Greater Raleigh Chamber Blog

Applications for Leadership Raleigh Cohorts 53 and 54 open the week of April 13, but right now the spotlight belongs to our current cohorts — they have spent months developing their community impact projects and are entering the most exciting phase: bringing them to life. Each project is a direct collaboration with a local nonprofit or community organization, and your participation and support make all the difference. Join them in action this spring:

• April 11 | Wheel-A-Thon with Skate Raleigh
• April 17 | Wake on Stage with the United Arts Council
• April 18 | Miles for Meals 5K with Meals on Wheels of Wake County
• April 18 | Earth Yay! 2026 with The Great Raleigh Cleanup
• April 22 | Annual Breakfast with Communities In Schools Wake County
• April 23 | Savor the Flavor with Ripe for Revival
• May 4 | Children’s Flight of Hope Golf Classic

Healthcare is changing. Genomics, digital health, robot-assisted surgery, and many more tools that once seemed like science fiction are now a reality. Because of such unprecedented changes, the healthcare industry is facing a level of disruption that is bringing challenges to every part of the sector and demanding that organizations learn to navigate with new levels of agility and innovation. This article examines the landscape of this disruption and how current and emerging healthcare leaders can navigate it, ensure smooth succession, and maintain a long-term competitive edge.

Generative AI
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Rapid advancements in large language models, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), offer exciting opportunities to enhance patient care and health equity while lowering costs. This technology can help reduce provider burnout by streamlining time-consuming tasks like writing, editing, searching, and analyzing electronic health records.

According to a recent study of large language models in a healthcare setting conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, these “software tools…have been shown to perform as well or better than humans on many health care-related tasks,” including:

• Updating clinical documentation
• Pulling information from medical records
• “Writing accurate and empathetic responses to patients’ medical questions”

However, despite the enormous potential of large language models to improve patient care, the study identified several obstacles to deploying this technology in healthcare organizations. These included ethical and regulatory challenges as well as the potential for generative AI to provide “incomplete, biased, misleading, or factually false” content. Due to these and other concerns, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ultimately chose to proceed with using generative AI tools to streamline work and conduct research, but not to provide clinical care.

The authors of the Dana-Farber study share the following best practices for helping leaders integrate this innovative tool into healthcare settings:

• Engage employees in exploring the potential benefits and risks of the new technology
• Create a cross-functional governance body to guide technical, ethical, and policy decisions
• Provide a forum for reviewing employees’ questions and concerns on an ongoing basis
• When the technology is first deployed, provide users with tools to submit software bugs and request features
• Build in stringent data security measures and mechanisms for legal and regulatory compliance (for example, by labeling copyrighted material)

As healthcare leaders navigate unprecedented transformation, their primary goal must be to ensure that emerging technologies like generative AI improve patient outcomes.

Continue reading this article and learn more about the 4 ways to navigate healthcare disruptions. 

Every seat at every table that a woman occupies today exists because someone sat down there first - often uninvited, usually underestimated, always undeterred.

In Raleigh's own history, that story goes back further than most people realize. Born into slavery in Raleigh in 1858, Anna Julia Cooper went on to earn a Ph.D. and write what is considered the first African American feminist publication. Her voice carried further than anyone around her was willing to admit through her writing, education, and her efforts as a founding member and corresponding secretary of the Colored Women’s League. She was doing STEM, and advocacy, before either word existed in its current form.

In 1940, Annie Louise Wilkerson became the first female to complete an internship and residency at Rex Hospital, then went on to become Raleigh's first female OB-GYN specialist and played a defining role in establishing WakeMed. She did it in an era when women becoming doctors was considered, by much of the medical establishment, nearly impossible.

At NC State, statistician Gertrude Cox founded the university's Experimental Statistics department in 1940-41, making it the first such department in the United States. She was instrumental in creating Research Triangle Park itself and became the first woman elected to the International Statistical Institute. The Triangle's identity as a research and innovation hub? She helped lay the groundwork.

In civic life, Isabella Cannon became Raleigh’s first female mayor at age 73 in 1977, and in 2009, Bev Perdue became the first woman ever elected Governor of North Carolina. At the end of her term, Gov. Perdue recalled seeing a little girl at her inauguration wearing a sign that read: 'Wow, maybe I can be a girl governor too.' That is what firsts do. They don't just open a door; they let someone else see the door exists.

​In our legislature, women have served at every level, often as the only woman in the room, shaping policy for a state that didn't always make their path easy. These women didn't have conferences to attend, networks ready to receive them, or pipelines designed to move them forward. They were the pipeline. They were the network. And because of them, the women who came after had something they never did: proof.

Women's History Month is not just about the past. It's about honoring what's changed, what's been built, and what still needs work.

​And look at the Raleigh City Council: for the first time in the city's history, it became majority female. This is a milestone that signals something deeper than symbolic progress; it signals a shift in who is trusted to make decisions about this community's future.

​Here is what every woman on this list has in common: she kept moving when the path was not clear.

That is not a small thing. It is, in fact, the thing. The ability to adapt when conditions are uncertain, to make decisions under pressure without losing yourself, to build momentum that doesn't require permission, that is the skill that built this region and the skill this region still needs.

This is why the message at the heart of our Women's Leadership Conference 2026 presented by PNC feels so true to this moment. Ali Ingersoll, globally recognized speaker, Ms. Wheelchair America, corporate consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and someone who has navigated uncertainty in ways most of us will never face, centers her work on exactly this: leading with grit and grace. Not pretending setbacks don't happen. Not waiting until the road clears. Moving forward anyway, strategically, purposefully, with your humanity intact.

​That's what Women's History Month asks of us. Not just gratitude for how far we have come. But a commitment to making sure the women coming behind us have it better than we did, and that we keep building until that's true.

On March 17, more than 1,000 executives, entrepreneurs, and emerging leaders will gather at the Raleigh Convention Center for Women's Leadership Conference 2026: Amplify Your Influence, the Triangle's most impactful convening for women and allies committed to expanding their reach and driving meaningful change, presented by PNC.

Come for the keynote. Leave with tools you can apply immediately: how to stay calm, think clearly, and lead with influence when the stakes are real. Build connections that last. Walk out with strategies you can use, not just ideas you admire. Women's History Month is about honoring the women who came before us. This conference is about becoming one of the women someone else will honor someday. Join us!

January is when momentum is created. Before the first quarter is fully underway, business leaders across the Triangle are already making decisions that will influence hiring, expansion, real estate, and investment for the rest of the year.
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At its best, a forecast is not about predicting the future; it’s about helping leaders recognize the forces shaping it and adjusting strategy accordingly. That’s why our annual Economic Forecast brings together national economic perspective and regional insight, helping business and civic leaders ground their planning in data and informed discussion.

Rather than approaching the Forecast as a single morning of information, leaders can use it as a multi-step planning resource:

Before the event:
Participants are encouraged to review available data and reports in advance and arrive with questions for the presenters and panelists.

• Find Speaker Presentations Here

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During the program:
Economic Forecast 2026 will feature briefings on national and regional economic conditions, followed by a panel discussion examining how those trends are influencing business decisions across industries. Participants will use expert insights to test assumptions, assess risk, and identify emerging opportunities. Live audience questions may be submitted to [email protected].

After the event:
Block 30 minutes after the event to jot down 3 takeaways and 1 action step. Share key insights with your leadership, board, or team to help everyone get aligned on the trends most likely to shape your strategy. A full recording of the program will also be available after the event.

• You can find a copy of the publication released at the event, Wake County Economic Development’s Economy & Business, ⁠here.

Economic Forecast 2026 takes place on Tuesday, January 6, at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, with registration and networking beginning at 7 a.m. and the program running from 8 to 10 a.m. For those unable to attend in person, the full program will be livestreamed by WRAL, ensuring leaders across the region can engage with the insights and discussion shaping the year ahead.

In a region defined by growth and complexity, clarity is a competitive advantage. The Economic Forecast is one of the ways the Greater Raleigh Chamber helps leaders step back, assess conditions beyond their own organizations, and move forward with greater confidence. Thank you to our generous sponsors who helped make this year’s event possible:

Duke Energy​

Highwoods Properties, Inc.
Martin Marietta
Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina 
The Resolute Building Company

​On Monday, October 20, the Greater Raleigh Chamber’s Annual Golf Tournament brought members and regional leaders together for a full day of connection, competition, and community support at Prestonwood Country Club.

The day teed off with a special guest on the driving range — Roary, the NC Courage mascot — who helped golfers warm up and set the tone for a fun, relaxed start. Once teams headed out across the Highlands, Meadows, and Fairways courses, the competition got underway, but the real focus of the day was building relationships in a unique, informal setting. Find a few pictures from the event here.
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After 18 holes of play, we gathered to celebrate the day’s top performers. Congratulations to the teams who walked away with bragging rights on each course, as well as the individual contest winners.

​Along the course, players had the chance to engage with dozens of Chamber sponsors who hosted tented holes, contests, and giveaways. From branded snacks and drinks to quick games and raffles, the sponsor experience brought an added layer of energy, making each hole feel like more than just another shot.

To everyone who played, supported, volunteered, or sponsored — thank you. Events like this work because of the people and businesses who show up, get involved, and make it more than just a tournament.

​Thank you once again for your ongoing support! If you would like to secure your sponsorship for next year’s tournament or have general sponsorship questions, please email [email protected].
 
We look forward to hitting the links with you again in 2026!

October 15 is Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day 2025 and there is no better time to celebrate the Greater Raleigh Chamber and everything we do to grow our economy, connect leaders, and strengthen local businesses.
 
This year, we are inviting you to show your support in a fun way: nominate us for the new Monopoly: Raleigh Edition board! Raleigh is getting its own official Monopoly game, and you can help decide what landmarks and local organizations make the board. We would be honored to be included and with your help, we just might pass go!
 
🎯 Here’s how you can help:

1. Email your nomination to: [email protected],
2. Fill out the form at this link,
3. Or post on Instagram using #MonopolyRaleigh and tagging @toptrumpsusa, with this special image.

📝 Suggested message:
“The Greater Raleigh Chamber builds a thriving business landscape, connects leaders, and drives growth in our city. They’re a must-have on the #MonopolyRaleigh board! I nominate them today, on Support Your Local Chamber Day!”
 
Your support means everything — on this day and every day. Thank you for being part of our Chamber community!

Raleigh isn’t growing by accident – it’s being led there, strategically, by some of the most forward-thinking leaders in business, education, healthcare, law, and innovation. The Greater Raleigh Chamber is proud to announce our 2025-2026 Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
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Whether they are driving billion-dollar infrastructure, nurturing small business ecosystems, or shaping the future of workforce development – these are the people helping us move our region forward.

Travis Brisbon, Brisbon Transportation Group, Vice Chair of Member Services & Small Business
Dan Cahill, Poyner Spruill LLP, Past Chair - 2022-2023
Paul Erunse, MetLife, Vice Chair of Economic Development
Brian Fork, Carolina Hurricanes, At Large
Baker Glasgow, Clancy & Theys Construction Company, At Large
Heather Gray, WRAL-TV Channel 5, Vice Chair of Marketing & Communications
Gary Greene, Greene Resources, Past Chair - 2023 - 2024
Barbara Griffith, M.D., Duke Health, At Large
Kristen M. Hess, FAIA, HH Architecture, Chair of the Board
Russell Killen, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Treasurer
Kevin McLaughlin, Duke Energy, At Large
Jon Mize, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Vice Chair of Government Affairs & Community Development
Mitch Perry, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Chair-Elect
Rebecca Quinn-Wolf, PNC, Vice Chair of the Raleigh Chamber Foundation
Brian Reid, TowneBank , Vice Chair of Revenue Development
Ford Robertson, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, General Counsel
Shan Teel, First Citizens Bank, Immediate Past Chair

This 50+ member board represents every corner of the region’s economy, from innovation to infrastructure and finance to philanthropy.

• 13 new members on the Board this year
• 3 past Chairs continuing to serve
• 1 shared vision for a stronger Triangle

These leaders go beyond attending meetings; they set the tone for how our community grows. They weigh in on priorities that impact businesses of all sizes, advise on regional talent strategy, and advocate for infrastructure, mobility, and quality of life.

Their expertise helps us:

• Secure regional economic investments
• Strengthen the workforce pipeline
• Support small businesses
• Shape advocacy and policy priorities

​We invite you to be part of our journey by joining us at our upcoming events, exploring sponsorship opportunities, and leveraging our member benefits. Together with more than 1,800 member firms, we can make a meaningful impact and shape the future of our thriving and vibrant business community. With their visionary leadership and your engagement, we’re not just keeping up with the region’s growth – we are driving it.

As we celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8, 2025, the global theme, Accelerate Action, calls on individuals, organizations, and communities to take steps toward closing the gender gap. According to the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress, it could take another 135 years to reach full gender parity. Now, more than ever, we must focus on accelerating the momentum for change.

One of the most impactful actions we can take is to actively support and empower the women who are leading the charge—whether through mentorship, access to resources, or, most importantly, by stepping into leadership roles ourselves.

That's where the Greater Raleigh Chamber's Women's Leadership Conference presented by PNC comes in.
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This year’s conference, taking place on March 25 and just a few weeks after International Women’s Day, is the perfect platform to Accelerate Action for gender equality in your own life and career. The theme for this year’s conference, Champions of Change, aligns perfectly with the global IWD call to action for 2025. The conference will empower you to be an agent of transformation, whether in your personal development, your workplace, or your community. Register now here.

 Meet Jess Ekstrom: A True Champion of Change

Breakout Sessions Focused on Women’s Advancement
The conference offers a variety of breakout sessions that will expand your professional toolkit and forge meaningful connections. These sessions include:

• Success in Succession: Build a pipeline of capable leaders and foster a culture of growth with insights from Katherine Peele of LS3P Associates, Matt Chambers of Clancy & Theys Construction, and Laura Goode of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, and Amy Carroll of Trademark Properties on leadership development strategies.
• Demystifying AI: Practical Tools for the Professional Toolbox: Explore the essential artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance productivity as Angela Doughty of Ward and Smith, P.A., Dirk Nicol or My AI Transformation, and Ada Lopez of Lenovo, and Rod Ellis of MetLife discuss how industries leverage generative AI for innovation.
• The Talent Spectrum: Building a Team Beyond the Checklist: Join a dynamic panel discussion focused on building teams that excel, empowering leaders to identify and leverage a wide range of skills within their teams to drive organizational success with Lindsay Wrege of 321 Coffee, Becca Egger-Alley of UBS, Allison Manning of Dean Dorton, and Cristina Colón of Habitat for Humanity.
• Frustration to Freedom: Dismantling Workplace Barriers: Empower women in leadership roles as Creighton Blackwell of Coastal Credit Union, Kristen Englehart of Brasco Marketing, and Rebecca Troyer of Triangle Business Journal share strategies for overcoming challenges and fostering resilience.​
• Building Financial Confidence: Foster financial confidence and independence by learning key tools and strategies for women to take control of their financial futures with Che-Che McCrimmon of PNC Bank, Sandra Stowe of White Owl Financial Advisors, and Jessica Wisniewski of RTP.
• Mastering Difficult Conversations: Master the essential skills for handling difficult conversations as Nicole Blake-Crigler of North Carolina Football Club, Erica DeLong of iHeartMedia, and Josh Stimpson of Hitachi Energy provide strategies for effective communication and relationship-building.
• Community Engagement: A Catalyst for Change: Harness the power of community engagement to foster personal and professional growth with Sarah Crawford of TLC, Wake County Commissioner Shinica Thomas, Gary Greene of Greene Resources, and Lori O'Keefe of Triangle Community Foundation.
• Networking With Purpose: Refine your networking skills and make meaningful connections as Meredith Pasekoff-Dinitz, Founder of Your Career Happiness Professional Coaching, leads an interactive session designed to enhance your relationships.

Register Today
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By attending the Women's Leadership Conference 2025, you will not only be contributing to the momentum of accelerating action for gender equality, but you will also leave with practical knowledge and inspiration that will make you a catalyst for change in your organization and beyond.
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Register Now for the 2025 Women's Leadership Conference

As we step into a new year, there’s no better way to get the momentum rolling for your business than Economic Forecast: Launch 2025, the Triangle area’s premier economic forecast event, presented by Wells Fargo. Whether you are attending in person or watching via the WRAL livestream (see below), this event is designed to provide the insights, trends, and predictions you need to make informed decisions in 2025. Access the livestream here on January 7 at 8 a.m.

​This year’s Economic Forecast offers unparalleled value for business leaders and professionals in the Triangle area, featuring expert insights into local commercial real estate and the national business economy landscape. Scheduled for January 7, 2025, the event will be held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts from 7 to 10 a.m. Presenters sharing their insights will include:

• Tom Barkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Jay H. Bryson, Ph.D., Chief Economist at Wells Fargo & Company

These experts will be joined by local industry leaders Calvin J. Crosslin from the Lenovo Foundation and Billie Redmond of TradeMark Properties as part of a dynamic panel discussion and Q&A session. Together, they will provide an in-depth look at the economic landscape of 2025, and help you understand how macroeconomic factors may impact your business, investment strategies, and the regional economy.

​We are pleased to announce that Economic Forecast: Launch 2025 will be livestreamed for free thanks to our media partner WRAL-TV Channel 5. You can catch the event at 8 a.m. on January 7 via www.wral.com or on the WRAL News app. You can also follow along on social media using the hashtag #RCLaunch2025 for real-time updates and discussions.

To help you stay informed throughout the year, we encourage you to visit the digital Economy & Business Publication from Wake County Economic Development and the Jay H. Bryson presentation. These online resources provide updates and data that will complement the insights shared at this year’s event, helping you stay ahead of economic and industry-specific trends in our region.

This year’s Greater Raleigh Chamber Golf Tournament was a tremendous success! On a brisk fall morning this October, hundreds of business professionals, Triangle leaders, and community partners teed up to connect and show their support for the Chamber while enjoying a perfect day on the green. The event provided a valuable opportunity for networking, connecting, team building, and friendly competition - all while raising essential funds for the Chamber's initiatives.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and made this event possible. Your presence added to the day’s excitement and fostered a spirit of collaboration we are proud our region is known for. Golfers had the chance to showcase their skills on the course and we are very excited to announce the winners here.

​Congratulations to all our champions and thank you again to everyone who sponsored and made this year’s Greater Raleigh Chamber Golf Tournament such a memorable event. ​Your continued support ensures that we can continue to serve, building a thriving regional economy, enhancing the community’s quality of life, and strengthening our member businesses.