The Top 50 Greensboro Metro Women Leaders of 2026
Greensboro-High Point is the kind of metro where influence doesn’t always look flashy-but it does look consequential. This is a region powered by “real economy” engines: advanced manufacturing, logistics, retail and hospitality, higher education, and healthcare. The women leading here tend to be builders-running companies that employ thousands, shaping the civic rules of the road, growing legacy brands, funding community solutions, and professionalizing the talent pipelines that keep the Triad competitive.
What follows is an editorial, Greensboro-metro-focused ranking of 50 of the area’s most influential women leaders-mixing major corporate executives, founders, public-sector decision-makers, and standout figures across law, tech, accounting, healthcare, education, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship.
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#1 Marikay Abuzuaiter
A mayor’s influence in Greensboro isn’t symbolic-it’s operational: economic development priorities, city services, zoning and growth decisions, public safety strategy, and the tone of civic collaboration. Abuzuaiter brings an unusually grounded “local economy” lens to City Hall after decades as a small-business owner (Mahi’s Restaurant) and years of civic involvement. That blend-private-sector experience plus public convening power-matters in a metro where momentum depends on execution across neighborhoods, infrastructure, and jobs.
#2 Denise Roth
Roth’s influence comes from a rare combination: she’s both a current city leader and a former Greensboro City Manager, with senior federal leadership experience as well. In a time when cities are judged on outcomes (housing, permitting speed, infrastructure delivery, public trust), leaders who understand how government actually runs can be catalytic. Her credibility as an operator-someone known for a solutions-first reputation-gives her added weight in shaping how Greensboro turns plans into measurable progress.
#3 Loren Ridinger
Market America is one of Greensboro’s most visible global-scale companies, and Ridinger sits at the center of its strategy and brand energy. After the passing of founder JR Ridinger, she became the public face and continuing executive leader-keeping the organization moving while staying anchored at its Greensboro global headquarters. The company’s major events and convenings also create downstream impact for the region’s hospitality and tourism economy, extending her influence beyond her own payroll into a broader local ecosystem.
#4 Jenni Broyles
When a Greensboro-headquartered public company makes capital decisions-investment, hiring, supply chain bets, store footprints, technology upgrades-the CFO’s fingerprints are everywhere. Broyles’ role at Kontoor Brands (Wrangler® and Lee®) is a power seat: she helps steer performance, resilience, and long-term strategy. In a region where legacy industries are being rebuilt with modern playbooks, her influence is a prime example of “finance as strategy,” not just accounting.
#5 Kathie Niven
Biscuitville is one of Greensboro’s hometown growth stories, and Niven is the leader responsible for scaling “Southern hospitality” into a disciplined operating model. As CEO, she shapes workforce culture, expansion pace, and the brand’s community footprint-choices that ripple through jobs, vendor relationships, and local leadership norms. When a family-owned regional chain grows thoughtfully, it becomes a talent engine-and that makes her influence both economic and cultural.
#6 Tammy Nagem
High Point Market is a global magnet for the furniture and design world-and for the Greensboro-High Point metro’s hotels, restaurants, and service economy. As President & CEO of the High Point Market Authority, Nagem’s role is uniquely influential: she stewards one of the region’s signature economic “events” and the relationships that keep it thriving. She’s also been a visible advocate for leadership development-especially for women-in an industry long dominated by men, expanding who gets access to the microphone and the network.
#7 Kim Reed
Greensboro’s business landscape is shaped by its major employers-and ITG Brands is repeatedly described locally as one of the city’s largest. Reed’s leadership position places her at the intersection of jobs, operations, corporate responsibility, and the region’s broader economic narrative. Her career path across major national companies and her role leading ITG’s Greensboro-based presence give her outsized influence on how large employers show up as civic stakeholders.
#8 Elizabeth Bostian
As CFO of First Bank, Bostian occupies a strategic seat in one of the region’s most important “connective tissue” industries: capital. The CFO role is about more than numbers-it shapes risk appetite, investment capacity, and long-range planning. And because leadership decisions in banking cascade into business lending, real estate development, and nonprofit financing, her influence is felt well beyond the walls of the institution.
#9 Dr. Whitney Oakley
A metro’s long-run business competitiveness is inseparable from its public education outcomes. As superintendent, Oakley has direct influence over teacher retention, student readiness, career pathways, and partnerships with employers and colleges. For professional women across industries, this role matters because it shapes the future workforce-and the future of opportunity-for the entire community.
#10 Leslie Swanson
Tanger is one of Greensboro’s best-known corporate brands, and the COO role is where strategy meets execution-operations, performance discipline, customer experience, and the day-to-day mechanics that make a national platform run. Swanson’s influence is especially visible in how a legacy retail concept modernizes, competes, and remains resilient-choices that impact jobs, vendors, and the region’s corporate leadership bench.
#11 Kimberly Cameron
If you want to understand where Greensboro is going, watch who controls and develops the assets that shape growth: land, buildings, and investment corridors. Cameron leads real estate strategy tied to one of the region’s most important institutions, and her work includes complex, high-dollar transactions and long-range project leadership. Her community involvement in economic development and MWBE leadership adds another layer of impact-expanding who gets access to opportunity as the region grows.
#12 Ralisha Mercer
Mercer influences Greensboro’s future through a powerful lever: fundraising capacity. At N.C. A\&T, that means scaling scholarships, facilities, research, and partnerships that feed the talent pipeline and strengthen the region’s innovation economy. Reported results tied to her work include helping secure hundreds of millions in support, including a record-setting campaign-impact that compounds for years across students, employers, and community outcomes.
#13 Debra Howard
At a semiconductor company, competitiveness depends on talent density-engineering, operations, leadership, and the culture that keeps high performers aligned. As CHRO at Greensboro-headquartered Qorvo, Howard’s influence shows up in how the company attracts, develops, and retains the workforce behind its global products. In a metro working to strengthen its tech identity alongside manufacturing roots, that people-strategy leadership is a quiet force multiplier.
#14 Iris Austin
Major employers don’t just create jobs-they set leadership norms for entire regions. Austin’s people-and-culture leadership at Volvo Trucks North America influences workforce development, internal mobility, and how a large industrial organization creates opportunity. When manufacturing is modernizing-electrification, new technology, new skills-culture and talent strategy become economic development tools, not just HR functions.
#15 Ursula Dudley Oglesby
Dudley is a Greensboro-grown legacy brand with national relevance-especially in the multicultural beauty market. As a second-generation owner and executive leader, Oglesby’s influence is both economic and community-based: sustaining a Black-owned enterprise, supporting entrepreneurship, and reinforcing the idea that “heritage brands” can still innovate and grow. Her leadership stands as proof that local ownership can stay local-and still matter globally.
#16 Paula Edwards
Edwards represents a powerful Greensboro archetype: the founder who scales. Lexair’s story-growing from a home startup into a global company headquartered in Greensboro-signals what’s possible in the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Even more notable, the company highlights women’s representation throughout its workforce, making her leadership influential not only in commerce but in expanding what workplace equity can look like in practice.
#17 Susan McNear Fradenburg
Healthcare is one of the Triad’s biggest systems-and healthcare law shapes what hospitals and providers are allowed (and able) to do. Fradenburg’s influence comes from guiding complex, high-stakes decisions for healthcare organizations-work that affects access, expansion, and compliance across the region. Recognition as a Triad Business Journal “Outstanding Women in Business” honoree underscores her role as a behind-the-scenes power player in a sector that touches every employer and family.
#18 Michelle Schneider
Philanthropy in healthcare is not “extra”-it often funds the pilots, programs, and community investments that make systems more responsive. As Cone Health’s chief philanthropy leader, Schneider influences which initiatives get scaled: community health priorities, patient support programs, and the partnerships that connect a health system to neighborhoods. Her recognition as an “Outstanding Woman in Business” also reflects how community impact leadership increasingly sits alongside traditional executive roles.
#19 Deb Harris Richardson
Richardson leads an institution whose mission sits directly at the intersection of safety, equity, and economic mobility-factors that shape whether a metro is truly competitive and livable. The YWCA’s focus on empowering women and eliminating racism makes it a meaningful “infrastructure organization” for the region: supporting individuals while also influencing policy conversations and community standards. In many cities, this is one of the most important leadership roles that isn’t always recognized as business power-yet it absolutely is.
#20 Dr. Debra Barksdale
If workforce is the new currency, nursing is one of Greensboro’s highest-stakes talent pipelines. As dean, Barksdale influences how future nurses are trained, how programs align with healthcare needs, and how the region competes for clinical talent. Her national leadership recognition (including being selected as a president‑elect of a major nursing academy) also amplifies Greensboro’s voice far beyond the metro-bringing visibility, credibility, and network power back home.
#21 Rachel Collins
As President and CEO of Business High Point-Chamber of Commerce, Rachel Collins convenes employers, entrepreneurs, and civic partners to turn collaboration into jobs, investment, and a stronger local business climate. Her long tenure inside the organization gives her rare institutional knowledge and trusted relationships, allowing her to move initiatives from conversation to execution with measurable community impact.
#22 Sherri Thomas
As Chief Administrative Officer at Truliant Federal Credit Union, Sherri Thomas helps steer the operational and people systems that power member service at scale across the Carolinas. National recognition for her leadership reflects the way she pairs culture-building with disciplined execution, strengthening both organizational performance and community financial wellbeing.
#23 Leah Price
Leah Price has spent decades building commercial banking relationships that help small and mid-sized companies access capital, manage risk, and grow sustainably. As Chief Banking Officer at Triad Business Bank, she brings that expertise to the Triad’s economic engine, pairing strong credit leadership with civic-minded support for local job creation.
#24 Sara Millard
Sara Millard provides the governance and regulatory leadership that allows Arch MI to operate confidently in one of the most highly scrutinized parts of financial services. Her steady, strategic counsel protects the business while enabling responsible growth, reinforcing Greensboro’s reputation as a hub for sophisticated risk and compliance leadership.
#25 Suzy Adkins
Suzy Adkins shapes the workforce, safety, and culture strategy at Honda Aircraft Company, supporting one of the Triad’s most advanced manufacturing operations. By building talent systems that attract, develop, and retain specialized teams, she strengthens Greensboro’s competitiveness in aerospace and high-skill job creation.
#26 Wanda Lea
Wanda Lea leads supply network operations that keep essential oral care products moving from Greensboro manufacturing to store shelves with reliability and speed. Her decades of operational leadership and people development drive continuous improvement, elevating the region’s standing as a world-class consumer goods and supply chain center.
#27 Mindy Oakley
Mindy Oakley directs the Edward M. Armfield Foundation’s education-focused philanthropy, investing in programs that expand opportunity for students and families across the region. Her strategic grantmaking and nonprofit leadership strengthen the community organizations that underpin Greensboro’s long-term talent pipeline and economic mobility.
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#28 Jada Monica Drew (Jada Harris)
Jada Monica Drew has grown Social Designs into a sought-after leadership and inclusion firm that helps organizations build healthier cultures and stronger results. Through high-impact training and convenings such as the Bloom Inclusion Conference, she equips leaders across industries to translate values into practical, lasting change.
#29 Nancy King Quaintance
Nancy King Quaintance has helped build Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels into one of the South’s most respected hospitality groups, known for standout service, design, and sustainability. By pairing brand-building with an employee-first approach, including a move to employee ownership, she creates durable jobs and draws national attention to Greensboro’s hospitality economy.
#30 Erin Cowan Mosley
Erin Cowan Mosley helps entrepreneurs and developers clear the hurdles that make or break openings, guiding deals from commercial real estate closing through permitting and licensing. Her practical, detail-driven counsel reduces friction for investment and supports the steady growth of restaurants, retail, and mixed-use projects across the Triad.
#31 Leslie Hedrick Bates
Leslie Hedrick Bates leads assurance work for the multifamily housing sector, helping owners, developers, and capital partners maintain confidence in financial reporting and compliance. Her expertise supports the delivery and stewardship of housing at scale, strengthening both the region’s real estate ecosystem and overall community stability.
#32 Emily J. Meister
Emily J. Meister brings steady leadership as managing partner of Law Firm Carolinas’ Greensboro office, advising clients across litigation, business formation, and governance needs. Her ability to translate complex risk into clear action helps local employers protect what they have built and make smarter decisions as they grow.
#33 Maria Gonzalez
Maria Gonzalez’s rise from frontline roles to CEO reflects the kind of people-first leadership that builds lasting service businesses, and she has helped ClubFitness Greensboro thrive by creating welcoming spaces that keep members engaged. Her focus on team development and community wellness turns a local brand into a true quality-of-life asset for the Greensboro area.
#34 Kelly Scaggs
Kelly Scaggs leads Fellowship Hall with deep clinical expertise and operational credibility, expanding access to trusted addiction treatment and recovery support. Her journey from therapist to President and CEO exemplifies mission-driven leadership that improves lives, strengthens families, and supports a healthier workforce.
#35 Christi Barbour
Christi Barbour is a proven builder in the design economy, co-founding Barbour Spangle Design and helping guide the High Point Market Authority at the center of the global home furnishings industry. Her leadership elevates the Market’s reputation and economic ripple effect, supporting jobs, entrepreneurship, and worldwide visibility for the Triad.
#36 Natalie Pass‑Miller
Natalie Pass‑Miller has preserved and revitalized the Historic Magnolia House, turning a landmark into a thriving hospitality and events destination with powerful cultural significance. Her stewardship drives tourism and local economic activity while ensuring Greensboro’s history is protected, experienced, and passed forward.
#37 Marta Mitchell
Marta Mitchell has helped lead a longstanding Greensboro design firm that delivers residential and commercial projects with both creativity and rigorous execution. By shaping the spaces where people live, work, and gather, her work supports property value, local vendors, and the region’s broader creative economy.
#38 Dawn Chaney
Dawn Chaney has built Chaney Properties into a major Greensboro real estate portfolio, investing in housing and commercial spaces that strengthen neighborhoods near downtown and the university. Her emphasis on restoring historic properties and reinvesting locally has had a visible, lasting influence on the city’s built environment and community vitality.
#39 Tara Darnley
Tara Darnley turned invention into enterprise, building Darlyng & Co around practical, parent-approved products that solved real problems and created a recognizable consumer brand. Her entrepreneurial momentum and creative leadership showcase the kind of product innovation and national ambition that deserves a place on Greensboro’s business impact list.
#40 Alejandra Thompson
Alejandra Thompson brings world-class brand-building to Thompson Traders, leading marketing and sales with a focus on customer experience and growth for a design-forward manufacturing business. By also co-founding ESTAS Beauty and engaging in community leadership, she extends Greensboro’s influence across both the home and beauty industries.
#41 Ashley Lauren
Ashley Lauren has earned her place as a design director and partner by pairing rapid career growth with top-tier professional credentials that signal excellence in her field. Her leadership helps a women-owned Greensboro firm scale high-impact projects, expanding opportunity for talent and partners throughout the region.
#42 Angela Austin
Angela Austin has advanced from designer to partner while helping set the strategic direction and quality standards of a respected interior design firm rooted in Greensboro. Her technical credentials and hands-on leadership ensure projects are both beautiful and precise, reinforcing the Triad’s reputation for professional design talent.
#43 Belinda Kyle
Belinda Kyle brings frontline operational experience to her role as Chief People Officer at Biscuitville, building a workforce strategy that strengthens culture across a growing regional brand. Her focus on retention, development, and opportunity supports hundreds of jobs and improves the guest experience that keeps community-based businesses thriving.
#44 Jessica Norman
Jessica Norman provides executive leadership across legal, governance, and enterprise operations at Tanger Outlets, supporting a public company headquartered in Greensboro as it navigates complex real estate and retail dynamics. Her disciplined approach to risk, compliance, and strategic decision-making protects value while enabling continued growth and innovation.
#45 Mame Annan‑Brown
Mame Annan‑Brown has shaped the reputation and stakeholder trust of a global apparel company with iconic brands, bringing strategic communications and public affairs leadership to the executive level. By aligning narrative, policy, and purpose with business performance, she elevates Greensboro-based leadership on a worldwide stage and strengthens long-term brand equity.
#46 Susan Shumaker
Susan Shumaker has led Cone Health Foundation’s grantmaking and advocacy for years, directing resources toward measurable improvements in community health and access to care. Her deep healthcare experience and focus on health equity turn philanthropy into durable, high-return outcomes for Greensboro and the broader region.
#47 Cecelia Thompson
Cecelia Thompson leads Action Greensboro by mobilizing philanthropy, business, and civic partners around initiatives that grow talent, strengthen neighborhoods, and increase the city’s competitiveness. From Boomerang Greensboro to employer-focused workforce collaborations, she converts big ideas into measurable momentum for the city.
#48 Erica Hall Shields
As Managing Director of the Phillips Foundation, Erica Hall Shields helps deploy modern philanthropy tools like grants, impact investing, and field-building to accelerate progress in Greensboro. Her strategic, outcomes-driven approach strengthens nonprofits and community systems, helping promising solutions scale and deliver durable results.
#49 Mary Rice
Mary Rice leads Toyota of Greensboro as a third-generation dealer principal, combining operational excellence with a customer-first mindset that keeps the business strong in a fiercely competitive market. Her growth-oriented leadership and community presence make the dealership a significant local employer and a model of family-business longevity done right.
#50 Kiley Schiffman Storrs
Kiley Schiffman Storrs helps steer Schiffman’s Jewelers with modern operational discipline, bringing fresh perspective in marketing, e-commerce, and customer experience while honoring a multi-generation legacy. Her leadership supports expansion and talent development, reinforcing Greensboro’s role as a regional hub for independent retail excellence.
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