The UNC Asheville Foundation Board welcomes three new elected directors and one new appointed director with the beginning of its new fiscal year, including founder of Davis Financial Planning, Al Davis; founding partner of Pittman & Steele, PLLC. law firm, Tom Steele ’84; retired environmental lawyer and managing partner of DLA Piper’s offices in San Diego, Mike Tracy; and founder of Black Orthodontics and current Bulldog Athletics Association board chair, Dr. Keith Black.
Board member Ellen Carr, high yield portfolio manager at Barksdale Investment Management, will serve her second three-year term with the Foundation Board of Directors.
Board members Darlene Davis, Past Chair of the Bulldogs Athletics Association, and Greg Burnette ’90, executive with First Citizens Bank, will serve as the chair and vice-chair of the Foundation Board of Directors, respectively.
Since the foundation’s founding in 1965, the mission of the UNC Asheville Foundation has been to advocate for and oversee gifts to the University of North Carolina Asheville. To achieve this mission, the UNC Asheville Foundation Board comprises dedicated volunteers who provide advice and oversight to help set the strategic direction for the foundation.
UNC Asheville’s New Foundation Board Members for 2024-25 Academic Year:
Keith Black, D.D.S
Keith Black founded Black Orthodontics in 1986 and has been awarded Employer of the Year and Small Business Leader of the Year by The Asheville Chamber of Commerce. He holds a BS from Emory University (Chemistry) and an MS and DDS from UNC Chapel Hill. Keith serves on the Bulldog Athletics Association Board (currently serving as Chair) and is very involved in supporting ABYSA.
Al Davis, M.B.A.
Al Davis is the founder of Davis Financial Planning, which in 2023 joined Buckingham Strategic Wealth. Al graduated from Appalachian State University earning a degree in business administration in 1991 and earned an MBA from The University of Tennessee in 1993. Al is very active in the Rotary Club of Asheville, and has served on the boards of Asheville Community Theatre, UNC Asheville Foundation, and Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation. He is also a long-time supporter and volunteer with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC.
Tom Steele ’84, J.D.
Tom Steele is the founding partner of his law firm Pittman & Steele, PLLC. He is a 1984 graduate of UNC Asheville and served on the Alumni Board from 2013-2019. He was awarded the Roy A. Taylor Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013. Tom currently serves as the chair of The United Methodist Retirement Homes Foundation, Inc. and serves on the boards of the Alamance County Historical Museum and the Alamance Extended Care.
Mike Tracy, J.D.
Mike Tracy is a retired environmental lawyer and managing partner of DLA Piper’s two offices in San Diego. Mike earned his BA from UC-Davis in 1976 and his JD from UC-San Francisco in 1981. Mike also serves on the Bulldog Athletics Association board at UNC Asheville.
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