Martha Honeycutt

Mentors For Mom Program Director & Mentor

Martha Honeycutt graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Communications/Public Relations. After graduation, Martha worked in Germany for Lignotok GmbH, an automotive supplier. Upon returning to the U.S., she joined Ford Motor Company where she held different roles over the years, including Dealer Operations Manager, Fleet Call Center Manager and E-Business Strategy & Development Manager. She also functioned as a recruiter.

Honeycutt has a passion for the advancement of women. She was on the Board of Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan–Dearborn where she participated as a mentor. She was a member of Ford’s Women’s Marketing Team as well as the company’s Women’s Speakers Bureau. She is an active member of the North Mecklenburg Woman’s Club and has served two years as its president. Honeycutt and her husband have two grown children.

Jacqueline Bazy

A Kansas City native, Jacqueline Bazy relocated to Charlotte after spending most of her adult life in Atlanta. She is a graduate of Spelman College and Georgia State University College of Law. In her spare time, she enjoys political affairs and current events. Bazy is married and mother to a son and daughter.

Sherry Cantrell

Sherry Cantrell is a “mostly retired” attorney who holds a B.A. in International Relations from Emory University and a J.D. degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. After a number of years practicing law in New York City, she settled in Charlotte with her family.

A mother of four, she is an ANSWER mentor because she knows it can be crucial to have someone ahead of you on your path lending support.

Catherine Cunningham

A native of Charlotte, Cunningham graduated from Pfeiffer University twice, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master of Science in Leadership. Cunningham is also a graduate of Southeastern College of Beauty Culture and owned a salon for more than 15 years. She is currently senior program coordinator of the cosmetology program at Central Piedmont Community College. A mother of three, she is an alumna of ANSWER Scholarship.

Mary Jane Freeman

Mary Jane Freeman is the founder of The Davidson Center for Learning and Academic Planning, a comprehensive education center and accredited non-public school in Davidson. A lifelong educator, she spent twenty years in public education as a teacher and guidance counselor in California, Arizona, Missouri, Connecticut, and New York. She earned her undergraduate degree from San Jose State University, holds a master’s degree in counseling from Washington University, and earned a certificate of advanced study in curriculum and supervision from Fairfield University.

Hisayo Gallo

Hisayo Gallo was born and raised in Japan and graduated from Toyo University with a B.S. in Sociology. She came to the U.S. to study linguistics and psychology as a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. After getting master’s degrees, Hisayo began teaching psychology, focusing on developmental psychology. Main interests are brain and cognitive development. She authored a developmental psychology textbook, now in its third edition. Gallo currently teaches developmental psychology at Gaston College.

Jan Gerber

Jan Gerber recently retired after 30 years in talent acquisition and development in human resources, working with major companies as well as smaller entrepreneurial cultures. The most rewarding aspect of her career was helping employees and managers continuously enhance both their soft skills and core competencies. She earned her B.A. in Organizational Development at Capital University in Ohio as an adult working full-time while raising her very active daughters.

Susan Haffner

At 46, Susan Haffner fulfilled a life-long dream of going to graduate school. She received her M.A. in School Counseling from UNC Charlotte and completed two additional years of training to become a licensed professional counselor. Her work experience includes four years with United Family Services/Safe Alliance. Earlier in her life, she graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Administrative Management/Marketing. She is an ANSWER mentor because she believes that education is key to self-empowerment.

Janet Jannelli

Janet Janelli is a retired office administrator and mortgage compliance manager. She also helps her husband in running his embroidery and promotional products business. As the treasurer of her women’s group at church, she learned about ANSWER. Her husband was the first to get actively involved in ANSWER and she followed last year as a mentor. The Janellis have two grown sons.

Robbie Johnson, D.Phil

Robbie Johnson, D.Phil, is a certified professional coach with 17 years of human resource experience. She is the founder of Sowing S.E.E.D.S. Institute, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to changing lives by developing soft skills through education, equipping, and support for high school students. She is a contributing author to the book Coaching Perspectives IV.

Johanna Jones

Johanna Jones holds a B.S. in Business and Communications, an MBA, a Certificate of Executive Leadership, and a Certificate of Human Resource Management from Cornell University. For the past 15 years, she has served in several different roles at TIAA and is currently a member of the management team. She is also chair of the Diverse Abilities Employee Resource Group at TIAA, which serves by educating and providing resources to employees with disabilities, and those who are caregivers of loved ones with special needs.

Teri Kubbs

Teri Kubbs holds a B.S. from Ohio Northern University and a master’s degree plus 30 (30 additional credits) in High School Administration from the University of Dayton. Kubbs’ career spans 36 years in public education–18 in the classroom teaching senior government and 18 as a high school principal. After moving from Ohio in retirement, she became the coordinator for the Lifepointe Mentoring Program where 57 adults mentor 67 elementary students in Fort Mill and Rock Hill, S.C. She is also a senior high youth leader at Lifepointe Church. Kubbs has two married sons and two granddaughters.

Runetta Lanier

Runetta Lanier’s motto is, “When life gets tough, go to school.” She just completed her Ph.D. in Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Hood Theological Seminary, a B.S. in Health Science from San Diego State University, and a teaching certificate from Livingstone College in Salisbury. A retired major in U.S. Army, Lanier started a non-profit for veterans. She is from Los Angeles. She has a son and four grandchildren.

Donna Lerner

Donna Lerner teaches art and is the assistant director of marketing at the Charlotte Jewish Day School. She hold a B.A. in Biochemistry and a minor in art history from Smith College, and an MSPH in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lerner began her career in environmental consulting in Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked in residential real estate and actively participated in several non-profit boards. She is married to a Charlotte native and has two grown children.

LaTonya Lowery

LaTonya Lowery has been in the health care field since 2002. She currently works in patient accounting at Atrium Health. Lowery obtained her B.A. in Business Administration from Belmont Abbey College as a single mom and later earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Today, she is a wife and mother of two. In her spare time, she likes to work out and officiate swim meets. She is an ANSWER mentor because she has walked the same path as the scholars.

Patricia Maruna

Patricia Maruna is an attorney currently with U.S. Bank where she works in risk management and compliance. Maruna earned her law degree from the University of Panama. She holds an LLM in International and Comparative Law from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and completed the Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives at Harvard Law School. Maruna has been an ANSWER mentor since 2016. She also serves as secretary of the board of U.S. Bank Employee Development Network and council board member of Community in Christ Lutheran Church. Previously, she was vice president of the Executive Women of Lake Norman. Maruna is married to David, mother to Parker and David III, and step-mother to Zoë.

Angelia Riggsbee

Angelia Riggsbee is a 25-year survivor of domestic violence who has turned her pain into passion for helping others. She is founder of the nonprofit HAD Healing After Domestic Violence and HAD Consulting. An accounting management professional and college instructor, she holds both an MBA and a Ph.D. Riggsbee has been a featured speaker at Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. Central University. She was honored as the City of Durham recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her four children and four grandchildren.

Edwenda Scantling

Edwenda Scantling is assistant vice president of scholarships for Foundation For The Carolinas, where she administers scholarships for more than 150 funds. She has an extensive background in higher education and understands the challenges and opportunities adult learners may encounter. Scantling received her B.S. in Psychology as a widowed, single parent of two young girls. She was determined not to allow her situation to define her and her family. She feels she is more than a conqueror and she wants to inspire others to be conquerors as well.

DelGratia W. Sides

Del Sides graduated from Bennett College with a B.A. in Sociology. She is a part-time instructor of human resource development at Central Piedmont Community College. She is also quality assurance manager for InnerVision, Inc. a non-profit serving individuals with severe and persistent mental illness as well as substance abuse challenges. Sides is a North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialist (UNC- Chapel Hill). She faced challenges as a single mother and has committed herself to help inspire, encourage and empower others. She has one grown son.

Kathy Widger

Kathy Widger is retired from a 40+ year career in nursing with roles as a staff nurse, clinical and program director, educator, and advanced clinician. This includes a role as advanced practice psychiatric nurse. She was certified as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and she was a member of Sigma Theta Tau honor society in Nursing. She has volunteered as a trained community mediator in Maryland, working with parents to assist them in developing parenting plans. Kathy holds a B.S. degree from Boston College and a M.A. from New York University.