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Meet the C3 Board

Meet the Equality NC Foundation C3 Board

Ivan Canada (he/him)

Ivan Canada rejoined the board of the Equality NC Foundation in 2018, after having served a 3-year term over ten years ago. He lives in Greensboro where he is involved numerous community efforts and organizations. Ivan currently serves as the executive director of NCCJ of the Piedmont Triad, a human relations organization that promotes understanding and respect among all cultures, races, and religions through education, dialogue, and advocacy. As a native North Carolinian, he is committed to making his home state a more welcoming and inclusive place for all people.

Canada holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been recognized by the Triad Business Journal as a "Forty Leader Under 40" as well as the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce with the "Change Agent Award". He also serves as Vice-Chair of the board of directors for the Center for NC Nonprofits.


Robert Dogens (he/him)

Robert Frank Dogens joins the C3 Board of Equality North Carolina.  Robert is a retired Banking Executive, having spent more than 36 years in financial services; most recently as an Operations Leader at Wells Fargo.  Robert is originally from Louisiana but has lived in North Carolina for the last 24 years.  He currently resides in Charlotte.  Robert is a proud champion of Diversity and is very active in the community.   He most recently served as Board Treasurer of RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), where he also has co-chaired two  AIDS Walk Charlotte & received the prestigious Red Ribbon Award in 2018 for his more than 15 years of dedication to the organization.  Robert also served on the Board of Governors for the Human Rights campaign for 5 years and Co-chaired two of the organization’s Gala Dinners.  He received numerous accolades from HRC to include Steering Committee Leader of the Year.  Robert is a founding member of the Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Fund and a past President of the FTS Foundation, providing more than $2 million to LGBTQ organizations.   When not working for equality and  justice, Robert enjoys traveling, dining out and spending times with friends.  He is an avid Carolina Panthers fan and you will find him at every home game and entertaining friends on the “Sipping Porch”.


Katie Jenifer (she/her)

Katie Jenifer is a licensed attorney from North Carolina and the proud mom of two queer kids. When their youngest daughter, who is transgender, transitioned in 2013, her family almost immediately began to face obstacles where they felt like having a legal advocate would be beneficial. After NC passed HB 2 in 2016, Katie and her family decided that she should go back to school to become that legal advocate. In 2017, at age 45, Katie started law school at North Carolina Central University. She graduated in 2020 and passed the July 2020 NC Bar Exam. Now, she is a resource for other parents of queer/trans/nonbinary kids; spearheading a name and gender marker correction clinic at their law school, co-chairing the Pro Bono & Community Engagement Subcommittee of the NC Bar Association's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee, holding the position of secretary of the NC Pauli Murray LGBTQ Bar Association, and serving on the Boards of Equality North Carolina and Conversion Therapy Dropout Network. In her spare time, Katie enjoys spending time with her family, taking their dog to the local dog park, being outside, and reading.


Holning Lau (he/him)

Holning Lau joined Equality NC’s C4 board in 2021. He is the Willie Person Mangum Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He is an internationally recognized expert on LGBTQ rights.

From 2018 to 2019, Holning served as an independent consultant to NGOs documenting and analyzing abuses of LGBTQ human rights in Myanmar. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development at UNC School of Law. From 2013 to 2015, he was president of the ACLU of North Carolina’s Board of Directors. Holning has received several honors for his pro bono work, including the Road Openers Award from Southerners on NewGround (SONG), ENC’s Equality Champion Award, and UNC School of Law’s Pro Bono Professor of the Year Award. Before moving to North Carolina in 2009, Holning taught at Hofstra University in New York, where he also co-directed Hofstra’s LGBT Rights Fellowship Program. Prior to that, he worked at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy. He received his JD from the University of Chicago, where he was an editor of the law review, was named a Stonewall Scholar, and received the Ignacio Martín-BaróHuman Rights Paper Prize.


Orlando "Ray" Mitchell (he/him)

A native of Kittrell, North Carolina and a 1998 graduate of Livingstone College with a degree in Sociology. He devotes his life to his family and friends and the advancement and development of young people. Ray is the current Director of New Student Orientation and Transition Programs at Winston-Salem State University where he serves as the advisor to the Student Government Association, the Class of 2022 and PRISM (LGBTQ\ Organization) on campus. He also serves as the Founder and Advisor for the NASAP Student Leadership Institute National HBCU SGA Presidents Consortium. He holds active memberships with Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity and Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated where he is a financial member of the Beta Mu Lambda Graduate Chapter in Salisbury, NC and is the Southern Region Alpha Advisor Chair. He also is an active member of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Livingstone College Alumni Association where he is chapter treasurer.


Adrian Parra (They/He/She)

Adrian is a non-binary, latinx individual who uses they, he, and she pronouns fluidly. They currently serve as the executive director of Youth OUTright, and recently joined the C3 board of Equality North Carolina. Adrian feels honored to build power with the LGBTQIA+ youth of WNC, cultivating a culture of consent, equity and compassion. He prioritizes self-determination and facilitating intersectional and intergenerational dialogue within their youth organizing. She comes to social justice work from a background in fine art photography and printmaking, and celebrates creative approaches to organizing for Justice. Outside of youth organizing you might find them on a hiking trail chasing waterfalls with their pup DandyLion, or dancing in their living room to anything from clarinet to dubstep.


Tangela Williams (she/her)

Tangela Williams joined the board of Equality North Carolina in 2021. She currently serves as the Southeast Area Superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), a role she has held since 2019. Prior to being named as an Area Superintendent, Tangela has served an Executive Director, Principal, Assistant Principal and a Speech-Language Pathologist during her 22 year career with CMS. Tangela holds a Bachelor of Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a Master of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Science from Gardner Webb University. She earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Wingate University in 2016.

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