Our Executive Director is responsible for providing the overall leadership and administrative oversight for all LIFE initiatives, including fundraising, managing staff, implementing new programs, recruiting volunteers, and working toward greater impact of our services in the community.
Kevin Rowsey – Executive Director
Mr. Rowsey is a native Michigander, born and raised in Detroit. He grew up on the Eastside of Detroit and his lifetime dream was to become an entrepreneurial businessman and share his knowledge and skills with kids in the inner-city. Mr. Rowsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of School Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Rowsey has been a business education teacher and school administrator for more than twenty years in the State of North Carolina. He has served as a volunteer at the Life Center for many years. Mr. Rowsey is married to Dr. Pamela Johnson Rowsey and they have two children: K. Joshua Rowsey, II and Jessica Noel Rowsey.
Our Board of Directors provides oversight to the work of the Life Center, manages the staff and makes sure we have everything we need to serve the families of the Cornwallis community.
Marcella Sweeney, Ph.D. – Board Chair
Marcella has over 32 years of management and leadership experience with 23 of those years in the newspaper industry. She holds a Ph.D. in Management and is President of TNCC the periodical distribution company she founded. Marcella served as a former Executive Director of the Life Center (2008-2011) and has a desire to see all LIFE center students excel in life.
Ken Huss – Vice President
In 1996, following a successful ten year enlistment in the United States Navy, Ken relocated to the RTP area of North Carolina to begin a job with MCI Communications. Ken got involved with the Life Center in 2009, and currently serves on the Board of Directors. His love for the Life Center comes from an understanding that education, experience and exposure are incredibly transformational. Action creates inspiration, and inspiration generates the motivation to change your world.
Quintin Munn – Secretary
Quintin Munn is the founder and owner of QM Enterprises a commercial and residential
General Contractor located in Raleigh/Durham. The company provides a variety of services
including all types of flooring and general trades, renovations and new construction. Quintin is a native North Carolinian who grew up in the small hamlet of Linden, NC near Fayetteville NC. He attended Pine Forest High School and upon graduation attended Fayetteville Technical Community College majoring in Electronic Engineering. He later received his BS degree in Organizational Management from St. Augustine’s University. Quintin’s professional career began at Nortel Networks where he became a Software Engineer and later Manager of Software Development of IP Telephony Integration. He is currently a Software Analyst at Oracle America, Inc.
Pastor Eric Syfrett – Treasurer
Eric Syfrett is the Executive Pastor of King’s Park International Church in Durham, NC. Eric volunteered as a tutor and mentor at the Life Center in 1997 as a college student and stayed connected to the program ever since. He’s passionate about seeing young people connected to a greater purpose and finding alternatives to the path that life has laid out for them. Eric holds a Duke Certificate in Nonprofit Management and a Masters of Accountancy from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Janelle Armstrong-Brown, Ph.D. – Director
Dr. Janelle Armstrong-Brown moved to Durham from New York to pursue her graduate studies in public health, and received her Ph.D. in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She works at RTI International as a Social Behavioral Scientist evaluating programs that seek to reduce health disparities. She started her work at the Life Center as a tutor for the elementary and middle school students before joining the board.
Ansel Brown – Director
Ansel Brown is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Political Science at North Carolina Central University where he serves as campus advisor for the Pre-Law Program. Brown earned his bachelor’s degree from NCCU and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the N.C. State Bar. Brown is also the founder of the Jackie Brown and Luddie Strickland Scholarship, which is named for his late father and maternal grandmother and awarded to well-rounded African American high school students from his family’s hometown of Jonesville, NC.
Michael Walkowe – Director
Michael grew up mentoring elementary, middle and high school students alongside his father. This experience gave him a love for the youth of his community as well as a clear understanding of how important it is for them to have a strong and well-rounded development. He was drawn to the Life Center because he recognized the safe environment it provides for children to learn and grow. Michael is the general manager of a local restaurant.