Rhonda Stokes Joins Wake Forest University‰’s Family Business Center ‰- Charlotte Metro as Associate Director

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rhonda Stokes has joined Wake Forest University’s Family Business Center – Charlotte Metro as associate director.

In her new role, Stokes is responsible for putting a face on the Family Business Center in Charlotte. Her duties include utilizing the extensive resources of the Babcock Graduate School to guide the center in recognizing and addressing the unique needs of family and other closely held businesses in the Charlotte Metro area.

“My duties are a little different than the previous people associated with the center,” she explains. “I am trying to get a sense of what members want as additional benefits from the center. With that in mind, I would like to increase the resource base for members and communication between the center and members.”

Prior to joining the Family Business Center – Charlotte Metro, Stokes was director of the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (CACCE) and the marketing director for the Nashville Opera, among other positions.

Stokes is a 1987 graduate of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia, Athens.

The Family Business Center, established in 1999 under the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest’s Babcock School, addresses issues faced by closely held and family firms. The member-based organization uses the capabilities and educational resources at Wake Forest, in the community and beyond to provide closely held and family firms the assistance they need to grow and succeed from generation to generation.

The significant growth of the Family Business Center ~ Triad generated extensive interest from the Charlotte community to open a Family Business Center to address the needs of closely held firms in the Charlotte Metro area. The Babcock School, with its array of MBA program offerings, has served the Charlotte community since 1995 from the school’s facilities at One Morrocroft Centre in the city’s SouthPark area. The success and the growth of both programs have made it one of the fastest-growing family business centers in the U.S.