UNC Pembroke has appointed three new members to its Board of Visitors––Dr. Hannah Woriax, Robert Nunnery and Calstain Ganda.

Dr. Woriax is an assistant professor and fellowship-trained Duke Health breast surgeon who practices at the Duke Cancer Network-affiliated Scotland Cancer Treatment Center (Scotland Health) and Gibson Cancer Center (UNC Southeastern). She completed her undergraduate studies in molecular biology at UNCP, where she was selected as a RISE fellow and graduate of the Honors College.

She received her medical degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, then went on to general surgery residency at Virginia Tech-Carilion Clinic. Following the fulfillment of general surgery training and the board certification process, she completed an SSO-accredited breast surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Her research interests include disparities in breast cancer outcomes, disproportionate recruitment in breast cancer clinical trials, management of the axilla after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and genetics vs. epigenetics in the outcomes of underrepresented populations.

Nunnery graduated from UNCP in 2014 with a social studies education degree and teaching licensure. He served as student body president and, later, the UNC System's student body president. Nunnery was the first Association of Student Governments (ASG) president from a historically minority university and the first of any UNC System university with under 10,000 students.

In these roles, he served as a member of the UNCP Board of Trustees and the UNC Board of Governors. Upon graduation, Nunnery was a public schoolteacher in Fayetteville for three years. He attended North Carolina Central University School of Law and was sworn in as an assistant district attorney in 2020. Currently, he practices law in Moore County. 

Ganda is head of Americas Automotive Aftermarket at ContiTech Power Transmission Group in Charlotte. He is also the founder, CEO and curator of Real African Art.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Ganda came to the United States in 1998 and earned a business degree at UNCP. He was a men's soccer team member and served as the International Student Organization's resident advisor and president. He was also crowned homecoming king.  

After earning his degree, he opened the Real African Art Gallery in Charlotte. The gallery is unlike any other the city has had before. It features artwork from more than 70 artists representing Zimbabwe and other African countries. His inspiration for the gallery was to improve the lives of Zimbabwean and African artists and provide them with opportunities and platforms to exhibit and market their work in the United States.

The 25-member board, appointed by Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings, comprises alumni, friends and community advocates representing major stakeholders in education, legal, health services, industry and the public sector.

The board assists in communicating the university's message, increasing community and corporate engagement, assisting with philanthropic support, and recruiting high-quality students.

A complete list of the Board of Visitors members can be found here.