2022-2023 CDF Board of directors
President: Cathy Robinson
Vice President: Annette Trammel
Artistic Directors: Missy Blackburn, Jennifer Moore, Lindsay Shaw
Treasurer: Teresa Atkinson
Secretary: Sarah Mears
Director of Communications: Gabrielle Rhodes
Co-Directors of Fundraising: Chemberly Pecze & Michelle Torian
Director of Outreach: Ashley Elmore
Co-Directors of Performance: Tammy Hnatek & OPEN
Director of Volunteers: Christina Gainor
non-voting member of the Board of directors
Carolina Rhythm Director: Carina Goodman
Business Manager: Carina Goodman
President Emeritus: Sherry Bailey
Open Board positions:
The following positions are open:
Director of Performance
Please contact Cathy Robinson at president@carolinadancefoundation.org if you are interested in more information or want to better understand what the position entails. If you are interested or have someone in mind, please fill out the nomination form.
Meet your Board members:
Cathy Robinson, President
This is Cathy’s second year President of the Board of Directors for Carolina Dance Foundation (CDF). It is a requirement that the President does not have a child who is currently a company member. Cathy’s daughter, Rachel, started dancing at CDC when she was 4-years-old, way back in 2007. Rachel is now a Senior in High School and is also a Corps member of Carolina Ballet and Cathy says Rachel owes her success to the teachers at CDC and CDF. Because of her great love and appreciation for the Foundation, Cathy wanted to stay involved and give back to the Foundation. She has previously served as Director of Performance for one 3-year term and 2 additional years as interim Director of Performance. In her real life, Cathy has been an RN for over 32 years, graduating from UNC-CH with a BSN in 1988. She has worked at Duke University Health Systems since that time as a pediatric nurse in various roles and was the Nurse Clinician at Duke Children's Cardiology of Raleigh for over 17 years. In October 2019 she started a new position as the Nurse Program Coordinator/ Referral Liaison with the Department of Pediatrics at Duke. Despite the fact that she works for Duke, she remains a devoted Tar Heel fan.
Annette Trammel, Vice President
Annette was raised a military brat and says she is very grateful for the many living experiences around the world that she had growing up. She is married to Harold Trammel and is blessed to be a mother of two to Abigail and Tyson, and a rescue pup named Skyler. “It is because of Abigail that we stumbled into the world of dance about 12 years ago and Carolina Dance Center is where she found a passion of hers and we found a village filled with amazing people. I truly feel blessed to have fallen into an environment that fosters all of the ethics and beliefs that Harold and I would want to instill in our children.”
Annette enjoys her time by day as a School Counselor at Middle Creek High School and she absolutely loves coaching the cheerleaders at North Carolina State University. “Working with teens and young adults each day helps me gain perspective of our ever changing world and definitely keeps me young at heart.”
Annette says she is very grateful to have the opportunity to serve on the board and looks forward to working together to meet the needs of our Artistic Directors, dancers, and families at Carolina Dance Center.
Teresa Atkinson, Treasurer
Teresa is the mom of Sara Atkinson, CDC/CDF Alum-Class of 2018. Teresa previously served on the Board from 2009-2011. Having been a Company mom for 12 years, she wanted to continue to support the Company dancers and Foundation after Sara graduated, and to give back in appreciation for the opportunities and training that Company provided her daughter. Serving as the Board Treasurer since 2017 has allowed her to stay connected.
Teresa is currently the Portfolio Manager for CORES Management based out of Los Angeles. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family sailing and kayaking at Cape Lookout. This proud mom also loves watching her daughter pursue her passion for dance. Sara currently attends East Carolina University, majoring in Dance with a concentration in Performance and Choreography. Fun fact: Sara’s Faculty Advisor and Jazz Professor Tommi Galaska was also Ms. Carina’s Professor.
sarah mears, Secretary
Sarah is the mom of Arleigh, who has been dancing with CDC for more than 10 years, and Teagan, who also enjoyed dancing at CDC but now spends her free time following her passion for gymnastics. Sarah and her husband are Canadian. She moved to North Carolina after completing nursing school to gain experience to take back north of the border. The weather, friendly people and opportunities that the area has to offer have kept her here for more than 20 years. She is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Duke University Medical Center, where she cares for premature and critically ill newborns and their families. She feels incredibly lucky to have found a career that she loves. In her free time she loves to run and cycle, spend time with her family and most recently has even tried tap dancing.
Sarah is excited to be joining the board to give back to an organization that has provided such wonderful opportunities for her daughter and so many others.
Tammy Hnatek, Co-Director of Performance
Tammy has been involved with Carolina Dance Center since its inaugural season. She served as a founding board member and contributed to creating Carolina Dance Foundation. You most likely will find her assisting performances as the costume mistress. She has been married to Steve for 26 years and has 3 daughters, Taylor, Hallie and Preslie. She currently works full time as an office manager.
Christina Gainor, Director of Volunteers
Christina has lived in Raleigh since moving here to attend Meredith College. She have a BS in Biology and taught middle and high school science for 5 years before staying home with her kids. Christina and her husband have three kids and the youngest two, Adeline and Anna, are both CDF dancers. When not at the studio, Christina spends time homeschooling her kids and working with Classical Conversations to support local homeschooling families who desire a classical education program. Her family is very involved at their church and enjoy cheering on the Wolfpack, playing board games and being outdoors, whether hiking or camping.
Lindsay Collins Shaw, Artistic Director,
Carolina Civic Ballet
Lindsay is a graduate of Texas Woman's University with a BA in Dance Studies and a minor in Science. She has taught a variety of dance forms to all age groups at several studios, but her personal training preference stems from classical ballet. Lindsay was a five-year member of the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, performing throughout Texas as well as other states for special events, including the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Lindsay attended the School of American Ballet in New York City for three summer programs on full scholarship. She also attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle and later headed to the San Francisco Ballet School for over a year and a half. She was a scholarship student there as well, and she performed with the San Francisco Ballet for that season. Lindsay realizes the value of classical ballet as a building block for all types of dance, and she is a strong advocate of correct anatomical training for the prevention of dance related injuries. She has extensive experience teaching and directing in a formal dance environment, and she has taught dance for the Wake County Magnet school program as well. Lindsay loves involvement in choreography and theater, and she has choreographed numerous pieces for community civic companies. Her choreography has been recognized and performed by the American College Dance Festival, and she has also choreographed musicals and production shows. Lindsay enjoys spending time with her kids Sam and Sylvie, attending major sporting events and visiting the beach as often as possible.
Jennifer Culler Moore, Artistic Director,
Carolina Civic Ballet
Jennifer began her dance training in Durham where she competed in numerous regional and national dance competitions. She consistently earned the highest honors, including the prestigious title of Miss Dance of the Carolinas. Jennifer later attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a BA with a double major in English and Psychology. During this time and in the years following, she continued studying classical ballet and enjoyed the opportunity to dance with local performing companies including the Chapel Hill Dance Theater, Duke Repertory Company, 15-501 Ballet, and the Whirlwind Jazz Dancers. She also attended many master classes and dance workshops. Jennifer has been teaching ballet for over fourteen years. She spent several years serving as the Children's Ballet Mistress at a well respected studio where she created and implemented the children's ballet curriculum. During this time, she was instrumental in coordinating annual recitals which featured much of her choreography. Jennifer's passion is educating young dancers, and she is dedicated to providing them with the proper skills necessary for them to develop into technically proficient dancers. She believes even the youngest dancers deserve to receive a solid technical education to ensure their success as they continue their ballet training in the future. Jennifer's classes combine imagination, creativity, and fun to inspire a love and appreciation of dance in her students.
Missy Blackburn, Artistic Director, Carolina Groove
Missy has taught dance for over 12 years and is a graduate of Meredith College with a BA in dance and a concentration in private studio instruction. This concentration prepares a student for successful teaching in a private studio setting, as well as educates them on the business aspects of a dance career. During her time at Meredith, Missy was given the opportunity to explore many different areas of dance, which included technique, teaching styles, composition, dance production, history, and music. She enjoyed performing with both the Meredith Dance Theater and the Creative Arts Touring Company, as well as working with numerous guest artists in residence. Missy has had the opportunity to showcase her work at events such as the North Carolina Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Alliance Festival, and the American College Dance Festival. Missy grew up receiving extensive dance training and has performed, competed, and attended classes throughout the country. She enjoys all forms of dance but has a love for jazz, hip hop, and tap. She continues to attend various training seminars and dance workshops in order to keep her teaching style current and exciting. Missy also enjoys training at NYC's Broadway Dance Center several times a year. Her high-energy classes exhibit not only her passion for dance but also her love of teaching others. In addition to teaching at Carolina Dance Center, Missy owns Fancy Feet, a company which provides on-site dance classes to daycares in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, and Durham. When not dancing, Missy enjoys traveling, taking Pilates, and cheering on the Wolfpack!
Carina Goodman, Carolina Rhythm Director & CDF Business manager
Carina started her dance training in Raleigh, North Carolina at Susan Byrd’s Dance Creations. She then attended East Carolina University where she received a BFA in Dance Performance. In 2003 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dance career. She was very fortunate to become dance captain of the Mark Goodman Tap Company which had many performances including dancing for the Producers Guild in Hollywood. She also performed and choreographed for “Bling Divas Entertainment” which performed for corporate events all around California. Carina also performed in the musical “The King and I” in Los Angeles. During her time in Los Angeles she traveled to studios around the United States teaching master classes and choreographing. After starting a family she moved back home to Raleigh. She loves working for Carolina Dance Center. This will be her 8th year at CDC!
Sherry Bailey, President Emeritus
and CDF Board Advisor
Sherry’s has been associated with Carolina Dance Foundation since its formation. Her oldest daughters, Karsyn and Kathryn, both danced with Carolina Performance Companies. Sherry served as President of CDF Board of Directors from 2014-2019. An alumna of North Carolina State University, Sherry is currently employed with NCSU’s College of Engineering. During her career with the University, she has served in the COE-Dean’s Office and the Department of Nuclear Engineering in many capacities including Program Manager for multiple NSF and DOE initiatives as well as Graduate Fellowship Advisor to Nuclear Engineering students. Sherry’s spends her free time taking advantage of the Triangle’s music and performing arts scene, watching football, or traveling to visit her daughters. Karsyn lives in San Francisco, California working on her MD/PhD at UCSF and Kathryn moved to Asheville, NC after graduating NCSU. Sherry recently became a pseudo “empty nester”, since her son, Kyler, now attends UNC-Chapel Hill.