Nicole oversees the Field Education and Career Development programs. She most recently served as the district vitality associate of the Smoky Mountain District of the WNCC-UMC and the lead pastor of Love First: An Emerging United Methodist Faith Community.

Originally from Charlotte, N.C., Nicole initially entered the ministry serving as a director of Christian education in Ashe County, N.C. Then, she attended Duke Divinity School as a Rural Fellow (M.Div.), committing to serve her first few years of ministry in rural North Carolina. Diving into a culture different from her own upbringing, she discovered that "pitching tent" in a community is one of the best ways to grow in an understanding of love, neighbor, and potlucks. In 2023 Nicole earned her D.Min. at Duke Divinity School with a capstone project centered on vitality through storytelling.  

Nicole has served churches from the flatlands to the mountains of North Carolina. Some of her favorite elements of ministry include collaborative innovation and piloting new initiatives for church and community thriving. She and her husband Stephen have four children. 

The Rev. Dr. Kennetra Irby Brackett is an ordained elder in the North Carolina Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a licensed clinical social worker, and a certified hospice and palliative care social worker. She previously pastored in Littleton, N.C., and led Pediatric Bereavement Services in Raleigh, N.C., where she mentored and supervised LCSWA licensees and field education interns from area schools of social work. Kennetra earned her D.Min. as a Rural Clergy Fellow and her M.Div. with a certificate in Theology, Medicine, and Culture from Duke Divinity School. She earned her M.S.W. and B.A. in Romance Languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, leading her to refer to herself as a “Blue Heel.” She is married to George Brackett Jr. Together they enjoy traveling, grilling, and exploring greenways with their hound, Reina.

Cheryl Parker is a staff assistant in the Office of Field Education at Duke Divinity School. She enjoys spending time at Kerr Lake with family and friends. Her family are active members of Walnut Grove United Methodist Church in Hurdle Mills. She is a native North Carolinian and resides in Mebane with her husband, Barry, and their two daughters.