The WilmingtonBiz 100: The Rising Stars

Rising Stars- The next generation of leaders who are already making waves (limited to those 35 years old and younger)

Liz Carbone

Director of Community Engagement, Good Shepherd Center

Outside of her day job at the Good Shepherd Center, Liz Carbone is a community advocate, actively pushing for more affordable housing across the Cape Fear region.

Why She's a Rising Star:

Carbone began working at the Good Shepherd Center nearly seven years ago. As director of community engagement, she manages the homeless shelter’s outreach, education and advocacy efforts around hunger, homelessness and affordable housing. Advocating for affordable housing is also a personal passion for Carbone.

She’s vice chair of the Cape Fear Housing Coalition, managing the group’s day-to-day operations and critical initiatives. The all-volunteer group hosts events that aim to link residents with housing resources and educate the community on the importance of affordable housing. She’s also a member of the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County Workforce Housing Advisory Committee, which advocates for more robust funding and policy commitments to create and preserve affordable housing.

Carbone sits on several other community boards, including as chair of the city/county Community Relations Advisory Committee and the New Hanover County Library Advisory Board.

Funding Homes: The Good Shepherd Center launched its Home for Good capital campaign last fall. The campaign aims to expand the center’s campus, add a family shelter and create more than 50 permanent supportive housing units in the Wilmington area.

Jessie Goodwin

Executive Director, The Children’s Museum of Wilmington

This spring, Jessie Goodwin officially became the executive director of The Children’s Museum of Wilmington, leading the museum through a record-breaking year both fiscally and in attendance.

Why She's a Rising Star:

Goodwin joined the children’s museum in 2019 as its education, membership and volunteer coordinator. She was promoted to the museum’s director of operations two years later and, in August 2022, became the organization’s acting director.

Goodwin worked as a grade-school teacher, a teaching assistant at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and an archivist before coming to the museum.

In her first year at the helm, Goodwin hired several new staff members, increased retention rates and oversaw the start and completion of various capital projects. Goodwin leads a 21-person staff, working with the museum’s board of directors to implement strategic priorities and continually assess the museum’s operations.

Looking ahead, Goodwin plans to evaluate the community’s needs, adjust the museum’s experiential and exhibit plans, and work on internal restructuring.

A Look Back: In 2022, Goodwin documented the history of the three historical buildings that make up the children’s museum on Orange Street. Her work resulted in a series of panels highlighting the history of the museum complex. One of the buildings, St. John’s Lodge, has been in continuous service since it was built for the St. John’s chapter of the Masons in 1805.

Daniel Jones

Cultural Curator, Cameron Art Museum

As the Cameron Art Museum’s cultural curator, Daniel Jones has focused on making “Boundless” a permanent installation from North Carolina artist Stephen Hayes of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War more accessible for the visiting public.

Why He's a Rising Star:

The bronze sculpture, erected in 2021, commemorates the site where more than 1,800 U.S. Colored Troops in February 1865 fought on the present grounds of the Cameron Art Museum. The two-day skirmish helped win the Wilmington Campaign during the Civil War.

Jones leads weekly tours of the installation and is working to document the lives of the soldiers involved in the fight. He is also working on a short film to document oral histories of the descendants of those who fought in the U.S. Colored Troops.

Jones is working to create accessible programming around the site and to add the narrative of the U.S. Colored Troops into local school curriculums. Jones also curates the museum’s Sunset Performance Series, a concert series that combines art with social justice.

History Buff: Jones got his start working as a museum educator at the Cape Fear Museum.

Abby Lorenzo

Deputy Director, WMPO

In her role for the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), Abby Lorenzo directs the group’s planning activities, including plan development, research, education, outreach and discretionary grant opportunities.

Why She's a Rising Star:

The WMPO is the transportation planning agency for the region. Lorenzo plays a key role in helping develop those plans – from roads to trails.

This year, she served as project manager for the city of Wilmington’s Walk Wilmington Pedestrian Plan Update, which was adopted in July.

She led the development of the WMPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Cape Fear Moving Forward 2045, adopted three years ago. The 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan development needs to be adopted by November 2025. Lorenzo is involved in efforts on those updates, including engaging with the public and coordinating with member jurisdictions about which priority projects will be included in it.

Lorenzo also oversaw or managed the development of several regional transportation plans, including the Wilmington Rail Trail Masterplan, the Pender County Collector Streets Plan Update, the Kure Beach Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, and the Navassa Collector Street Plan.

Higher Ed: Lorenzo earned her Master of Public Administration degree from UNCW in December 2022.

Mallorie Moore

Director of Market Development, Michael Best & Friedrich

Mallorie Moore moved into her current role at the Wilmington office of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP law firm this year. She focuses on the firm’s market development strategy across North Carolina.

Why She's a Rising Star:

Moore also recently launched Founders Live Raleigh-Durham as the group’s chapter leader. The group connects startups with the people, capital, resources and exposure they need to launch their innovations into the market.

She also joined the advisory board of tech firm Allergood and is a member of NC TECH’s board of advisors. Locally, Moore, a graduate of the Leadership Wilmington program, is part of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Wilmington Alumni Council and Cape Fear CREW’s Partnership Committee.

Artful Side: While busy now, Moore used to sell her artwork across Raleigh and said she would like to devote more time to her creative side again.

Arhema Tilman

Founder & Host, Today With Rhe

Arhema Tilman launched her YouTube show, Today with Rhe, in 2022 to highlight local entrepreneurs.

Why She's a Rising Star:

This fall, Tilman started her fourth season of the show, which includes interviews with business owners in the area. Formerly serving in the U.S. Navy and a future Johnson & Wales University graduate, Tilman wanted to highlight entrepreneurs and “share their stories to humanize the entrepreneurial experience.”

She talks to owners from various industries about their journeys and lessons learned about growing their businesses.

Tilman, a 2023-24 Leadership Wilmington class member, is helping with the chamber’s citywide volunteer event Work on Wilmington.

PCYP Role: Tilman is also the ambassador coordinator for the Port City Young Professionals networking group.