OUR PEOPLE
Cynthia Renfro
Cynthia is the principal and CEO at Civis Consulting LLC, a consulting firm launched in 2012 to support philanthropic institutions and community-based organizations in developing and implementing strategic and intentional programs. Cynthia has over 25 years of experience in philanthropy and served as a consultant on LGF’s LGBTQ Program Expansion project in 2016-2017 in addition to managing LGF’s LGBTQ Program
Dr. LaTonya Penny
Dr. Penny is a longtime advocate for those who have been pushed to the margins. She brings over 20 years of experience leading organizations, serving as an executive director, consultant, and organizer. She founded Mary’s Grace Incorporated in 2013 to assist faith communities and schools with creating safe spaces of inclusion with persons who are
Hez Norton
Hez brings experience as an organizer, executive director, interim executive, and consultant with organizations and leaders that are in transition. Hez served as LGF’s Executive Director for 4 years previously and rejoins us now to help manage the grantmaking portfolio. Hez served as executive director of Resource Generation, was the founding executive director of North
Karen Carlton
After spending a good part of her career as an advocate for people with disabilities, Karen is thrilled to be working for Laughing Gull Foundation on the philanthropy side of the nonprofit arena, supporting other issue areas that she is passionate about. Karen’s work with First In Families of North Carolina and Community Partnerships provided
Nayeli Gomez
Nayeli Gomez was raised in Wilson, NC, as the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She graduated as a first-generation college student from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with a BA in Sociology and Human Development & Family Science, along with a minor in Information Systems. Throughout her academic journey, Nayeli was a
Ryan Odom
Ryan Odom, a first-generation college student, recently graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) with a BA in Liberal Studies, where he also participated in the student-led social outreach organization Kingdom of Youth, aimed to uplift BIPOC youth in the Greensboro, NC area. He was raised in Durham, NC by a
Shannon Ritchie
Shannon is a policy wonk and advocate who builds communications capacity and strategies for groups advancing racial, social, and economic justice. Her work applies an intersectional racial equity lens to communications and helps groups center directly impacted people’s voices as leading experts in public discourse. In 2017, she founded Nectar Strategies, a hands-on strategic communications firm
