August 16, 2023
Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) announced the appointments of Allison Jordan, Emmanuel Paul, German Barriga, John Eller and Rebecca Newton to its 2023/2024 statewide board of directors. They join a team of 16 volunteer leaders dedicated to nurturing positive childhoods for all of North Carolina’s children.
Allison Jordan of Raleigh, NC is the Director of Accounting and Human Resources for TradeMark Properties. Jordan has been with Trademark Properties since 2008. She received her Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management from Clemson University and Master of Accounting from UNC Chapel Hill. Outside of her professional work, she co-hosts a monthly food drive for the Longview neighborhood in Raleigh through PORCH Raleigh and has recently joined the Meals on Wheels of Wake County board team.
Emmanuel Paul of Raleigh, NC serves as the Chief Business Services Officer at Child Care Services Association (CCSA). Paul oversees the company’s financial functions and manages all human resources, information technology and operations activities. He has served in many financial and accounting roles with CCSA since he began his career in 1993. Additionally, Paul has also served as an adjunct faculty member at UNC Chapel Hill, teaching nonprofit financial management. Paul holds his MBA from UNC Greensboro and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Paul has served on various nonprofit boards throughout his career, including the Wake County Agency Directors of Triangle United Way, Mbiokporo II Development Association USA and Akwa Ibom State Association USA.
German Barriga, originally from Colombia, immigrated to Florida in 2005 and has since moved to Charlotte, NC. His professional background includes a wide array of positions and experiences including waiter, janitor, entrepreneur, assistant manager, and warehouse operator among many others, and ultimately got into the nonprofit industry through his former role as an attorney’s assistant at a nonprofit organization in Miami, FL. After moving to Charlotte, Barriga worked with the Latin American Coalition of Charlotte, assisting members of communities in need to guide and connect them with valuable resources such as crisis intervention, education opportunities and domestic violence assistance. Barriga has since transitioned to working with Blue Cross Blue Shield as a Multicultural Community Outreach representative with Healthy Blue NC, where he currently continues to build partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving communities facing various needs. Barriga studied at Miami Dade College in Florida.
John Eller of Charlotte, NC is a seasoned executive with over 23 years of service in public administration and health and human services leadership. He began his career as a local DSS social worker, was appointed to serve as a county manager, and later served as the Director of Social Services in Mecklenburg County where he led the largest social services agency in the state. His work has spanned several sectors to foster unique partnerships that develop innovative services, programs and policies aimed at building healthier communities and serving vulnerable populations. He values strategic planning and continuous improvement efforts that support the ability for community-based organizations and the public sector to achieve shared outcomes. He has a passion for system alignment successfully integrated a behavioral health, school health, public health, child welfare and federally qualified health center (FQHC) model to maximize funding and reduce duplication among systems to achieve better outcomes for children and families. Eller has an interest in the intersection of evidence-based programs and alignment of the child welfare system’s Title IV-E Family First Prevention Services Act and community-based organization and providers to increase timely access to services for children and families. Eller is a graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia-Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and is a credentialed manager with the International City & County Management Association (ICMA). He holds his MBA from Queens University and his bachelor’s in social work from Appalachian State University.
Rebecca Newton of Pittsboro, NC currently serves as the Learning and Development Manager at Epic Games in Cary. Previously, Newton worked with SuperAwesome.com (of Epic Games) where she led the online community, online safety, moderation, engagement and customer services efforts. She also served as Chief Community & Safety Officer at London-based Mind Candy LLC, managing public policy, safety, community, customer service and moderation efforts for over 140 million registered users. Newton also served 3 years with the Carolina Theatre of Durham as CEO & President. Newton is considered a pioneer and one of the OGs of Online Community and Child Safety as she began her career in 1994 with America Online (AOL) as the Program Manager for recruitment, orientation and education for AOL’s community leader program, and later took over the kids program. Newton contributes to various publications, serves on panels and speaks regularly on internet safety and online community/social networking and regulatory issues in the US, EU and UK. She serves on the advisory board at AgeCheq.com and is a trustee at DitchtheLabel.org. She has served as a member of UKCCIS for seven years and was a member of the UK APPG for Young People and Social Technology for three years. In 2016, she was appointed to the NSPCC Digital Task Force, she has also served on the FOSI.org board of directors. Newton is a co-founder of emint.org.uk, chair of GirlsRockNC.org, served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro from 2014-2016.
“We are excited to welcome new board members with a wide range of experiences related to the work of Prevent Child Abuse NC,” said PCANC President & CEO Sharon Hirsch. “With diverse board members representing different areas of the state who are passionate about child, family and community well-being, we look forward to the new and unique perspectives that can help us to nurture positive childhoods. We are so proud to have a board with a dedication to advocating for all children and families in North Carolina.”