OUR TEAM

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Lisa is a Native New Yorker and newly

retired general, oncologic and vascular surgeon. She is the mother to three adult daughters and grandmother of two. In Lisa's spare time she enjoys long distance cycling, scuba diving and jumping out of planes anywhere on the planet.

PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATION

Lisa's service to the Rocky Mount community spans over 27 years, as a private practitioner and partner of Boice-Willis Clinic, a physician owned multi-specialty clinic formed in 1914. 

Formerly Co Director of Nash / UNC Health Care Systems Breast Clinic.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Wesleyan University in Middletown (Connecticut) 

Undergraduate Degree 

Yale University

Medical Degree 

UCLA

 Surgical Internship

Uniform Services Public Service Corp 

General Surgical Officer 

Vanderbilt University

(Nashville Tennessee)

Surgical residency

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Lisa has actively been involved in community engagement upon her arrival to Rocky Mount in 1993.

My Sisters House, Board Member 

Board member for local women's shelter.

Rocky Mount Preparatory Charter School

Founding board member 

Westminster Medical Missions

5x Lead surgeon to North Uganda

Saving Lives Initiative

Taught specialized surgical technique to surgeons and residents at University of

Sierra Leone College of Medicine; and

financially sponsored two Ugandan

surgeons specialty residency training.

Triangle Bike Works, Board of Trustees

Hosting youth of color on multi-day cross country cycling tours visiting historical African-American sites across the country. And showcasing the power of cooperative economics and a circular

economy within the black community.

 In November 2018, Nish transitioned from her role as a venture banking analyst (with Square 1 Bank) to form Lennox and Grae, Inc. (CRE investment firm). With a vision to "buy it , and build it" she formed Lennox and Grae Construction, Inc. in November 2020; expanding in-house service offerings to construction management and general contracting 

SPEAKING + PUBLICATION FEATURES

Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce

Take No Bull Conference (March 2019)

MED Week (October 2019)

UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina

Forum: Black Wall Street (April 2019)

Black Experience in Business (April 2019)

Durham Magazine

Developer Spotlight (April and June 2019)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Kenan Flager, MBA Program (June 2019)

Partners for Youth Opportunity

ConnectEd Conference (June 2019)

Duke University

Fuqua LEAD Program (July 2019)

Capital Matters Conference (Oct 2019)

REAL ESTATE AND

PROPERTY MANAGMENT PORTFOLIO

112 W Main (2019)

Secured $2.5 million in funding within

Fully-leased; with market rate tenants

that include a regional law group

(Morningstar), local dance studio

(Empower) and popular South American restaurant (Luna).

310 E Main (2020)

Secured $1.39 million in funding to

acquire a historic landmark.

Redevelopment project will include full

interior renovation of nearly 16,000 SF.

 To date, Nish has raised $6.8M in capital to acquire a combined 24,000 square feet of commercial real estate in downtown Durham, NC and 1.86 acres in downtown Rocky Mount, NC. 

Nish is the owner and managing partner of a

portfolio that includes two properties in

downtown Durham.

CONSTRUCTION PORTFOLIO

 Nish previously served as a project manager with a commercial construction company, overseeing public and private renovations that totaled nearly $4.6 million. Projects included: 

• Museum of Natural Science (Raleigh)
• Durham Detention Center
• Urban Ministries of Durham
• The Institute

By following her truth - she calls it

Brewing it Forward, Celeste has

tapped into her passion for creating

beers that infuse flavor, passion and

pride. She has used her influence to

help open doors for a new generation

of brewers and indy beer distributors.

PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATION

Celeste launched Harlem Brewing

Company in 2000, inspired by her love

of the craft and the Harlem community.

She became the first African American

woman brewer to launch a commercially

distributed beer, and later went on to

sell her beers in Walmart, the largest

food and beverage company in the world.

The introduction of her Harlem “Sugar

Hill” Golden Ale, was a nod to its famous

neighborhood namesake, in 2001 and has since launched several Neighborhood Original recipes including her award winning Harlem Renaissance Wit, Harlem 125th Street IPA, and a hard cider - Harlem Strawberry Hill. Today, her beers are widely distributed throughout NYC and along the east coast as well as Japan and the UK.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Celeste and her beers have received

many awards, which include:

2x Entrepreneur of the Year, Harlem

Beer Alliance

Best Brew NYC

Best Amber Ale, Beer and Bacon Fest

Emerging Entrepreeneur Award,

Clinton Foundation

Local Hero Award, Assoication of

Resident Theaters

SPEAKING + PUBLICATION FEATURES

The Root

NBC

Fox News

MSNBC

Forbes

People Magazine

THE JOURNEY

Kevin brings over 30 years of banking and finance experience, to his role as the Downtown Development Manger for the city of Rocky Mount. He duly serves as the president and owner of KGH Sustainability Solutions; a strategy consulting, project management and contracting service company for public agencies and not-for-profit community economic development organizations, focusing on sustainable revenue solutions.

PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATION

In his role as Downtown Development

manger, he is responsible for revitalizing an aging downtown, assisting property owners through developing and delivering financial incentives for development, and assisting and recruiting businesses to the downtown

central city. Kevin also oversees strategy and direction, as well as overseeing the city’s participation in NC Main Street program.

Formerly, Kevin served in the following

community development roles: 

President of the NC Community Development Initiative Capital 

Lead a community development

financial institution engaged in lending

and investing for community and

economic development purposes, to

include small business growth and

expansion. He was responsible for all

aspects of CDFI operations, and

successfully grew the NC Community

Development Initiative Capital from a

$6MM to $17MM in assets and

sustainability within two years.

Director of CRA and Community Development

During his 26 year tenure with RBC Bank

(USA), Kevin served in various

commercial credit and leadership roles.

While serving in this role as director, he

established and expanded the bank's

community development department

throughout its markets nationally.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

BS in Business Administration & Accounting, Virginia State University

Graduate School of Banking, LSU, Advanced Banking & Management