LEA THULLBERY
Director of Diversion & Outreach
Lea began her relationship with CwD in 2013 as a volunteer organizer for the Overflow Shelter, and immediately identified outreach work as a passion she did not even know she possessed. In the summer of 2015 she left her full time job to find out all she could about the systems that supported our neighbors experiencing homelessness.
She is a founding member of the non-profit and leads CwD’s Case Coordination and Street Outreach Team.
RUTH COLE BURCAW
Executive Director
Ruth joined the CwD team in July of 2020. Her curiosity, passion, leadership, and collaboration skills make her uniquely suited to lead City with Dwellings. Ruth earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. She worked for the first female mayor of Winston-Salem, the Honorable Martha Wood. While in city government, she earned her Master of Public Affairs from UNC Greensboro. She later co-founded a corporate event management firm, specializing in experiential marketing. For the past 9 years, Ruth has served as the Executive Director of the Board of Cooperative Ministries for the Moravian Church, Southern Province, engaging and supporting Moravian faith communities throughout the southeastern U.S.
CARLOS TOLBERT
HEARRT Peer Support Specialist
What brings Carlos the most joy in being part of the CwD team is being present and walking alongside people in our community on their individual journeys. He first got involved with the Overflow Shelter as a volunteer overnight monitor in 2013, and has worked as a monitor at First Presbyterian every year since.
In May of 2019, Carlos joined our staff as a full-time Peer Support Specialist to help launch the HEARRT project.
RENAI WISLEY
HEARRT Case Manager and Peer Support Specialist
Renai Wisley is a proud member of City with Dwellings staff. She fell in love with CwD as a monitor at St Timothy's Women's Overflow Shelter. The work of CwD fuels her passion for our community members experiencing homelessness because she was once one of them and the collective impact model that CwD follows, adds a component of wrap-around care that Renai believes everyone deserves.
KRISTA O'CONNELL
Diversion and Outreach Specialist
Being part of the CwD team has brought Krista joy through the unconditional relationships she has made with community members both similar and different from herself. She started volunteering for CwD in 2015, and joined the staff as Organizational Administrator in the fall of 2018. Krista also helps support the HEARRT project and transitioned into her current role October of 2020.
MARK DOCKERY
Transportation & Street Outreach Specialist
Mark is proud to be part of the CwD team because we see everyone in our community as equal, treat everyone with respect, and have compassion and empathy for people facing crisis moments. He was one of the first volunteers at the Community First Center when it opened in 2017, joined the Overflow Shelter staff as a monitor in 2018 and began his new full-time role with CwD in October of 2020.
EMILY NORRIS
Communications Specialist
As one of the former ministers of Augsburg Lutheran church, Emily fell in love with the work and people of City with Dwellings in 2013 with the beginning of the Overflow Shelters. She is a Founding Board member of CwD and has been the creative/marketing/branding brain behind the organization since its inception. Emily officially came on staff in 2020 as the Communications Specialist. She delights in this work and our people and finds joy in the shared relationship with our community.
STACY STOUT
Organizational Administrator
As natural born 'people’ person, Stacy was immediately drawn to the mission of City with Dwellings and is excited to utilize her background as an Executive Assistant to help fulfill that mission. When Stacy's not working hard to help find operational efficiencies in the office, she's most likely working hard up at her mountain land building barns, sheds and woodpiles. She is thrilled to be surrounded by a group of dedicated individuals who are laser focused on helping some of our most vulnerable community members.
MIMI HARDING
AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness
Mimi has been working with City with Dwellings since September of 2020 as part of an AmeriCorps service partnership. Having studied music making all her life, Mimi hopes to utilize those skills to inspire communities through creative, hopeful, and effective relationship building.
