The Jan. 24 event is open to all Elon alumni and guests. Learn from and listen to four Elon grads who have found success in their respective fields since graduating from Elon. The event will be held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte and is free for all guests.
Learn from and listen to four Elon grads who have found success in their respective fields since graduating from Elon. These alumni will share advice, stories and experiences as working professionals in Charlotte. Learn more about the event and meet the panel below:
Ingenuity in the Workforce; Elon Professional Development Event
Date: Thursday, Jan. 24
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Venue: NASCAR Hall of Fame, The Legends Room
Address: 400 E. Martin Luther King Blvd., Charlotte 28202
Ariene Bethea ’00 – Owner, Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio
Ariene Bethea is the founder of Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio, a boutique vintage furniture shop. Fueled by the thrill of the hunt for one-of-a-kind vintage piece, she has a flair for mixing vintage with modern day furnishings.
Growing up in a home infused with art and culture has influenced her casual collected style and playful use of patterns and colors. For Bethea, collecting is about judgement, taste and imagination. Bethea has sold her finds on such design retail sites such as One Kings Lane and Chairish. She has shared her styling expertise for seamlessly mixing vintage pieces from different eras with modern finds on Design Sponge and Charlotte Home + Garden.
Bethea was named to The It List of Charlotte’s Most Stylish Women Right Now by South Park Magazine, selected as a Design Tastemaker at the 2018 Highpoint Furniture Market and has been recognized as one of 47 Inspiring Designers of Color to Follow on Instagram by Domino.com. And she was recently featured in Business of Home, an interior design industry authority for design professionals. Ariene resides in Charlotte with her college sweetheart/husband Daren and dog Mini Cooper Bethea.
Mike Mooney ’93 – Principal, Mooney Consulting Group
It would be easy to say that Mooney’s career has been going in circles for the last 25 years in the motorsports industry. He has built a reputation for creating brand, athlete and sports property distinction by launching and leading award-winning marketing and communications campaigns. Mooney has represented many highly regarded brands, such as Mercedes-Benz, 3M, Tylenol, Walmart, Eli Lilly and Fifth Third Bank. He is also recognized for his work in crisis and reputation management, having led dozens of crisis recovery efforts over his career.
Mooney now uses his extensive public relations, reputation management and executive leadership experiences as a speaker to educate, train and coach leaders, entrepreneurs and business owners to proactively shift the way they value, manage and build their brands and reputations. His breakthrough book, Reputation Shift – Lessons from Pit Road to the Boardroom, delivers practical and ready-to-use personal branding and reputation-building strategies for people who want to ensure personal and professional success.
Mooney lives in Huntersville, N.C., with his wife, three children and two dogs. He is active in his community and volunteers with veteran’s groups and the Boy Scouts of America.
Melissa Neal ’04 – Senior Research Associate, Policy Research Associates, Inc.
Melissa Neal is a public health professional who specializes in creating effective criminal justice systems and healthy communities. She is a proud Elon alumna. As a Science Fellow, she graduated with a bachelor of science in biology in 2004. She went on to obtain both a masters and doctorate in public health from East Tennessee State University.
Neal joined Policy Research Associates in 2017 as Senior Research Associate where she leads national communications and technical assistance disseminated through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s GAINS Center. Previously, she served in various capacities with Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services in Charlotte as well as the Justice Policy Institute and Planning & Learning Technologies in Washington, D.C. She is a commissioner on the N.C. Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities and is a sub-committee member of Race Matters for Juvenile Justice.
She lives in Huntersville, N.C., with her husband Drew and two rescue dogs, Rufus and Greyson.
Vince Powell G’03 – Owner, Foundation Doctor of NC
Vince Powell Powell is the owner of Foundation Doctor with his brother, Brandon Powell. He received his bachelor of science degree in math education from Lindenwood University in 1997. Powell graduated from Elon in 2003 with a master’s in elementary education and UNC – Chapel Hill in 2008 with a master’s in administration.
Powell completed the National Commercial Contractors Exam and the North Carolina General Contractors Exam in 2012. From 1997 to 2006, Powell taught math at Williams High School in Burlington. From 2006 to 2013 he worked as assistant principal of instruction at Hatfields Middle School, Northwest Cabarrus Middle School, Patriots Elementary and Winkler Middle School. He lives in Harrisburg with his wife, Staci Ballengee Powell ’97, and four children — Delaney, Cannon, Bowen and Sadie.