RUTH COLE BURCAW
Executive Director, City with Dwellings
Ruth joined the CwD team in July of 2021. 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. Most recently, Ruth served for nearly a decade 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.
.png)
LEA THULLBERY
Assistant Director, City with Dwellings
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.
CARLOS TOLBERT
Director of Living Well Initiatives
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. The HEART (Housing Emergency Assistance Response Team) Project’s unique approach combines housing with consistent, supportive services and resources for chronically homeless individuals in our community, helping them develop and achieve
their short and long-term goals for health and housing stability.
KRISTA O'CONNELL
Director of Guest Support
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 transitioned into her current role October of 2020.
MARK DOCKERY
Director of Outreach
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.
CHRIS WILSON
Outreach Transportation Assistant
In his new role at CwD, Chris provides transportation to folks from open hours and at other times in the week.
He is also currently assisting us with winter shelter check-in. Chris is a veteran and has great experience with a variety of marginalized populations.
TANISHA MORELAND
Peer Outreach Specialist
Tanisha works on our outreach and diversion team. She facilitates Women of Vision, a group of housed and unhoused women, designed to help women recover from trauma and form sisterly bonds. Women of Vision provides a safe space to explore, heal, and grow from past traumas. The group meets Wednesdays at 2:00 and is open to anyone. Tanisha believes that it is important for everyone's voice to be heard. Additionally, Tanisha provides support to our guests during Open Hours.
BETH STAFFORD
Office Manager
Though she primarily works in the office in the morning, you may see her friendly face around the building. Beth is retired from Winston-Salem State University and has a background in public service, having previously worked with the Winston-Salem Housing Authority and the City of Winston-Salem's office of the mayor.
JESSY BURCAW
Jessy joined CwD part-time in the summer of 2023 to help us overcome a data backlog. She joined us full-time in the role of Program Support Manager in April of 2024. Jessy's computer and data management skills are very welcome, but it's her people skills we really appreciate. She'll be assisting our program managers with the collection and organization of data, in addition to working directly with our guests.
Program Support Manager
SUZIE LAVENTURE
Suzie began in her role as CwD's Communications Manager in November 2023. She'll be working hard to share the stories of City with Dwellings' work with volunteers, donors, and the wider community through the
e-newsletter, social media, and other sources. She is excited to work at this wonderful organization, following her retirement from Davidson-Davie Community College. Community is key!
Communications Manager
LUCAS RATTIGAN COE
Intern
Lucas is a Winston-Salem native, currently working on his MSW (Master of Social Work) degree from Syracuse University online. Lucas will be with City with Dwellings for the near future!
