Dr. Brianna Dix is an OB/GYN for Novant Health WomanCare. She earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Joseph Hospital. She received the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s Excellence in Obstetrics Resident Award. Her husband, Sonny, is a fellow in hematology and oncology at Wake Forest Baptist Health. She also has a German Shepherd mix named Wrigley. In her free time, Brianna enjoys hiking, skiing, baseball games, comedy shows and anything outdoors!
Wiletta Friende is the owner of Calming Oncology Oasis Spa. “I founded this company to provide exceptional and safe spa treatments to current oncology patients,” she said. “We use non-toxic and vegan products that are carefully vetted.” Wiletta graduated from Leon’s Beauty School in esthetics in 2013, and Les Cheveux School of Aesthetics in Master Esthetician in 2014. She opened Calming Oncology Oasis Spa in 2021. In her spare time, Wiletta enjoys traveling, live jazz music, visiting local coffee shops while indulging in dirty chai lattes and spending time with her children, Quinn and Jah’Son.
Shereen Gomaa moved to the USA from Egypt in 2002. After obtaining her U.S. Citizenship, she started a nonprofit called Delicious by Shereen (deliciousbyshereen.com) to help refugee women adjust to life in America and achieve economic security for their families. “I’ve always felt that food is one of the best ways to build bridges and bring people together from different backgrounds,” she said. “Our business model is built upon social benefit for those in need. We’re interested primarily in helping people help themselves – being productive members of society that contribute to their community is the best way to integrate into life here in America. It’s been said before, but we want to give people a hand up instead of a handout. We’ve received grants for our work from the Winston-Salem Foundation as well as The Women’s Fund of Winston Salem. We were featured in Forbes magazine along with many other local and national articles over the past five years. Even though we live in challenging times, it is so very important for people to get together and sit down to share a meal and get to know one another. We have more in common than we realize! I am so fortunate for my very supportive family, and I am so grateful for them as well as our community for supporting me since day one!”
Traci Ross is the 10th President & CEO at Family Services, Inc. Traci has more than 20 years of experience working in human services, specifically child welfare and non-profit business administration. Traci recognizes the need for early prevention services to ensure that every child reaches their full potential and has dedicated her career to doing so. Her past accomplishments include institution of a professional development model for all staff that is strength based, builds on skills, and allows for mentoring and leadership opportunities. She has built collaborative partnerships with local community agencies to assist in efficient delivery of services and resource development for program clients. Traci also instituted a leadership project which led to the renaming and rebranding of her previous agency to improve the agency’s exposure in the community. She was responsible for the creation of a mentoring program that assists middle school children with successful transition to high school culture. Traci has also rebuilt failing group homes for teens by rewriting the current program to include trauma-informed methods of care and treatment and used positive methods of behavior modification and effective crisis intervention. In her spare time, Traci enjoys downhill skiing, kayaking and yoga.
Three Strands Recovery Wear was founded by Leah Wyrick in 2018 as a freshman in college at Wake Forest University. In 2016, her mother, Nancy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her cancer was treated with a mastectomy that resulted in three subsequent surgeries due to complications. During her mother’s recovery, Leah saw first-hand the complications her mother endured, specifically with drains and bra discomfort, and became inspired to help others that may have a similar experience due to the lack of advancements in today’s surgical bras. Leah teamed up with Dr. Samuel Roy, a plastic surgeon in Salisbury, to create the Resilience Bra, a patent-pending, post-operative bra for mastectomies, breast reconstruction and other breast-related cosmetic surgeries. While attending school full time, Leah’s company, Three Strands Recovery Wear, was selected to enter the Winston Starts Program, a startup incubator in Winston Salem, that assists entrepreneurs in developing and scaling their businesses. Leah has received many awards and accolades for her company’s efforts including being selected as the only freshman to join the Wake Forest’s Center for Entrepreneurship StartUp Lab in 2019; chosen by the Wake Forest Center for Entrepreneurship department faculty for the Most Outstanding Senior of the Year Award; and Three Strands was a recipient of the 2021 NC IDEA grant. She is very grateful to her supportive family, friends and mentors who have helped make her dream a reality.
Jessica Perry was born in southern California and grew up in a modest community in southeastern North Carolina. Seeking every opportunity to get involved in theatre arts and inspired by many excellent theatre educators along the way, she attended UNC Pembroke and received her B.A. in English: Theatre Arts. Upon graduation, Jessica was awarded Most Outstanding Theatre Graduate 2015-2016, which she achieved while simultaneously raising two children with support from her husband. She moved with her family to the Triad in 2017 and fell in love with the strong sense of community that surrounds theatre and the performing arts in the Triad. She is now the Marketing Director for The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. Jessica feels privileged to be a part of a company with such a rich history and passion for excellence. With more than 20 years of experience within the theatre arts, Jessica’s mission is to bring theatre to as many lives as possible. As the next marketing director, she is excited to give back to the community that has given her so much. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys reading, hiking and spending time with her husband, son and daughter.
