The Director

Susan Bowers

Executive Director

Susan Bowers, Executive Director of the Helene Foundation since 2012, is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and the community. Through her work with The Helene Foundation, she has witnessed the heartbreak that mothers experience during their cancer journey, but also the heartwarming impact that this organization can have on families struggling with a mother’s cancer diagnosis. Prior to her work with The Helene Foundation, Susan taught elementary school. Currently, she is a member of the Junior League of Raleigh, where she served as President in 2006-2007. She is an Advisory Board Member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at North Carolina State University and serves on the Community Allocations Committee with her church.

Susan is married to fellow Virginia Tech graduate Mark and they are the proud parents of three children - Will, Mary Kate, and Anne.

 The Board

Andrea Fox

Leadership & Development, Board President

Andrea Fox’s twenty-five years in development and leadership for volunteer organizations bring valuable experience to The Helene Foundation’s Board of Directors. Andrea serves as President of the foundation and is very involved in their development and fund-raising activities. She has served on the board for 10 years and has enjoyed serving as development chair and nominating and governance chair. 

Andrea’s professional career has focused on executive recruiting and continued improvement. Currently, she is the Net Promoter Score Program Manager for Charles Aris Inc, an executive search firm based in Greensboro, NC. Previously she worked for Charles Aris as a Practice Leader. Other professional experience includes roles in Wells Fargo and IPS Search headquartered in London.

For the past twenty-five years, Andrea has held a variety of volunteer leadership roles. Currently she is serving as a member of the Board of Trustees at Meredith College and the Meredith College Fund Advisory Board. She is a former member of Meredith’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee and has served as President of the Alumnae Board of Directors. In addition, Andrea serves as Vice Chair of the Friends Board for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences where she also co-chairs the development committee.  In recent years, Andrea co-chaired the nominating and governance committee of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. She served on the Junior League of Raleigh's Board of Directors as the Vice President of Training, Vice President of Funding, Chair of the Capital Campaign and At-Large Director. 

Andrea is a graduate of Meredith College where she received her degree in Business and Fashion Merchandising.

Dr. Tracy Davidian

Founder of the Helene Foundation, Board Vice President

Dr. Tracy Davidian founded the Helene Foundation in 2009. She is married to Dr. Daniel Davidian, son of Helene Davidian, whom the foundation was named after.  Helene was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2008.  She fought a valiant battle but succumbed to the disease in May 2009. Dr. Davidian’s motivation for establishing the foundation was to help mothers and their families maintain daily normalcy through services such as house cleaning, food delivery, tutoring, etc., so that the family’s matriarch can focus on healing.

Dr. Davidian is the owner and practicing dentist at Carolina TMJ & Facial Pain Center.  At her practice, she focuses on patients experiencing chronic facial pain/headaches and sleep breathing disorders and provides diagnosis, referrals, and services to help each patient’s circumstances and needs. Dr. Davidian practiced General Dentistry for 15 years prior to opening Carolina TMJ & Facial Pain Center with her husband and partner at Sedation Dental Care.  There, she and her husband, Dr. Daniel Davidian, focused on treating high-fear dental patients.

For the past seventeen years, Alice has held a variety of volunteer leadership roles in her children’s school communities, mostly oriented around events and communications. She served on multiple nonprofit boards, most recently the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science (NCMNS), where she established and chaired the Marketing Committee, and served on the Nominations & Governance Committee.

For the past eighteen years, Dr. Davidian has held various volunteer leadership roles in her children’s school communities and summer programs. She is currently involved as a parent and student Advocate at High Point University, where her eldest son attends. 

Dr. Davidian was born in Greenville, NC. She attended East Carolina University, graduating with a BS in Biology in 1996. She entered UNC School of Dentistry immediately following her undergraduate studies and graduated in 2000 with a Doctorate in Dental Surgery.  Dr. Davidian is highly trained in TMJ and Myofascial Pain Disorders and has received her Fellowship and Diplomat status with the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.  She has advanced training and knowledge in sleep-related disorders (e.g., sleep apnea) through her education at Tufts University in Boston.  She has also received a Fellowship in Neuromuscular Dentistry while attending the Las Vegas Institute for Higher Dental Education.  As a top Raleigh TMJ & Craniofacial Pain dentist, she believes that knowledge is ever-changing, and because of that belief, she strives to continue the learning process.

Anita Jones Wells

Founding Board Member

Anita met Mrs. Helene Davidian after attending dental school with her son, Dan Davidian. Anita quickly became a “part of the family,” included in birthday celebrations at their house in Chapel Hill and weekend visits to their Hyco Lake house. She grew close to Mrs. Davidian, who loved sharing her nursing stories and family stories about the boys growing up. During her battle with throat cancer, Mrs. Davidian still wanted to enjoy everyone’s company. She couldn’t speak at times but would still show up for special events at the lake.  After she passed, Anita and the family were brainstorming a way to honor her, when Dan and Dave started describing how they would not have made it through their middle school and high school years without her unwavering support. The idea of focusing on supporting mothers spoke to our hearts. The Helene Foundation was born and her honor has been forefront in our mission to provide support for mothers in their deepest struggles. She was a giver, a teacher, a nurse at heart and a fighter. Anita feels privileged to watch this foundation grow in achieving our mission since its inception and honored to serve on this board.

Anita brings this same passion, high standards of care and compassion to her professional life. She is a Business Partner and Dentist at Renaissance Dental Center. Anita and her partners are committed to providing a lifetime of optimum oral health and foster long term patient relationships based on mutual trust, excellent customer service, and the best clinical care available

Anita earned her DDS at the UNC Chapel Hill. She and her husband Andrew have two sons. The family loves to attend the annual Helene Foundation Gala together.

Kristi McKeown

Founding Board Member

Before working in the pharmaceutical industry at Millennium Pharmaceutical Incorporated, Kristi McKeown was a counselor for cancer patients and their families at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and focused on providing psychosocial support and counseling to persons living with cancer. She brings her extensive medical business savvy along with a desire to serve the community to the Helene Foundation.

An accomplished Commercial leader, Kristi brings more than 20 years of experience in diagnostics, biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations. She has a consistent track record of creating organizational value by building and leading excellent sales teams, executing successful product launches and bringing exceptional products to the patients we serve.

Kristi has been serving her community in many ways over the years. She is a member of the Junior League of Raleigh and the Chair of the Community Cares Committee at Duke Schools. Additionally, Kristi is Co-owner of Burn Athletic Fitness Studio in Brier Creek as well as a certified cycling instructor. 

She has a BA degree in Social Research from the University of Hartford and a MA degree in Counseling from North Carolina Central University. Kristi and her husband Bob have one son.

Wendie Hill

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Wendie Hill began her journey with the Helene Foundation many years ago as a donor and avid supporter of the organization's mission. In 2019, Wendie joined the Board as Treasurer and shares her love of people and community, along with her expertise in project management & financial services, to make a difference in the lives of mothers and families navigating a cancer diagnosis. 

Wendie is a Senior Vice President at Bank of America where she has been employed for 21 years, currently working as a Portfolio Manager in Global Operations. 

In her free time, Wendie enjoys playing tennis, water sports, traveling and volunteering at her daughter's school and in her community. Wendie is an alumna of the Cherie Blair Foundation Mentoring Program. Wendie lives in Raleigh, and is the proud mom of four girls - Marcie, Jennifer, Rebecca and Elizabeth.

Alice Tate

Board Member

Alice Tate’s twenty-five years in professional and volunteer marketing communications bring valuable experience and a unique perspective to The Helene Foundation’s Board of Directors. Alice has attended the Foundation’s annual Gala for the past decade. She is well-versed in the Foundation’s mission, who we serve, and the passion and hard work behind the scenes. 

Alice’s professional career has focused on marketing communications. Currently, she is the executive director and PR manager for the SNIA STA Forum, a non-profit data storage trade association. Earlier in her career, Alice managed marketing communications strategy and programs for high tech trade associations for a San Francisco-based AMC. Before that, her sole proprietorship Tate Communications coordinated communications programs for high tech clients, political campaigns, and health tech clients. Other professional experience included roles in a Silicon Valley start-up, and as Chief of Staff and Legislative Aide for a Philadelphia City Councilmember.

For the past seventeen years, Alice has held a variety of volunteer leadership roles in her children’s school communities, mostly oriented around events and communications. She served on multiple nonprofit boards, most recently the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science (NCMNS), where she established and chaired the Marketing Committee, and served on the Nominations & Governance Committee.

Alice has her B.A. English from the University of Rochester, where she was a Bausch & Lomb Scholar. She graduated from Marian Heights Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Indiana. She grew up in the Saudi Aramco communities of Saudi Arabia and holds dual citizenships with the USA and the Czech Republic. She enjoys international travel, local politics, new situations, and community involvement.

Henry DeHart

Board Member

Since 2018, Henry DeHart has been the Chief Operating Officer for the American Camp Association, where he supports all the programs and services that ACA provides for the public, the field of camp, and ACA’s members. His responsibilities include membership, accreditation, professional development, research, business development, and marketing to support day and overnight camps and camp professionals across the country.

The majority of Henry’s career has been in the field of camp. Prior to his time at ACA, he served over 25 years working in various roles for camps of the YMCA of the Triangle in Raleigh, NC. These roles included the roles of Executive Vice President of Camping Services for the Y of the Triangle and Executive Director of Camp Sea Gull. In his role as EVP of Camping Services, Henry had the accountability of one of the largest Y camping programs in the country, including the leadership of Camp Sea Gull, Camp Seafarer, and Camp Kanata. Prior to his time at the Y, Henry spent eight years in the marketing industry, working at EP+Co, the largest ad agency in South Carolina, and VantagePoint Marketing, a marketing consulting firm.

During his career, Henry has served in a variety of leadership roles in the nonprofit industry. Henry and his wife are the founders of the Sanderson High School Foundation, where he served as the President and Board Chair for the first four years of the organization’s history. Henry is also a board member of the Helene Foundation. In addition, he is a former board member of the NC Youth Camp Association, he served on the Small Business and Member Service Department Board of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, and he is a graduate of the Leadership Raleigh program. He has also served on the board of the Downtown Business Association in Greenville, SC, and the Greenville Little Theater. Henry graduated from Emory University in 1992.

Kesha Dozier

Board Member

Kesha is an entrepreneur with a passion for community involvement and support. A long-time, top-performing specialty sales and medical device professional, she brings her business savvy and medical knowledge to the Helene Foundation’s board.

Most of Kesha’s career has been in medical device sales, representing world-renown companies such as Astra-Zeneca and Medtronic Diabetes, in and around Raleigh. In addition to her medical sales career and raising a family, Kesha has been a business and real-estate investor and a small-business owner. Growing up near Hershey, Pennsylvania, Kesha has always had a deep love for all things chocolate. She and husband Dozier combined their entrepreneurial spirit with their favorite things and opened The Chocolate Boutique. Since its inception, it has grown to become an integral part of the local community by partnering with area organizations and businesses through donations, education and mentoring future entrepreneurs.

Kesha gives back to the community in many ways. She currently serves on two economic empowerment organizations, sharing her business and entrepreneurial skills. She has also been a Small Business Development Volunteer. In addition to serving on the Helene Foundation board, she has given her time to the Austism Society of America, March of Dimes, and JDRF (Junior Diabetes Research Foundation). 

Kesha studied Biology and Organic Chemistry at NCCU, where she was the Chancellor’s Award Recipient. She did post-graduate Medical-Legal studies at UNC-CH, and and graduate work in physiology at NCSU. Kesha and her family live in Raleigh.

Teresa Merritt

Board Secretary

Teresa has partnered throughout her career with passionate, like-minded colleagues to drive healthier participant outcomes via personal empowerment, supportive teams, quality relationships and innovative solutions. She has served as a community outreach advocate and volunteer board member, in multiple leadership capacities, to make a positive impact.

Teresa is a seasoned fitness professional with a career spanning over three decades, dedicated to promoting health and wellness in various capacities. Her expertise extends to corporate settings, where she has worked with companies like Virgin Pulse Inc., GKN Automotive, and Aduro Health to promote employee health and wellbeing. Her ability to collaborate with diverse populations and utilize operational metrics to track program effectiveness has consistently driven successful outcomes.

Teresa's impact as a fitness professional goes beyond the gym floor. Whether she's developing corporate fitness programs, coordinating wellness events, or volunteering her time to support community initiatives, her passion for helping others live healthier lives shines through in all that she does. As she continues to inspire and educate others on the importance of fitness and wellbeing, Teresa remains a respected leader in the field of health and wellness.

Teresa has been an active member of the Helene Foundation Board of Directors since 2016. Her fundraising knowledge and expertise play a crucial role in defining the future of the Helene Foundation. Her passion for giving back to the community is illustrated by her twenty years of dedication to the We Build People Annual Campaign at the A.E. Finley YMCA. 

Teresa earned a BS from the University of West Florida after attending Eastern Michigan University on a tennis scholarship. After graduating, Teresa moved to Raleigh, NC where she met her husband, Lee, and where they raised their two children, Zachary and Ashley.  In her free time, Teresa enjoys going to the beach, playing tennis, and spending time with her family.