CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In partnership with the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council (CELC), Novant Health will allocate significant resources in support of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) system when, in July, an executive goes on loan full time to the school system and another takes on an advisory role. Raki McGregor, Novant Health’s senior vice president of digital equity and community growth, will lead corporate engagement efforts and the implementation of systemwide changes, in partnership with CMS leadership. Additionally, Frank E. Emory Jr., Novant Health’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, will serve in an advisory role to the school system while continuing his current responsibilities with Novant Health.
The CELC partnership will benefit CMS with additional expertise, support and resources in several key areas:
- Retention and recruitment of teachers, administrators and support staff
- Increased school safety
- Improved access to physical and mental health services
- Effective and sustainable tutoring programs
- Extensive, needs-based school partnerships
- Communication of utilization of COVID-19 federal dollars
- Operational improvements to critical processes
“Novant Health has a longstanding partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and it’s a privilege to grow our contributions to the school system in this significant way. Novant Health is committed to ensuring CMS, and the students it serves, are positioned for the greatest success, and we’re offering our best and brightest to further that goal,” said Carl S. Armato, president and CEO, Novant Health. “As a leader invested in the Charlotte community, Raki stands ready to offer his change management experience and business acumen to CMS leaders as they seek to grow the ways the system serves Charlotte students. That experience, combined with Frank’s background leading numerous community organizations and passion for advancing the next generation, will undoubtedly serve as enormous assets to CMS. I look forward to seeing where we can go together.”
Over the next 12 to 18 months, McGregor will work closely with the interim CMS superintendent and other executive leaders to address and identify solutions within six key areas aimed at improving student outcomes: process improvement, staffing, safety, COVID-19 relief, partnerships and tutoring. As the full-time leader of this initiative, McGregor will work to build relationships between CMS and corporate partners, developing a model for sustainable corporate and community engagement in support of CMS for years to come.
“The greatest asset we can offer our community is the development of our children,” said McGregor. “In the year ahead, I look forward to working alongside CMS leaders to bridge corporate leadership, expertise and resources with the areas of greatest need in the school system. I am as excited as our school system partners to work as hard as we can on behalf of the students, teachers and families whose access to high quality education we will seek to strengthen daily.”
About Raki McGregor
Raki McGregor serves as the senior vice president of digital equity and community growth at Novant Health. Under his leadership, Novant Health has achieved broader community health care engagement, key business partnerships and greater alignment with community and consumer needs. Raki brings visionary, strategic and tactical expertise and has a track record of delivering transformational change, effective relationship management, outstanding customer experiences and expert navigation of challenging, changing and volatile markets. Raki earned his Bachelor of Science degree in management from North Carolina A&T State University and completed the Executive Education Program from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and he earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Wake Forest University School of Business. With a commitment to service, Raki is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and has held board positions with Charlotte Works, DreamKey Partners, One Charlotte Health Alliance (OCHA), JazzArts Charlotte, Young Black Leadership Alliance (YBLA), the North Carolina A&T State University’s Board of Visitors, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Central Carolinas, and the board of trustees at Mary Baldwin University.
About Frank E. Emory Jr.
Frank E. Emory Jr. is a seasoned business leader and corporate board member with in-depth expertise in business operations, corporate governance, risk management, legal and compliance, human capital, growth strategy and community engagement. Since 2019, Frank has served as the executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Novant Health where he oversees compliance, legal, external affairs, internal audit, risk management, privacy, human resources and diversity, inclusion and equity functions for the entire organization. He has been responsible for the reorganization and transformation of the system. Prior to joining Novant Health, Frank was a longstanding partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, an international law firm, where he served as managing partner of the Charlotte office and co-head of the litigation and labor group. Frank is a recognized thought leader in economic development, workforce mobility and public-private partnerships. He previously served as the chair of the Board of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, a role into which he was appointed in 2017 by Gov. Roy Cooper. He has additionally served as in several leadership board roles, including as chair of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, executive committee of the Duke University Board of Trustees, chair of Duke’s Academic and Student Affairs Committees, past vice chair of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Board of Directors, and as a gubernatorial appointee on the North Carolina Board of Transportation. Frank was the first African American and youngest chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission. Frank was an Angier B. Duke Scholar at Duke, then and now its most prestigious academic scholarship. He was the president of the student government and studied in Oxford, England. Frank attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law on a Morehead Law Fellowship.
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