MEET THE TEAM

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Charlene Wong

Chief Executive Officer

    • Primary care pediatrician

    • Mom of two amazing girls

    • North Carolina’s first Assistant Secretary for Children and Families

    • Launched NC Integrated Care for Kids for 100,000 children in central NC

    • Senior Advisor to the CDC Director

    • Has cared for children at Duke, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Seattle Children’s Hospital

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Ilina Ewen

Chief Strategy Officer/ Board Vice Chair

    • Head of Advocacy for Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Pediatrics

    • Mom of two sons

    • Former Chief of Staff to the First Lady of NC

    • Led national first spouses’ convening to champion children’s wellbeing

    • Brand & Comms strategist consulting for brands like American Express, Hue, YWCA

    • Writer & accidental activist

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Dr. Sallie Permar

Board Chair

    • Department Chair and Pediatrician-in-chief at Weill Cornell Medical Center/Children’s Hospital of NY

    • Lucky mom of a son and daughter

    • Nationally-recognized infectious disease pediatrician, scientist and vaccine researcher

    • Board service for Davidson College, St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Nightingale-Bamford School

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Mary Todd Earnhardt

Chief of Youth Engagement

Educator, public school advocate, and voice amplifier.

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Multi-lingual in project management, advocacy, and “mom-ese”

Kristen Gulish

Chief Operating Officer


Seen & Heard Inaugural Interns

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Charlotte Bruderly

College student, twin, and proud Midwesterner

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Riley White

College Student, Vulnerable youth advocate, and Twin

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Grayson Elliott

College student, public health researcher, and triathlete

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Deborah Kargbo

British international student, first generation immigrant, and scientist

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Matthew De Castro

College student, language enthusiast, and startup analyst