We’re keeping the momentum going and excited to announce this year’s keynote speakers: LeVelle Moton and Dr. Mike Haynie. You won’t want to miss this powerful lineup.
LeVelle Moton
Head Coach, North Carolina Central University Men’s Basketball Team
Remarks Morning of Friday, August 25
Head basketball coach, philanthropist, and activist LeVelle Moton is a community-focused leader and expert in developing values-based missions, strategies for meaningful teamwork, and finding your purpose. On Friday, August 25, Moton will share his game-changing insights about leadership, inspiring your team, and making a difference in your community.
LeVelle Moton is a product of Lane St. and while he has since moved his focus has remained on helping his community in any way that he can. LeVelle Moton is the CEO and Founder of The Velle Cares Foundation. The Velle Cares Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to serve and assist community-based organizations that promote health, education, and life skills for children and families in at risk situations. Each year, LeVelle Moton, hosts annual events such as the “Back to School Community Day Event” and the “Single Mother Salute” amongst others to enrich and give back his community. The “Back to School Community Day Event” is hosted at the Raleigh Boys & Girls Club along with NBA Star PJ Tucker. The event serves over 700 kids and families each year by providing them with book bags, school supplies, giveaways, and Entertainment.
Each year, The Velle Cares Foundation honors and celebrates over 150 Single Mothers each year across the Triangle Community. The event was created to show appreciation for the Struggles, Challenges, and Difficulties associated with being a Single Mother. Being the product of a Single Mother himself, LeVelle presents awards of Courage, Strength, Perseverance, and also a Single Mother of the Year award (named after his mother Hattie McDougald). The night is filled with photos, red carpet, food, games, spa treatments, gift bags, vacations, and many other exciting giveaways.
A 1996 graduate of NCCU with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration, Moton became the school’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,714 points during his historic hardwood career as an Eagle from 1992-96, earning the nickname “Poetry ‘n Moton.”
On March 25, 2009, arguably one of the greatest players in school history was elevated from Assistant Coach to the position of Head Coach, becoming the 17th to be named in that spot in the program’s history.
In his time at NC Central, Moton has won 8 championships, 11 coach of the year awards, and a USA gold medal. Most recently, he coached his 2019-2020 team to a MEAC Regular Season Championship before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Moton and his wife, Bridget, married on June 28, 2008. They have two children: Brooke and LeVelle Jr.
Dr. Mike Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Syracuse University
Remarks Morning of Saturday, August 26
North Carolina is home to more than 600,000 veterans – the eighth largest veteran population in the nation. And with the fourth largest active-duty military presence nationwide, it stands to reason that our state needs to pay special attention to issues impacting our service members.
On Saturday, August 26, Dr. Mike Haynie will share his keynote presentation entitled, “The Moral Obligation to Know Our Veterans.” Dr. Haynie will present a unique perspective on sustaining an all-volunteer military and how we as a country are addressing the social, economic, and wellness challenges facing some of those who have worn the cloth of the nation.
Dr. Haynie is the Vice Chancellor, Strategic Initiatives & Innovation at Syracuse University and is also the Executive Director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans & Military Families (IVMF). In 2011, Haynie founded the IVMF, the nation’s first interdisciplinary institute created to inform and advance the policy, economic, and wellness concerns of the America’s veterans and families. Today, IVMF programs serve over 25,000 veterans annually, and the Institute is widely acknowledged as the nation’s leading academic voice related to issues impacting veterans and military-connected families.
Dr. Haynie has received numerous awards for his scholarship, teaching, and community engagement, and he routinely provides counsel to private and public sector leaders on issues related to small business, innovation, and veterans. In 2013, Haynie was appointed by the Obama Administration to serve as the Chairman of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment and Training. Also in 2013, Dr. Haynie’s efforts on behalf of veterans were the subject of a feature story by the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes, titled “Succeeding as Civilians.”
In 2015, the White House asked Haynie to serve again, this time as the vice chairman of a newly created Presidential Task Force, chartered to set the course for long-term reform at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. In 2019, Haynie was named to the prestigious HillVets100 list of the nation’s 100 most influential veterans, service members and veteran-community advocates. Haynie also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Naval Health Research Center’s “Millennium Cohort Research Study,” and on the advisory board to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Veterans Coming Home project.
Haynie completed his PhD in Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, his MBA at the University of Oregon, and his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Delaware. Before beginning his academic career at Syracuse University, Haynie served for 14 years as an officer in the United States Air Force.