ECU Foundation welcomes new board members
East Carolina University alumni Stephanie Bond, Vonta Leach and Misty L. Miller have joined the ECU Foundation’s board of directors.
Their four-year terms started in July and will end in 2026.
As members of the board, Bond, Leach and Miller will support the ECU Foundation by promoting and strengthening the university through the solicitation, management and distribution of private gifts.
East Carolina University alumni Stephanie Bond, from left, Vonta Leach and Misty L. Miller have joined the ECU Foundation’s board of directors. (Contributed photos)
“On behalf of the ECU Foundation, I am excited to welcome our newest members to the board of directors. Their professional expertise and diverse backgrounds will contribute tremendously to the work of the ECU Foundation and our efforts to advance the university,” said Christopher Dyba, vice chancellor for university advancement and foundation president.
Bond graduated from ECU in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in merchandising and business. She has spent her career excelling in leadership positions at various growth-stage startups within Fortune organizations including Carrier, Lennox International, Fossil Group, Abercrombie and URBN brands.
Throughout her career, Bond has earned numerous professional accolades while also actively supporting various philanthropic endeavors. She is a past recipient of the ECU 40 Under Forty Leadership Award. Outside of work, Bond a member of the board of directors for Seeds of Africa, a nonprofit in Ethiopia dedicated to nurturing children and their families through education and community development programs.
Leach is the owner of VL Investments, a real estate company in Fayetteville. Previously, Leach had a successful career in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens. He graduated in 2010 from ECU, where he was captain of the Pirate football team.
Leach is a recipient of the ECU Goldspys Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award and a member of the ECU Sports Hall of Fame. He supports several scholarships in the College of Health and Human Performance, the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center, and Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Miller is the senior vice president for organizational development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), where she oversees all aspects of BGCA’s five regional markets, metro services, native services, and the strategy, alignment and innovation team. Miller has served the organization for nearly two decades in various roles, including president and CEO for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain in eastern North Carolina.
An ECU graduate, she participates in professional development trainings, including Leadership Summit — a highly selective 12-month educational program for CEOs of high-performing Boys & Girls Club organizations designed by Harvard Business School and BGCA.
Established in 1967, the ECU Foundation is a dynamic, forward-looking 501(c)(3) nonprofit that plays a critical role in advancing the university’s mission. The foundation garners support through annual gifts, capital campaigns and planned giving, and manages and distributes these resources to the benefit of ECU’s academic programs, research, faculty and students. Visit the ECU Foundation website to learn how you can support the university.
ECU is in the public phase of the Pursue Gold campaign to raise half a billion dollars. This ambitious effort will create new paths to success for Pirates on campus, across the country and around the world. Donor gifts during the campaign will keep us constantly leading and ready to advance what’s possible. Learn more at pursuegold.ecu.edu.