Cape Fear CREW, the leading organization for women in commercial real estate in the Cape Fear region, welcomes members and guests for a luncheon program, The Jobs Picture for the Cape Fear Region, featuring panelists at the center of job generation and economic growth in the Wilmington area. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at Cape Fear Country Club from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Members and guests are welcome. Tickets are $30 for Cape Fear CREW members and $35 for guests and are available here.
The panel will include:
Moderator:
Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi, Associate Professor of Economics, Cameron School of Business, UNCW
Panelists:
Meaghan Dennison, CEO, Cape Fear Collective
Granseur Dick, P.E., C.M, Deputy Airport Director of Operations, Facilities and Maintenance, Wilmington International Airport
Courtney Spencer, Chief Experience Officer, Live Oak Bank
Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi joined the University of North Carolina Wilmington from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) where he was an associate professor of economics. He earned his PhD in economics with an emphasis on Urban and Regional Economics from Oklahoma State University in 2012. He is an applied microeconomist with two main streams of research: the effect of natural resources on households and communities, and the socioeconomic effects of unconditional cash transfers. His recently published research can be found in some of the leading economic journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and the Journal of Regional Science. In addition to his academic work, during his time at UAA, he regularly produced economic forecasts, analyzed the state’s finances, conducted analysis on key policy issues, and testified in front of the legislature.
Meaghan Dennison currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Fear Collective (CFC), a social innovation nonprofit organization based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dennison joined CFC as director of programs in 2019. She helped implement the Cape Fear Region’s Healthy Opportunities Network Pilot, a first-of-its-kind program using Medicaid funds to address social determinants of health. As CEO, Dennison oversees a $17 million social impact investment initiative aimed at raising capital to scale solutions in affordable housing and transportation challenges. She also launched CFC’s Healthy Communities Dashboard, which enables alignment of community data collection and analysis to the Healthy NC 2030 initiative. The dashboard covers all 100 North Carolina counties. Prior to CFC, Dennison served as director of leadership development at the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. She previously worked for Duke Energy as a workforce development consultant strengthening talent pipelines for in-demand careers in the energy sector and in member engagement and government affairs for the N.C. Chamber. Dennison holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Appalachian State University, where she is currently pursuing her MBA.
Granseur Dick joined the ILM team in 2017 and prior to his current role, managed airport capital improvement projects, capital grants and oversaw strategic planning of airport development. He has been heavily involved with the design and construction of ILM’s $75M terminal expansion as well as other key projects including the airport’s ramp expansion, airfield drainage and master planning projects. Prior to joining ILM, Granseur was an engineer for land development and utility consulting firms in central and southeastern NC and holds a professional engineering (PE) license. He is also a Certified Member (CM) of the American Association of Airport Executives. He earned a BSCE from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2004) and is scheduled to graduate in December with an MBA in Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. A private pilot since 2010, he has enjoyed merging one of his passions with his profession and looks forward to a long career in aviation management. When not working, he enjoys fishing, surfing, and boating with his wife Shannon, and three teenage children.
Courtney Spencer serves as Chief Experience Officer at Live Oak Bank. In this capacity, she leads strategic oversight of the employee experience and shared services including recruitment, onboarding, compensation and career development, benefits, education and training, wellness, community and philanthropic involvement, corporate flight operations, facilities, and on-site dining. She joined in 2016 and brings 25 years of financial services and HR experience to Live Oak. Previously, Courtney was human resources strategic business partner and vice president of budget and management reporting at Square 1 Bank. Prior to her role at Square 1, Courtney served in a variety of finance and control positions at Wachovia and Wells Fargo. Courtney received her MBA from the College of William & Mary, and a Bachelor of Science degree in health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About Cape Fear CREW and CREW Network
The Cape Fear chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), with more than 90 members from a wide array of commercial real estate interests, has as its mission to advance the success of women in commercial real estate. CREW Network is the affiliated national association that represents over 12,000 women in commercial real estate in chapters across more than 75 major markets globally. For more information on the Cape Fear chapter, including membership and partnership information, visit the Cape Fear CREW website at www.capefearcrew.org and follow us on Facebook @CapeFearCrew, Instagram @cape_fear_crew and LinkedIn.
