Laura Belcher
Laura Belcher is President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region and joined Habitat for Humanity in 2014. Since 2014, the organization has seen nearly a 400% increase in families served. 2023 provided a career highlight as Habitat Charlotte Region hosted the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project building 27 homes in a week with 3800 volunteers.
Laura spent the first 20 years of her career in corporate roles with Arthur Andersen, Wachovia Securities and Transamerica. Laura was a CPA, graduated from the College of William and Mary, and spent 9 years in nonprofit work as CFO/COO of the Arts & Science Council prior to joining Habitat.
Laura is on the Catapult Employers Association Board of Directors and chairs the Governance Committee. Laura is a member of Women Executives and International Women’s Forum. Her recent awards include 2024 Changemaker Award from She Built City, 2024 Daughters of the American Revolution Award, and recognized by Business NC 2024 Power List as one of the most influential leaders in non-profits and philanthropies. Woman of the Year 2023.
2023
Dionne Nelson
Dionne Nelson, a national thought leader in mixed income housing and founder of Laurel Street, is making an impact on the economic mobility of residents in Charlotte and across the Southeast. Nelson also serves on the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, providing an important perspective to Charlotte's CEO and business leaders improving how inequity in housing is addressed by the executives driving community change in Charlotte.
Laurel Street, which she founded in 2011, has a development and acquisition portfolio valued at over $1 billion and includes over 5,500 units in 55 communities, all of which serve mixed-income households. Her work addresses affordability needs in communities facing rapid gentrification or suffering from severely limited affordable options. In 2023, she saw the opportunity to better serve residents and employees of Laurel Street communities, so she founded LSA Management, a property management firm which oversees the portfolio they have developed. As a member of Charlotte’s local Advisory Board of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, her insights have helped Knight Foundation facilitate and evaluate its $11 million investments in the Historic West End. Woman of the Year 2023.
