Blog

By Amanda Murphy
Marketing Manager, Dewberry
 
In the last 20 years, the population of Wake County has increased by 53 percent, according to the Wake County government website, and gains an average of 63 new residents each day. How do we accommodate this growth with a limited amount of unused land? Right now affordable housing in our area is not only losing units at a staggering rate, but is not adding the housing needed for low income families. Our tour for Human Services Day included two stops at transformational service providers in our community. We learned about the services they provide, and the great need for both affordable housing units and active community engagement to change the conversation around poverty.

Triangle Family Services

Our first stop on the tour was a visit to Triangle Family Services, an 81-year-old human services agency providing services related to family safety, financial stability, and mental health. They typically run 10-12 programs at a time on a $3.4-million budget, are comprised of 70 staff members, and serve approximately 5,000 clients of all ages each year. They defined for us ACEs, a term meaning adverse childhood experiences (e.g. trauma, child abuse, war) and explained that a lot of folks in our community are dealing with the effects of ACEs in their adult lives and don’t have a way to break the cycle without intervention. They set client-centered goals, collaborate with clients, use evidence-based practices, and wrap around care because most of their clients don’t have just one issue and need the total human services experience. Triangle Family Services was a welcoming environment that avoids triggers for folks who have experienced trauma. We discussed issues unique to Raleigh that they were aware of, including the shortage of affordable housing in our area.

I particularly was interested in hearing about how they work with the courts to keep families together by providing services to people who are at risk of losing their families. They also work with Wake County Child Protection Services and provide safe visitation environments for families. They believe family separation equals trauma, and strive to keep families together. With 86 percent of their clients labeled as low-income, the system is simply overburdened and they are often forced to turn people away. Triangle Family Services receives its funding by way of city, county, state, and private entities.

Healing Transitions – “As many times as it takes”

Our second stop on the tour was to a “brotherhood and sisterhood working to change lives” by providing food, shelter, and support for alcohol- and drug-addicted community members. The organization began in the 90s as a result of many living on the streets with drug and alcohol additions, and being were turned away from shelters. They provide non-medical detox service on demand, refusing to turn away folks in need, with a goal of setting individuals on a path to be contributing members of their families and society as a whole. Their biggest reason for the success of the program is the use of peers, which allows people to see hope for themselves in those who have made it out of drug and alcohol abuse. Two-thirds of their staff are former program participants.

We met their kitchen manager on our tour of the facility—a former participant in the program on the women’s campus—who talked to us about the benefits of a peer-led program and how she uses the kitchen as an opportunity to teach job skills that participants can then take out into the workforce after completing the program. They serve 225 meals at the men’s campus and more than 120 meals at the women’s campus each day.

People are in this program because they want to be in the program, and typically stay in the program from one year to 18 months, and their completion rate is 20 percent. There are different stages of the program that participants work through during their stay, including added privilege and responsibility with each step. Upward mobility is a motivator for success. One-third of their revenue comes from the Wake County Board of Alcoholic Control. The rest comes from individuals, churches, and other organizations.

Similar to Triangle Family Services, Healing Transitions is overcrowded and launching a capital campaign. They have a relationship with Wake County Emergency Medical Services and have a pilot program to deal with the opioid crisis, which was mentioned frequently during our tour.

Poverty Simulation

During our visit to Healing Transitions, Leadership Raleigh participated in an impactful, moving simulation of what is feels like to be impoverished. This was not even a sliver of what the reality is for those living in poverty, but it was an enlightening experience to help understand some of the common elements of living in poverty, including:

1. How logistically complicated it is to be poor
2. How expensive it is to be poor
3. How defeating it is to be in need, and not have all the information you need to survive while feeding and protecting your family
   
   

We were separated into families with each of us having a character we had to play for the simulation. Our family included a single mom with two teenagers, a girl, and a boy. The father and breadwinner of our family left us with $10 in cash, nothing in the bank, a mortgage and utilities that were due, and basically nothing else.

The room was set up with services (employer, bank, mortgage company, grocery store, pawn shop, social services, homeless shelter, etc.) along the periphery that you could visit for the cost of a transportation pass. These passes, which are likened to a bus pass for a family without a vehicle, seem innocuous, but they cost a dollar, unless you didn’t have a pass in which case it cost two dollars to obtain. Most families have three or more people, so that is three dollars each time you are attempting to go somewhere, even if the visit wasn’t fruitful because the service provider was closed. For example, our family took our three passes to get to the mortgage company because we could not leave children at home alone. When we arrived, the mortgage company was closed, so we lost those passes.

Our group was given appliances, jewelry, and cameras that we could sell at the pawn shop, which we attempted to do in order to get money for mortgage, utilities, and food. Even though the value of the appliances was $100, the pawn shop would only give you $50, and if the shop was full of appliances or whatever you were selling, they wouldn’t take anything and you were stuck with an inability to sell your valuables for cash.

The little sister character in our family went to school but was kicked out and went home. Because of her age, she was put in jail for being home alone. Getting out of jail was $200, which our family was struggling to afford food, so this cost was exorbitant. The thing I kept coming back to was how hard people have to work just to survive and that being poor was not a lazy man’s game. In order to get social services benefits, we were sent through so much red tape, and those benefits only covered a small portion of what we needed for housing, utilities, and food. Our family failed at our mission, we were evicted because we couldn’t afford our mortgage or utilities, landed in jail multiple times, were unable to feed ourselves, and ended up with nothing. There were families that succeeded in getting by, but those examples were scarce.

I left that simulation with a better understanding, but a sick feeling in my stomach about how hard it is to survive as a low income family in our community. I also left motivated to do something about it, at a minimum to help bring awareness to the conversation about poverty and low-income housing options in our area. We have to change the conversation. Poor people are not lazy, and the simulation lasted one hour for us, each week being represented by 15 minutes of time and a whistle indicating the start and stop of the week. I do not know how people do what they do to survive, and I think it is our responsibility as leaders of our community to change the conversation.

Washington Terrace and Meadow Creek Affordable Housing Communities

Our final two stops on the tour included a drive through of Washington Terrace, which was under construction, and a walking tour of Meadowcreek Commons, a senior community which has been open for approximately two years. DHIC, a local non-profit founded in 1974 by the City of Raleigh, is constructing the Washington Terrace redevelopment project, including 245 units on 23 acres, which five years ago was a community in foreclosure. They have affordable housing opportunities for families, individuals, and seniors including a childcare center that can support 75 pre-kindergarten children and is run by the Methodist Home for Children. There are program services for families, a community garden, a play space partnership with Kaleidoscope and North Carolina State University.

Wake County did a 20-year affordable housing plan study and found that our county currently needs 56,000 affordable housing units, and that 37,000 Wake County residents are paying in excess of 50 percent of their annual income for housing (rent and utilities), which is not sustainable. In 2009, in Wake County, incomes increased by 10 percent, and housing costs went up by 30 percent. If we can provide enough affordable housing, we can limit many unintended costs to our community, including emergency services such as hospitals and police. North Carolina added 2,600 units, limit is per capita for the state, which is not even a drop in the bucket of the affordable housing needs in our area.

DHIC was asked how we can help and they said advocacy was what they needed most, but also vote for housing bonds and talk to our elected officials to help change the conversation. They are always looking for volunteer board members as well as land downtown near transportation. Housing is tied to every part of our lives.

By Beau Minnick
Raleigh Chamber

​6,149 days.

That’s nearly 17 years. That’s also how long Greg Taylor was in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.
Taylor certainly has a story to tell. He’s been the subject of numerous articles and news stories, along with a WRAL documentary, also called 6,149 Days.

As a part of Leadership Raleigh 37’s Law Enforcement Day, we were privileged to hear in person from Taylor about his time in prison and how his case impacts the justice system.

Speaking to our class, Taylor was joined by Chris Mumma, the executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. She took up his case and worked to get Taylor exonerated.

In 1993, Taylor was convicted of the murder of a woman whose body was found about 100 yards from where Taylor’s SUV had gotten stuck in the mud near downtown Raleigh. Mumma said there was a blood spot inside the wheel well of the SUV. She said the blood was later determined to not even be human, but, at the time, it led to his conviction.

She told us how Taylor’s case and the cases of other exonerated defendants highlight the need for more improvements in the justice process. As for Taylor, since being released in 2010, he has been enjoying life with his family. He told us that he had been trick-or-treating with grandchildren for Halloween the night before.

He recalled his time in prison, constantly walking around asking the question to himself, “Why am I here?” While in prison, he ran the library, selecting books for other inmates to read.

“I got to know the types of books each inmate liked and would select what they would read based off their interests,” he said.

We all thanked Taylor for sharing his incredible story, one that was eye-opening for all of us.

But, that was just one part of our Law Enforcement Day.

We began with a presentation from an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

He talked with us about the impact of illegal drugs, both nationally and in North Carolina. Nationally, he said there were about 74,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. last year. That is about five times the number of murders that took place nationally during the same time frame.

He showed us how some suspects would hide drugs they were attempting to smuggle. In some cases, the drugs were built into vehicles.

We also heard from an officer with Raleigh Police, who works in the gang suppression unit.

She told us how gangs in Raleigh will use their own language and even have their own alphabet.

“These gangs are creative and intelligent,” she said. “They have a detailed organizational culture.”

Her stories made us aware of things happening in our own city that we simply did not know.

We then boarded a bus and went to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Driver Training Center. We witnessed an exercise where there was a simulated police chase. The trooper in pursuit used a PIT maneuver to cause the fleeing driver to lose control and stop.

Next, we got hands on! We got to participate in a training exercise where we attempted to arrest a suspect who was wanted for outstanding warrants. One of the Highway Patrol members acted as the suspect who threatened us when we tried to arrest him. It was our job to determine when would be the appropriate time to draw our guns and fire. We didn’t all get to participate in the exercise, but from what I’ve heard, not too many of us will be heading to the academy anytime soon.

We also saw the K9 units do what they do best and find objects that were hidden. Some of us got to take a ride in a vehicle that drove through a simulated rain storm. We learned what to do when our cars lose control. We also got up-close experiences with a motorcycle course and seeing a Highway Patrol helicopter.

It was alarming, though, when we heard how the Highway Patrol has a shortage of troopers across the state. Even as our state continues to grow rapidly, the Highway Patrol members who spoke with us said there is a shortage of 200 troopers.

Later in the day, we also learned about the difficulties in recruiting and retaining correction workers to staff our prisons. The last stop of our day was a tour of Central Prison in Raleigh.

We learned how Central Prison is the only maximum security prison in North Carolina. It is the admission point into prison for men who have been sentenced to 20 or more years. It also houses the men in North Carolina who sit on death row. I spoke with one inmate who was working in the prison canteen. Later, I found out he is on death row.

Inmates in the prison will work in a variety of jobs, including cooks, janitors, barbers, and clerks. They do get a small salary in prison, which they can use to purchase snacks and other items.

Central Prison has its own medical and mental health center. It houses Bible studies and worship services, along with recreation areas. Needless to say, security is very tight inside of Central Prison.

We closed out our day hearing directly from some of the inmates. Several shared stories with us how they have young children. One inmate told me, every chance he gets, he tells his children to make the right choices in life.
​
We’ve heard stories from previous Leadership Raleigh participants how the Law Enforcement Day would be one to remember. Our day did not disappoint! It was an exhilarating, yet thought-provoking day. On behalf of the rest of my class, I know we want to thank everyone who planned this day, and those who shared their stories and insight with us. We can’t wait to see what is next at our Human Services Day in December.

Samreen Salim joined our team in October, working with our top investors and Board of Advisors members. She loves getting to know new people and says working at the Chamber is a perfect fit.

Originally from Bangladesh, Samreen moved to the U.S. when she attended college. She graduated from Adrian College in Michigan. After graduation, Samreen moved to Toronto, where she worked in banking, including seven years at TD Canada Trust Bank.
​
More than six years ago, Samreen and her husband moved to the Triangle. They have two young children and love how much there is to do in the area. On weekends, you’ll find them going to the movies, or to our many museums and parks. 

By Nanci Washington
Partnership Developer
NC State

​What do you get when you mix the next batch of Raleigh’s leaders with city-wide influencers, in-depth exposure to the city’s economic infrastructure, and a two-hour scavenger hunt? A lot of insight and one tired group of professionals! This week, to kick off Leadership Raleigh 38, we had the pleasure of interacting with a knowledgeable and seasoned group of professionals representing economic development, real estate, and higher education.

The group of roughly 50 Leadership Raleigh participants began the day with breakfast at Parker Poe Law Firm located in downtown Raleigh, while engaging in an insightful panel discussion including Adrienne Cole (Raleigh Chamber), Tom Rabon (New Kind), and David Spratley (Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina). Michael Haley (Wake County Economic Development) moderated the discussion. The panel highlighted many of the “behind-the-scenes” ways in which the city works to recruit companies to the area. Other topics included collaborating broadly with city partners like NC State, as well as explaining the city’s value-add, competitive edge, and incentive packages. The discussion was good-natured and candid, leaving participants with a deeper appreciation for what is required to attract and retain businesses.

The remainder of the day’s activities were complementary to the foundational breakfast Q&A panel. Participants traveled to NC State’s Centennial Campus to learn more about the university, its co-located partners, and how the marriage between industry and academia contributes to economic development. The lunch hour was jam-packed with a delicious buffet-style lunch at Sitti’s extended special events area, “Jiddi,” and featured presentations from Andrew Stewart (Empire Properties) and Kris Larson (Downtown Raleigh Alliance). Participants gained a better understanding of Empire’s vast real estate presence, in addition to some of downtown Raleigh’s history, and plans for future development.

Following lunch, the day’s formal activities concluded with a two-hour scavenger hunt throughout downtown Raleigh. Groups were divided into small teams and tasked with finding clues to successfully complete the challenge. Despite the knowledge gained earlier in the day, participants were most likely surprised to know that there is a cat called the “Oak City Kitty” with its own Instagram page, makes daily appearances in downtown Raleigh, is chauffeured around in a stroller, and is about 20-years-old. Who knew?!

Scavenger hunt winners were announced during the post-day happy hour, held at Trophy Brewing, an activity that was enjoyed by all. It was an awesome way to kickoff what we foresee as an insightful, challenging, and collaborative program year. Special thanks to the previous Leadership Raleigh groups responsible for pulling this day together.

-Nanci Washington (LR38 - NC State)

The Leadership Raleigh Class 37 kicked off the year with a walking tour of Raleigh to learn about and experience the city’s Quality of Life. As a newcomer to Raleigh, it was a great opportunity to learn about places that I did not know existed. For example, Stop 1 was Charter Square on Fayetteville Street. The building is home to law firm Womble Bond Dickson, where our first panel awaited us.

Real Estate Developers Greg Hatem (Empire Properties), John Kane (Kane Realty Corporation), and Smedes York (York Properties) discussed development plans and trends. The three businessmen took our questions about Raleigh’s booming population and discussed how the city is a target for new and expanding businesses. Mr. Kane made an interesting point that, “Whether we land Amazon or Apple, now we’re on everybody’s radar.”
​
Next we headed to Industrious, a co-working office space also located in Charter Square. The floor is styled in a mid-century modern, industrial office space, made up of several glass wall offices. Industrious provides office rentals for start-ups and growing businesses. Fortunately for us, it was National Vodka Day and there were free Bloody Marys! Social House Vodka supplied the drinks. After our tour, we left Charter Square to head to the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on South Street.

Following a tour of the theater from Jim Lavery, general manager for the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, we enjoyed a panel discussion. Chris Malarkey (Booking Agent, Lincoln Theater), Michele Weathers (Executive Director, Carolina Ballet), and Lauren Kennedy Brady (Producing Artistic Director, Theatre Raleigh) discussed the challenges they face in the Arts and how, as one Arts company improves, it forces the others to improve, too. Next was lunch at The Raleigh Times on Hargett Street.

After enjoying delicious food and a beautiful balcony, we walked over to Marbles Children’s Museum and heard from the Athletics Panel. Loren Gold (Executive Vice President, Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors’ Bureau), Curt Johnson (President and General Manager, North Carolina FC) and Gary Buete (Chief Executive Officer, North Carolina FC Youth) spoke to us about the possibility of a Major League Soccer team based in Raleigh. They also discussed building a multi-modal stadium in downtown Raleigh. Next we made our way to Raleigh Union Station on Hargett Street.

Add this to the list of things I did not know existed. What a beautiful station! Herbs and foliage grow from its “green” roof and the building is made from repurposed cranes and metal sheeting. There are five roundtrip trains daily, including three to Charlotte. After a station tour from David Eatman, transit administrator for the City of Raleigh, we ended the day with a walk to Brewery Bhavana.
​
Leadership Raleigh Class 35 greeted us with free drink tickets. Drinking spicy margaritas was the perfect way to end our first day with Leadership Raleigh. Next month, we are scheduled to learn about Raleigh Law Enforcement. They are planning police ride-alongs, so you might see us out and about again in a few weeks!

“I’m in.” Two words that proved to be the catalyst for Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital. Hamilton once wondered when, if ever, she would find the success she was searching for, especially after multiple nights sleeping on a hard floor or going without food. But this didn’t stunt her desire to build a venture capital firm and provide funding for underrepresented minorities and women. As a woman of color, and a lesbian, Hamilton saw early on the need to fund companies whose ownership didn’t necessary fit into the perfect box. Some of the best early stage tech companies she came across had owners who were diverse, part of the LGBT community, or women and couldn't secure funding for various reasons. As a smart business woman, she knew that investing in diversity in the tech field likely would have a high return as many traditional venture capital firms in Silicon Valley simply overlooked these companies.
 
Since the time we received a “yes” from Hamilton, agreeing to be the keynote speaker at this year’s Innovate Raleigh Summit on Nov. 9, she has quickly become a household name across the country for entrepreneurs look to fund their dreams. Similarly, the city of Raleigh and the Research Triangle region are on a fast trajectory of recognition. An Inc. magazine article published in June 2018 titled, “Why Raleigh Will Be the Next Startup Hub,” shows the region’s focus on startups and entrepreneurship and how early stage companies could potentially propel Raleigh further into the spotlight.
 
It makes sense that someone like Arlan Hamilton will open the 7th annual Innovate Raleigh Summit which will focus on funding, talent, and inclusivity. Hamilton will speak to all three topics as these are core elements of her venture capital firm. She promotes the importance of funding underrepresented startups, believes talent should be diverse, and has built her life around inclusivity in entrepreneurship. What more could we want for our Summit?
 
The only question remains—are you in? Register today for the Innovate Raleigh Summit.
 
Join the conversation on Twitter!
@InnovateRaleigh
@RaleighWake
@raleighchamber
#IRSummit2018

We know bright things are ahead for Raleigh and the region. Jobs continue to come. Wake County grows by more than 60 people a day. Our area has a superior quality of life. But, for our area to remain better and faster, Jeremy Gutsche says, “Don’t be complacent.”

“We naturally become protective, complacent, and repetitive at anything that we’re good at,” the CEO of Trendhunter.com told the audience at the Raleigh Chamber’s 130th Annual Meeting. “But, by being those things, it means that you will miss out on opportunities.”

Gutsche, the keynote speaker at our Annual Meeting, is the author of The New York Times bestseller, Better and Faster: The Proven Path to Unstoppable Ideas, which focuses on ways to adapt to change, be disruptive, and out-innovate the competition. Trendhunter.com has more than three billion page views. Gutsche also is an innovation advisor to more than 400 CEOs, billionaires, and big-name brands, including Cisco, Coca-Cola, Hughes Aerospace, IBM, Sony, and Victoria’s Secret.
 
You can take Gutsche’s Better & Faster Innovation Assessment to discover your innovation archetype and specific tactics to realize your potential faster. Also, you will find out how to maximize your impact on the innovation potential of other colleagues, coworkers, and clients.
 
“Fight complacency by being insatiable,” he said. “Instead of being repetitive, be curious. Instead of being protective, be willing to destroy.”
 
The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting also was Better & Faster. Gutsche challenged the audience that, “Everyone wants to get better and faster. It’s just that not everyone puts in the effort.”
 
He pointed out how smart teams consistently have missed great ideas that were right in their grasp. Gutsche said 52 percent of Fortune 500 companies from 2000 are gone or have been replaced.
 
But he said your next breakthrough is closer to your grasp than you might think. “Opportunity is everywhere,” said Gutsche. “You need to be able to connect the dots.”
 
He discussed the importance of aligning yourself with tiny trends that are emerging.
 
Gutsche’s overall message? “There’s never been a better time to be innovators, creators,” he said. “Now is the time for action. Now is the time to take risks and push your team because nobody else will.”
 
Gutsche ended his keynote by telling the audience, “Be revolutionary!”
 
Look to the Future
 
Gutsche’s address was the culmination of a very successful Annual Meeting. This year, we honored Dr. Stephen Scott, the recently retired president of Wake Technical Community College, with the A.E. Finley Distinguished Service Award.
 
A true visionary and innovator, Scott made it a priority to cultivate new degree options and, in his 15 years at the helm of Wake Tech, he helped grow it to the largest community college in the state. Wake Tech now serves more than 74,000 students, has expanded to six campuses and training centers, has added competitive athletics, and has increased its total budget from $60 million to $279 million. One in 10 adults in Wake County is served by Wake Tech.
 
Scott graciously accepted the honor and told the audience, “You, the Greater Raleigh Chamber, are the secret sauce in this community to help grow existing businesses and attract new businesses. You are our past leaders, current leaders, and the future leaders of our community.”
 
He also encouraged the audience to support the $349 million Wake Tech Bond Referendum, which would fund new healthcare programs, a building and lab space for the automotive and collision repair program, a law enforcement simulation and tactical response center, along with college-wide infrastructure improvements.
 
That message went hand-in-hand with the Better & Faster theme. Speakers discussed the importance of planning ahead.
 
“We know the growth is coming, no matter what,” said Jimmy Goodmon, the outgoing chair of the Chamber Board of Directors, and the president and chief operating officer of Capitol Broadcasting Co., Inc. “We can plan for the growth or just leave it up to luck.”
 
“What we do is not business as usual,” said Adrienne Cole, president and CEO of the Raleigh Chamber. “We are driven by innovation and collaboration. From supporting infrastructure and business creation to recruiting new businesses and jobs and developing our region’s talent pipeline, our fundamentals are strong. Our focus and drive to be forward-thinking is what moves us ahead. It’s a pleasure to celebrate the accomplishments we’ve achieved together.”
 
Goodmon talked about those accomplishments, including announcing nearly 8,000 new jobs and $377 million in investment in the past year, launching the equitable economic development program with the support of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, accelerating the completion of 540, successfully advocating for the 2017 Raleigh Transportation Bond referendum, and forming a new partnership with Innovate Raleigh.
 
Jim Hansen, the new chair of the Chamber Board of Directors, and the regional president of PNC, discussed how exciting it is to live and work in Raleigh and Wake County, and be a part of the Raleigh Chamber.
 
“Together, we are charting our future, leading innovation, and creating a region that is prosperous for everyone,” he said. “We are committed to supporting our members by providing programs that foster leadership and offer resources to help your business grow. Whether it’s at C-Suite Perspectives, Coffee with Leaders, or the Young Professionals Network Conference, be sure that you and your team are engaged in your Chamber.”
 
Hansen also announced that the 2019 Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference will be held in Nashville, Tennessee. Our 2018 ICVLC trip was to Seattle, Washington.
 
The Chamber also announced that, in lieu of attendee gifts for the Annual Meeting, we are making a donation to the Red Cross Hurricane Florence Disaster Relief fund.
 
“We are all North Carolinians,” said Cole. “When some of us are hurting, we are all hurting.”
 
We want to thank all of our sponsors and everyone who helped make our Annual Meeting such a success. We generated a lot of interest and discussion on social media, as well, as our official Twitter hashtag, #AnnMtg18, was the top trending topic in the Raleigh market for much of the day.
 
Please join us at the Elected Officials Holiday Reception on Nov. 29. We will gather to thank our elected leaders for the work that they do and connect with other Chamber members. Attendees include our U.S. Congressional delegation, N.C. Council of State, members of the N.C. General Assembly from our 13-county region, Wake County Board of Commissioners, Wake County Board of Education, mayors of Wake County municipalities, and Raleigh City Council.

We hope to see you there!

When His Excellency Ambassador Dan Mulhall arrived in the Triangle on Wednesday, Oct. 3, he had never been to a college football game. By the time he leaves Raleigh, that will change.

“I’m going to the NC State game tomorrow,” said Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the U.S., during his visit to the Raleigh Chamber. “In Ireland, we’re not used to college sports having the impact they do here. I’m going to have to become an NC State fan from now on.”

Even before he sets foot at Carter-Finley Stadium, Mulhall already is incredibly impressed by what he’s seen from the universities in our region. He spoke at a leadership roundtable with an audience of business and community leaders, elected officials, and economic development executives.

“You have this dynamic Triangle and there is a lot happening here,” said Mulhall.

He spoke not only about the university ecosystem, but also the talent in our region, our industries, and the quality of life.

“This area is increasingly becoming a place that Irish companies coming to the U.S. will want to locate,” said Mulhall.

He told the audience that he’s heard about what has been happening in the Triangle and one of his priorities was visiting our area to see it firsthand.

“From the very beginning, we knew in Ireland that America was a special place,” said Mulhall. “We want to explore America in its diversity and look for the opportunities that are there all over the country.”

Mulhall said, in recent decades, Ireland’s economy has been revolutionized by foreign direct investment. As he looks for opportunities across America, he sees a great opportunity in the Triangle.

“Not everything happens in places like New York, Boston, and San Francisco,” he said. “This is a great place to live, with its talent, quality of life, and education.”

Mulhall said the U.S. and Ireland already have a deep, complex, and mutually beneficial economic relationship and he wants to see that relationship flourish further.

“I’d like to see us connect more together so we don’t miss opportunities here and you don’t miss opportunities in Ireland,” he said.

After the event, Michael Haley, executive director for Wake County Economic Development, said he was impressed by the similarities between the Triangle and the Republic of Ireland.

“We have similarities in the areas of talent, advanced industries, and high tech,” said Haley. “That means more partnership opportunities between us.”

Also following the discussion, Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Jessica Holmes and Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane presented Ambassador Mulhall with a photo of the Raleigh skyline.

We join Holmes and McFarlane in expressing our sincere gratitude to Mulhall for spending time experiencing Raleigh and the Triangle, and for sharing his great perspective and insight with us.

As for the football game, NC State Football saw our comment on Twitter about him attending the game and responded, “Happy to have you! We’ll supply the BBQ, you supply the Irish luck!”

We know the ambassador will enjoy his first college football game, just like he enjoyed his first visit to the Triangle.

​If you have a conversation with Natalie Perkins and Jeremy Holden about advertising, you’ll find they are a team that works hand-in-hand to ensure their company’s success. But, if you have a conversation with them about fishing, throw that teamwork out the window.

“She always catches more fish than me,” said Holden. “She doesn’t have the best fly fishing technique but somehow it happens.”

“We do well fishing together until you get grumpy,” Perkins responded.

For the married couple, fishing is how they unwind. Advertising and branding is where they shine.

They run Clean, an integrated branding agency in Raleigh. Together, they stopped by the Raleigh Chamber to take part in the latest discussion in our Coffee with Leaders series.

Perkins, the CEO of Clean, previously served as the president of Trone Advertising and the chief marketing officer at Brunner. She has more than 25 years of industry experience.

Holden, Clean’s president, chief strategy officer, and partner, previously was the chief strategy officer at Publicis Kaplan Thaler in New York and the head of strategy at McKinney. He also was the strategic leader for Audi of America and was a member of Audi’s global marketing council. Holden has more than 30 years of industry experience.

“When I joined Clean, we had about 12-15 people,” said Perkins. “We were a small, little design shop in 2007. We had some big name clients, but it was right before the recession. A lot of our clients went away during the recession and we had to rebuild the agency. We became a more strategic agency and more creative than a boutique design shop.”

Perkins shared how Clean rebuild itself after the recession.

“We went out and we hustled,” she said. “We showed people how creative we are and how good we could be for them. We hustled up a lot of small accounts. We didn’t make a lot of money off of them, but we were willing to do things to prove our worth.”

Now, Clean employs more than 60 people. Most of them, Perkins and Holden said, are women.

“While it’s not intentional, it is a side effect of our culture,” said Perkins. “We are a values-driven agency and we wanted to create a very family-friendly environment. Advertising is a hard business and I’ve seen too many women run away because they’ve had to choose between work and children.”

“We tell our clients you are not the most important people to us,” she added. “Our staff is and you should be happy about that because if she is happy, she’s doing better work for you.”

With the agency being values-driven, Perkins said it does a lot of work with nonprofits and also with tourism clients. Charlottesville, Va. is one of Clean’s clients. Prior to the anniversary of the violence that happened in Charlottesville in Aug. 2017, Clean came up with a campaign for Charlottesville called Joined in Strength.

“No community wants to see hatred,” said Holden. “It just shows what you can do if you start to build a groundswell of a movement.”

As for their leadership dynamic, Holden said Perkins runs the business and he keeps his eye on future business.
“There is nobody better at doing what he does,” she said.

Holden said, in the last 10 years, there has been a digital advertising explosion.

“We have to create communications that people want to opt into,” he said. “People will block your ad if they don’t want to see it.”

An audience member asked for advice on how to effectively use social media.

“Know who you are,” said Holden. “Know the nature of your brand and your product. Companies need to figure out the nature of who they are, the nature of who their core audience is, and don’t bombard people with information. If you give me interesting information, I’m more likely to share it.”

Another audience member asked about any regrets they have. Perkins responded, “I only wish that I had done this sooner. I love this. I love having my own place.”

We thank Perkins and Holden for sharing their great insight and stories with us. We also thank our series sponsors, Duke Energy and Duck Donuts.

Our next Coffee with Leaders event at the Chamber will be on Dec. 5 where we will have a conversation with Todd Olson, the CEO and co-founder of Pendo, one of our region’s most promising startups. In five years, Pendo has grown from a five-person team housed inside HQ Raleigh to one of the most well-funded companies in North Carolina with more than 200 employees.
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Coffee with Leaders is a free event, meant for Chamber members with 50 employees or fewer. Space is limited. Register today and we will see you on Dec. 5.