Our People

Cameron was elected to the board of directors in January of 2015.  He is an avid tennis player within the Raleigh Pro League and serves as the Director of Business Development with Curi Capital.  He is excited to share his love of the sport with Abilities Tennis, as well as the mission of the organization with the community. Cameron is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his business degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is an active member of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, serves as a board member for StepUp Ministry & North Hills Club, and captains for several USTA teams. You can also catch him on the weekends with the 40 Love Band.

Alex is a graduate of Florida State University receiving a degree in International Business.  While at FSU, he played on the varsity tennis team.  After graduating he went to work at Wachovia Bank.  He currently is a manager at Vision Indoor Tennis Center and is a managing member at Forsyth Holdings, LLC.  Alex has held the positions of President of USTA North Carolina and President of the North Carolina Tennis Foundation, and is currently on the Board of both organizations.  He, his wife Sara, and their son Charles live in Winston-Salem.  The family loves to play tennis and snow ski.

John was elected to the Board of Directions in 2018. He has been playing tennis actively out of Seven Oaks Swim and Racquet Club in Raleigh since 2011 and began coaching ATANC clinics in 2015. John leads the Saturday Raleigh ATANC clinics at Millbrook Exchange Park (Spring/Fall) and the Raleigh Racquet Club (Winter) where we have around 16 athletes and 8-10 volunteer coaches attending these clinics. John is also part-time tennis instructor at Millbrook Exchange Park where he is a junior tennis coach and teaches introductory tennis classes to kids and adults. John has four children, three daughters and a son, who are all grown and just about through college. John is very grateful for all that tennis has brought into his life including the opportunity to be associated with ATANC, the abilities athletes, and their families. John holds a Computer Science degree from the University of Maryland and works in the software technology industry.  

Elected to the Board of Directors in March, 2018, Duncan is a graduate of the University of Evansville where he played collegiate tennis for the Purple Aces.  Duncan currently works in Business Development for a healthcare data analytics company, Prognos.  Duncan continues to play USTA League tennis and is also a USTA-certified tennis official.  He was first exposed to Abilities Tennis while working with his sons in 2016/17 to develop a fundraising tennis tournament in honor of Rhonda Blanchard, the former men's and women's tennis coach at Middle Creek High School.  He is now very excited to expand his involvement in Abilities Tennis and to help grow and improve its programs in the future

Ken Smith earned his BA in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida and is an award-winning reporter currently with WRAL News in Raleigh. He has won the Mid-South Regional Emmy for best weekend newscast in 2008, the Mid-South Regional Emmy for Spot News in 2009, the Mid-South Regional Emmy for Breaking News in 2012, and earned a National Emmy nomination for Breaking News in 2012. Ken has also received two Georgia Associated Press awards for best spot news and best feature. He loves tennis, reading, hiking, jazz and calypso music, and is a self-proclaimed Foodie. He regularly volunteers with the Special Olympics of N.C. and Wake County schools.

Melissa joined the Board of Directors in 2022. As an active tennis player and a mom of a son with intellectual disabilities, joining the board of Abilities Tennis was a natural fit. Melissa graduated from Furman University with a degree in Elementary Education. Her career as an elementary school teacher in both public and private schools developed Melissa’s problem-solving skills as she is gifted at thinking outside of the box and listening to other perspectives. Melissa was a board member of the Junior League of Greensboro and served as president of the board for the Greensboro Symphony Guild. She plays USTA tennis out of Sherwood Swim & Racquet Club and is active in the Gate City Tennis League in Greensboro. Melissa looks forward to helping Abilities Tennis expand its volunteer base and involving local tennis professionals in our program.

Helen joined the Board of Directors in 2022. A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate with a B.S. in Business Administration, Helen is a former pharmaceutical executive who is now retired. She served as a board member of Endeavor Charter School and was an Augustine tutor and active member of several committees at Cary Academy. An avid tennis player, Helen plays USTA tennis out of both Hasentree and Raleigh Racquet Club. Helen became involved with Abilities Tennis as a volunteer in 2016 and served as a valuable committee member for our annual Footprints on the Court fundraiser. A gifted strategic thinker and organizational planner, Helen looks forward to helping ATANC expand throughout North Carolina and continue to be a model CTA for other states.

Stephanie joins our board with a business background in recruiting and marketing from East Carolina University. She spent 16 years as a recruiter and 10 of those years specific to the pharmaceutical sales industry. During her last 10 years in pharmaceuticals, Stephanie found employment for over 1800 candidates and upon her retirement, she was awarded Recruiter Of the Decade. Stephanie is an active USTA tennis player out of North Hills Club and Raleigh Racquet Club. She enjoys volunteering for Sanderson High School as their JV Women's Coach and has experience coaching a recreational league middle school team as well as a Junior Tennis Team. Stephanie's passion for tennis began in 2016 when she was looking for an outlet to be with friends and participate in a sport. She is excited to be a part of Abilities Tennis to help grow the organization so all people, no matter their learning differences, can find the same outlet she was seeking in 2016.