Michelle Prater

Michelle Prater grew up in Ohio and moved to Georgia in 1990. She attended University of North Georgia where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in both marketing and management. She then received her MBA in Leadership Development from Brenau University.

Michelle was a vice president in banking for over 10 years atRegions Bank then BB&T, where she led a highly successful team. During this time, Michelle and her team won many sales and leadership awards. She served on the board for the Red Cross as well as the finance and personnel committees at her church. After a mission trip to Uganda in 2005, she decided to leave corporate America and work in the non-profit sector so that she could make a greater impact on those in need.

Her first non-profit role was the US Finance Manager for an international non-profit, LDI Inc. She led the US finance office while also overseeing five Chinese accounting offices located at international schools throughout China. When Michelle left LDI, she worked in development management for Map International and then for United Way. Throughout this time, Michelle raised over $5 million per year for the community. Her last position with United Way of Greater Atlanta was leading the volunteerism department as Senior Director. Michelle created a new synergy around volunteerism and grew this department to the point that it has become a leading income producer for UWGA as well as a key strategy in connecting donors to the work they are supporting.

In October 2015, Michelle accepted the position of President and CEO with the North Georgia Community Foundation, which serves 15 counties in the Northeast corner of the state. The North Georgia Community Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the spirit of the community and the quality of life in the greater North Georgia region by building, preserving, and distributing philanthropic assets. With Michelle at the helm, the organization has exceeded their longtime goal of $50 million in assets and is in the process of creating a non-profit university where NGCF will be the leader in providing education and development to non-profits within the North Georgia area.

Michelle has been a member of the United Way Worldwide Volunteerism Engagement Council, The United Way Worldwide NFL Council, Leadership Forsyth, and has won several awards for her work. She is currently the Resource Development Committee Chair for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lanier board and is on the strategic planning committee at Sisu. She also serves on the UNG Mike Cottrell College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.

Michelle focuses on making an impact on others in her personal time as well. She has gone on mission trips to China, Romania, Bolivia and as mentioned above, Uganda. She has been a mentor for over 18 years, even mentoring the same boy from 1st grade through his graduation in 2013. She is a member of Christ Place Church in Oakwood, Ga.

Lisa Warwick

Lisa Warwick joined the NGCF staff in 2000 and currently serves as the vice president of finance. In this role she is responsible for the investment, budgeting and auditing processes of the Foundation as well as for managing the general ledger and distribution of the assets of the Foundation to grantees. Lisa came to the Foundation after working for several years managing the operations for several divisions of Wallace of Sheet Metal. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Marketing from North Georgia College, now the University of North Georgia.

Lisa serves as the treasurer of We-Care and is on the Youth Council and Missions Committee at her home church, Trinity United Methodist Church in Clermont. Her church partners with the Georgia Mountain Food Bank for monthly distributions that Lisa coordinates. She also volunteers at Wauka Mountain Elementary School and for the North Hall High School baseball program (and can always be found on a ball field watching her son play ball).

Megan Martin

Megan Martin is a native of Hall County, Ga.; was in the first graduating class at Flowery Branch High School; and for her first job interned at Stewart, Melvin & Frost, LLP in Gainesville. Megan earned a degree in Marketing with a minor in Finance from Clemson University. During her time in college, she interned with Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Prior to joining the team at the North Georgia Community Foundation, Megan was the Vice President of Membership Development & Events at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.

Megan is a graduate of Leadership Hall County, is a member and serves on the Board of The Kiwanis Club of Gainesville, serves on the NGMC Medical Center Open committee, is the past chair of the Lanier Charter Career Academy Governing Board, and continues to volunteer for other organizations in the community. Megan and her family attend Hopewell Baptist Church.

With her position and involvement at the North Georgia Community Foundation, Megan enjoys giving back to the community that has been so good to her and her family.

Margaux Dolenc

Margaux worked in banking for more than 17 years with BB&T and most recently Regions Bank. During this time, she rose to assistant vice president and won many sales and top performance awards including the Sterling Performance Award. She previously attended Gwinnett Technical College and BB&T University for management and business development courses.

She has been an active participant in her community, where she formally served on the board of the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia. She also volunteers in an annual community Light House Project.

Because she wanted to make a better impact in her community, Margaux decided to move from banking to the nonprofit sector. She enjoys giving back and helping our community grow through her role as Director of Grants & Community Partnerships with the North Georgia Community Foundation.

Tammy Paul

Tammy was born and raised in the Florida Keys, attended Miami Dade College and later transferred to the University of South Carolina. She previously worked in the restaurant industry and then embarked on a 16-year career in real estate where she served as a mortgage broker, real estate agent and eventually a paralegal and administrative coordinator for a local real estate law firm. Tammy relocated to Georgia in 1996 but remains true to her Florida heritage as an avid Florida State University fan.

Tammy has a heart for giving back, having gone on a mission trip to Romania a few years ago and teaching English to kids. She attends 12 Stone Baptist Church. Her largest passion is fulfilled through being an advocate for all things related to animals and is a co-founder and board member of Off the Chain, USA, which provides free fencing for tethered dogs in the North Georgia area. After fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming an active supporter to dogs in need, she chose to make the leap from real estate to the North Georgia Community Foundation where she has a more impactful role in helping non-profit organizations in the community.

Abigail Carter

Abigail Carter is local to the Northeast Georgia region, having been born and raised in Jackson County and attending the University of North Georgia, where she earned a Bachelors in Business Administration.

While in college and afterwards, Abi worked at the law firm of Whelchel, Dunlap, Jarrard and Walker LLP in Gainesville before transitioning to the non-profit sector where she was the Vice President of Operations and Finance at the United Way of Hall County. Abi’s role as Systems Administrator has her working with all of the data management and grant management systems, as well as overseeing scholarship funds.

She and her husband live in Hall County with their young daughter. Abi’s experience in the non-profit sector and deep roots in the community help her appreciate the NGCF mission to enhance the spirit of community and the quality of life in our region.

Stephanie Gibbs

Stephanie Gibbs joins the North Georgia Community Foundation team with an extensive background in real estate law and banking. She attended Lanier Technical College and the University of North Georgia. Stephanie gained much of her real estate knowledge by working with Gainesville law firms O’Kelley & Sorohan and Stewart, Melvin & Frost, LLP. Before joining the Foundation, she worked with McMichael and Gray, Attorneys at Law.

At the Foundation, works as an Executive Assistant where she assists as support for the President & CEO and the Foundation’s strategies. Stephanie and her husband live in Jackson County with their teenage son.  Stephanie brings a passion for giving back to the community is excited to work in the non-profit sector to be a part of the betterment of the region.