Board Of Directors

Richard Averitte

Richard is a North Carolina native who serves as Executive Director of the American Cancer Society for Central & Eastern NC. He believes community service is essential and has volunteered with several nonprofits, including Activate Good, Me Fine Foundation, A Note In The Pocket, A Place At The Table, and more. Richard believes in TAP’s mission and has applied his nonprofit experience to the TAP board.

He resides in Raleigh with his wife, Lisa, and two children, Lucy and Felix.

Tony Barger

Tony is a licensed occupational therapist and compliance professional with 25 years of experience in post-acute healthcare. He founded and serves as the Principal Consultant at ABC Compliance Consulting, which provides fractional compliance staffing and expert guidance in compliance program development, quality assurance, risk mitigation, and education & training to healthcare organizations.

In 2021, at age 47, Tony suffered a dissection of his left carotid artery and ischemic stroke. After receiving TPA and undergoing a thrombectomy and stent placement, he made significant improvements and returned home from Duke University Hospital after 2 days in the Neuro ICU. Introduced to TAP by a Speech Language Pathologist while at Duke, he participated in their Zoom groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Tony continues to support TAP and has become an advocate for aphasia awareness, sharing his story and raising awareness through social media.

Tony resides in Durham with his partner Chris and their Bernedoodles, Sophia and Charli.

Andy Beal

Andy is the marketing lead for drug safety and regulatory compliance at IQVIA, a leading global provider of analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry.

At the age of 44, Andy suffered a massive ischemic stroke and was airlifted to Duke Hospital, where a new treatment (thrombectomy) removed two blood clots that had restricted blood flow to just half of his brain. After just a few days in the ICU, Andy made a miraculous recovery, walked out of Duke unassisted, and resumed normal activities. Since then, Andy has passionately supported TAP and is also an ambassador for the American Stroke Association. He is the author of the Amazon bestseller Optimize Your Heart: A practical guide to lowering your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Originally from England, Andy is a proud US citizen and has lived in Raleigh with his native NC wife for 25 years. Andy enjoys playing tennis, taking daily walks, playing music, watching Carolina Hurricanes hockey, and traveling.

Nikki Dickens

Nikki Dickens is one of the few remaining natives of Raleigh, NC!  Although she has traveled extensively, she remains happily rooted here in the triangle. A marketing professional for over 20 years, she has worked with non-profits, start-ups, & Fortune 500 companies, to bring awareness and adoption for a wide variety of products and services in her career.

Her journey with TAP started in 2012 when her Mom, Lynn, became a client. As a caregiver, she quickly realized that TAP was far more than an organization but rather a community of family and friends that made a life changing difference to not only her mother but also her family. After her mom’s passing in 2020, Nikki stayed involved with TAP in various capacities. Now, as part of the board, she looks forward to digging in even more to shed light about the wonderful impact TAP brings to the triangle and beyond!

Shawn Fleck

Shawn is a global sales & marketing leader and a nonprofit board member. Shawn consults nonprofit boards and sales and marketing organizations towards growth. He has led global sales and marketing organizations at SMART Technologies, Nortel. Shawn has worked in the US, Canada and in China. Shawn’s roles included capturing and strategizing on opportunities to enhance and support future growth. With over 32 years of unified collaboration, sales, marketing and cloud expertise, Shawn is a leader that combines a wealth of practical experience in customer relationship management and strategic management. Shawn’s strengths lie in developing and executing on customer sales and information technology strategies.

Shawn graduated with an MBA from Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, after an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in Commerce and French Language.

Shawn is married and has 2 adult daughters. Elizabeth and I love to hike around the world, and I love to play golf and hockey.

Lee Hilts

Lee has worked in non-profit leadership for the past 12 years and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Anglican Diocese of Christ our Hope. His role there includes human resources, finance, operational systems and policy development. Additionally, he enjoys working directly with the churches of the diocese to help them diagnose and solve financial and operational issues.

Lee met his wife Sarah at UNC Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) and they have been married since 1996. Sarah is a practicing Speech Language Pathologist and they look forward to supporting TAP together.  They have a son, daughter-in-law, and daughter and enjoy traveling to visit them as often as possible. Outside of work, you will find Lee playing board games, hiking, or playing disc golf with family and friends.

Sharon Mosley

Sharon Mosley is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor (LCMHC-S). She is
licensed to practice in NC and Arizona. Her educational background includes degrees in Agency
Counseling (M.S.) and History (B.S) from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University.

She is the owner of The Fit Talk PLLC where she offers counseling and health coaching
services to individuals and groups. She has experience providing individual, family, couples and
group therapy for those struggling with a variety of mental health issues including anxiety and
depression. She is a level 1 ‘certified run coach as well as an A.C.E. certified health coach.
Sharon is committed to healthier living and believes one of the best ways to approach this is
through walk and talk therapy. She encourages clients to move beyond the office setting and
take their sessions outside for walks on the trail when possible.

Sharon enjoys giving back and currently is a volunteer group facilitator with the National
Aphasia Association, assisting individuals and families impacted by stroke or brain injury. She
also served many years as a volunteer Disaster Mental Health Therapist with the American Red
Cross, assisting families and individuals in crisis. She also served as a volunteer community
member with the Durham County Hospital Corporation Patient Safety and Clinical Quality
Committee. She is a member of the Licensed Clinical Counselors of North Carolina as well as
the American Counseling Association. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family
and friends. In addition, she enjoys participating in races including 5ks and half marathons and
was recently featured in the documentary Trail Therapy.

David Silander

David has been a corporate banker for 37 years and has been in Charlotte for roughly 30 years. He has five children and 3 1/2 grandchildren spread across the Southeast.

On Christmas Eve, Eve in 2015, David had a massive ischemic stroke. He reports that he is grateful he only has a few physical deficits. However, after his stroke, he was left with aphasia – affecting his speech, spelling, and even basic math. He is passionate about reaching those who don’t have aphasia resources and spreading awareness about TAP. David is particularly excited to grow TAP in Charlotte and its surrounding areas.