other regional officers to develop objectives, implementation strategies and evaluation components to fulfill the needs of the organization. She will also appoint other regional committee chairpersons and officers who will aide her in event planning and will serve as a voting member of the NAMME Board of Directors.

NAMME is a national organization dedicated to improving the overall health status of racial/ethnic populations who have been historically underrepresented in and/or underserved by the health professions. For more information, visit www.namme-hpe.org.