Board of Directors

Devin Duncan, Student Body President

Liam Kiley, Speaker of the Undergraduate Senate

Jaden Smith, Graduate and Professional Student Government President

Omar Merhebi, Speaker of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate

Audra Farrar, President of RHA

Reid Griffin, President of Carolina Athletic Association President

Cameron Hall, Student Employee Member

Noah Carlson, Fraternity and Sorority Life Representative

Luke Johnson, Student Appointee

Jackson Wellons, Student Appointee

Aliza Abdul, Student-at-large Member

Zoey Morse, Student-at-large Member

Makhi Nash, President of the Black Student Movement

Amir Abdelbaky, Muslim Student Association

Shreya Hansalia, President of APO

Pedro Lopes de Almeida, Professor in Department of Romance Studies

Kala Bullett, Senior Director of Residential Education for UNC Housing

Ion Outterbridge, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Union Tenant

Fran Muse, Director of Student Legal Services, Union Tenant 

Cristina Gomez, Carolina Dining Services, Union Tenant

Michael Conroy, Carolina Dining Services, Union Tenant

Joe Singer, Director of Event Services

Darrius Barrow, Director of Student Life and Leadership

Tori Holder, Associate Director of Communications and Creative Services

Tiwana Hopper-Gould, Director of the Union Business Hub

Alexandra Marchesano, Executive Director of the Carolina Union

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AGENDA for August 26th, 2026
5:00– 8:00PM • 3102

CALL MEETING TO ORDER (William Swisher)
The meeting started at 5:02 pm.

Attendance (Elizabeth Kuhn)

Quorum
Total Voting Members – 22
Quorum 12 people to start the meeting.
2/ 3rds – 15 people
3/ 4ths – 17 people

NEW BUSINESS:

• Opening remarks
  • Will Swisher opened the meeting and thanked the group for being a part of the Board of
• Directors this year.
• Short introductions from everyone on the Board.
• Select professional staff also introduced themselves.

• Overview of board
  • The role of the Board of Directors is to act as a liaison from students to the Union, made up of
• students, faculty, and staff.
• There are standing committees that each member will choose to join.
• The Board will ensure that the union is operational for events and will be involved with changes
• to the space in the Union.
• The Board will continue to advocate for the needs of an updated Student Union and for the
• needs of the students.
• Meetings will be held once a month as an entire Board and once a month as committees from
• 5:00-7:00 pm

• Strengths and weaknesses presentation
  • Alexandra’s presentation on Clifton Strengths and how to learn to use our individual strengths.
    • Alexandra participated in a weeklong training in May to become a certified Training coach.
    • UNC is encouraging students to take the assessment to learn what their top five strengths are and how to use these skills in various groups.
    • The Board of Directors wants to implement these skills into their meetings and emphasize using specific strengths in committee meetings to use talents effectively.
    • Strengths are categorized into different domains:
      • Executing
    • Influencing
    • Relationship Building
    • Strategic Thinking
• Alexandra led a team building exercise to learn about everyone’s top strengths and which one was surprising, prompting the Board to reflect on their results.
• Alexandra plans to lead another exercise in the middle of the year to reflect on these strengths and passed around an exercise document titled “The Best of Me.”
• Any Questions?
  • Asked about why certain questions are repeated in the assessment
    • Discussed the nature of the assessment and the method for determining top strengths

• Orientation
  • Will went through the document titled, “2026-2027 BOD Strategic Agenda” and explained the main goals and objectives of the Board of Directors for this year
    • Enhance transparency and accessibility in the operations and decision-making processes of the Carolina Union Board of Directors
    • Promote space equity and student access to facilities within the Carolina Union to ensure fair, inclusive, and mission- aligned use of resources within the facility (Find a better use for the meditation space)
    • Promote the living room of campus motto and create that atmosphere
    • More Carolina Union Branding and a possible student-lead/painted mural
    • Any questions?
      • Could the meditation space be turned into a graduate center for Main Campus?
        • Liked the idea and will consider this as an option.
      • Are the lockers going to be taken away?
        • Yes, the union was not supposed to be just a storage unit
        • Locker space was not equitable as it was only going to around 10% of student organizations.
      • A lot of money went to building renovations
        • Bathrooms, new furniture, roof project, The Underground will be redone, new gaming area (hoping to have this project starting soon)
        • Want input on what students want to see in the gaming space and potentially work with select student organizations
      • Does that mean if you are on the spacing committee, you be working through construction all year?
        • Yes, probably

• Committee assignments
  • Will is now presenting a different handout that explains the committees
    • This document contains the goals and purposes of the committee as well as suggestions for initiatives and objectives for the committee
    One meeting per month will be designated for committee meeting time, which will provide more time for the committee to work on their objectives.
    • Each committee will have their own agenda to send to Will 24-48 hours before the meeting. Each committee will have a chair to present their updates at the following entire Board of Directors meeting.September 23rd is the first committee meeting
    Space Allocation Committee
    • Collaborate with Event ServicesBetter understanding of 25LiveUnderstand new rules of storage and support for student organizations
    Membership Committee
    • Elizabeth and Will are the current committeePresent the options for the Student-at-Large positions
    Finance Committee
    • Start with meeting with Tiwana and be transparent about the budgetGive back to students in the UnionConsider short term goals and move towards long term goals
    Long-Range Planning Committee
    • Making sure to include student input in everything the Board is doing and that wants and needs are understood
    Education and Outreach Committee
    • Will be in touch with Tori Holder for suggestions such as open feedback surveys
    Will Swisher asked for a motion to approve the existence of the Education and Outreach Committee for this year.
    • Fran Muse motioned.Jaden Smith seconded.Approved by consent.
    Art Committee
    • Student voices will be heard to figure out what will represent the studentsCollaborating with the art department, MFA students, Morrison Art Studio, community and county artists
    Any Questions?
    • Are there more review processes before the artwork is chosen?
      • Yes, staff members including those on Communications and Creative Services will send links that can be sorted through as inspiration for the chosen art.
      The finance committee might not need to meet as frequently because the Board of Directors does not set up the finances. Consider dissolving the committee or at least reevaluating need.
      • See if Tiwana can join the committee meetings so that the committee has a better understanding of the happenings.
  • Committee assignments, introductions within groups, initial conversation regarding goals, and choosing a chair.
• Expectations
  • Show up before 5:00 pm for the meeting to begin on timeIf you cannot show up, tell Will 24 hours in advance and have a proxy show up preparedSend your committee agenda 24 hours in advance for Will to review.
  • Read and review the changes to the Bylaws before the next meeting in order to approve them at the next meeting

• Tour of the Union (moved to next meeting)

CUAB UPDATE: Elizabeth Kuhn

• Updates on CUAB Board members
  • Committee interests’ application is still open until Monday
  • Currently there is a total of 50 members

MEETING ADJOURNED

Will Swisher asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jaden Smith motioned to adjourn the meeting.

Finlay Cullen seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 pm.

AGENDA for 9/9/26
5:00– 7:00PM • 3102

CALL MEETING TO ORDER (Will Swisher)
The meeting started at 5:04 pm.

Attendance—(Elizabeth)

Quorum   

Total Voting Members – 22; Quorum 12 people to start the meeting.; 2/ 3rds – 15 people 3/ 4ths – 17 people

OLD BUSINESS:

• By-laws
  • The Board of Directors was told to review the bylaws before the meeting
  • Today the Board is voting on them after much work went on the bylaws last year
  • Will Swisher asked for a motion to approve the bylaws.
    • Fran Muse motioned.
    • Luke Johnson seconded.
    • Approved by consent.

NEW BUSINESS:

• Tour of the Union
  • Underground
  • Underground gaming area
  • West Lounge
  • Admissions meeting rooms
  • Great Hall – chairs and lobby
  • UA Lobby
  • Aquarium Lounge
  • Meeting room 3206
  • Artwork that the board purchased last year
  • These are all updated spaces to the Union.
    • Suggestion: consider expanding the student art collection and thoughts about     how to source the art. Someone recommended collaborating with an art           class and including a student let mural.
• Student at Large member 
  • Let the board know that we need to work on this application.
  • Explain the process to the board.
    • Two Student at Large members
    • The Membership Committee will decide when to get the application out and figure out the         timeline.
    • Alexandra goes through the applications and then passes it to the Membership   Committee.
• Student Employee member
  • Let the board know that we need to work on this application.
  • Explain the process to the board.
• Committees and Apparel
  • Information about meeting on September 23rd, which is committee time.
  • Share committee information; Who is on each committee? Who is serving as the chair?
    • Will passed around a paper for each member of the Board to fill out with t-shirt size and which committee they are on.
    • Each Board member will receive the Board of Directors’ apparel.

CUAB UPDATE: Elizabeth Kuhn 

SOCIAL MEDIA COUNTS

Followers:
Instagram – 5,985
Threads – 740
Facebook – 1,974
X – 4,610
LinkedIn – 141

Website:

Users – 5,973

RESERVATION COUNTS

Client Type	July	August	September	Grand Total By Type
Non-Affiliate	0	44	0	44
Study Room	1	14	8	23
University Department	193	270	65	528
Student Organization	14	327	183	524
Grand Total By Month	208	655	256	1119

MEETING ADJOURNED

Will Swisher asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jaden Smith motioned to adjourn the meeting. Fran Muse seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 5:53 pm.

AGENDA for October 7th, 2026
5:00– 8:00PM • 3102

CALL MEETING TO ORDER (William Swisher)
The meeting started at 5:00 pm.

Attendance (Elizabeth Kuhn)

Quorum
Total Voting Members – 22
Quorum 12 people to start the meeting. 2/ 3rds – 15 people
3/ 4ths – 17 people

OLD BUSINESS:

• Approve meeting minutes from 9.9.26 and 9.23.26
• Will Swisher asked for a motion to approve the meeting minutes from 9.9.26 and 9.23.26.
  • Fran Muse motioned.
  • Nicholas Swisher seconded.
  • Approved by consent.

NEW BUSINESS:

• Tori Holder’s introduction to the Board of Directors
• Shared information about CCS
  • CCS handles all of the marketing, social media, the Carolina Union website, etc.
• Updating the Board of Directors web page
  • Shared the form that Board members will fill out to provide information to be added to the website
  • Link can be found on the Teams channel
• Discuss new calendar and meeting arrangements
• Will Swisher shared the new calendar
  • The second meeting each month will be more committee focused, but the full Board of Directors will still meet all together
• Opportunity to table on behalf of the Board of Directors
  • Help advertise the art competition and share information about what the Board does
• Student Member at Large and Voting
• Board members can review the candidates resumes before they present
• Each student will introduce themselves and present for two minutes, followed by eight minutes for questions from the Board members
  • These questions must be the same for all students to give them

• Zoe Morse

• Second year English and Biology student
  • Coming to Carolina from out of state, wanting a sense of community
  • She has prioritized advocating for her community
  • Both organizations that she is a part of use the Union
  • Has experience in many different disciplines
  • Answers to questions:
    • She is from outside of Columbus, Ohio
    • Uses a calendar to thoroughly plan out her week
    • Would like to utilize every corner of the Union to ensure students are comfortable between classes
    • She would reach out to department heads and faculty members to give them feedback forms and information to share out with their students to spread information about the Carolina Union
    • Her experience as a peer mentor has allowed her to listen to the concerns of her peers and makes her a unique candidate
    • Her favorite thing about the Union is the area in the West Lounge with the booths to sit and eat with friends
    • A moment that made her grow at UNC: participation in APPLES service learning where she travelled to Asheville and learned how to best do community service and effectively serve a community
    • Her favorite color is sage green
    • At home she served as a floor manager for a “free store” for people to get food and clothing. She also was a volunteer dance instructor and a member of National Honors Society and Key Club
    • Knows when to take a break when she notices that she is tired and cannot focus anymore
    • Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving
• Next person: Aliza Abdul
  • Senior at UNC in the Radiology program from Archdale, NC
  • Loves to bake, share food, and read
  • Very strong time management skills and values her time
  • Wants to pursue a PhD in radiology
  • Unique insight for the Board of Directors because of her diverse background, daughter of an immigrant, wanting to give back to her school and create a comforting home for other students. She is also bilingual which can help with communications to student body
  • Emphasizing the bus system and contacting landlords to involve more off-campus students

• Her most memorable moment at UNC was getting into the radiology program
  • Her favorite thing about the Union is the prayer room
  • She is currently a part of UNC MSA
  • Understanding of the Board- helps students get resources, creates events for student engagement, and ensures that campus is a safe place for students
  • How do you think that the Board would make the Union feel more like a home?
• Snack area, decorations for a “vibey” feeling, more areas within the Union, changing more furniture
  • What could the Board give back to her- more self-confidence

• Liam Kiley motions to add both candidates to the Board of Directors.
  • Nicholas Swisher seconds.
  • Approved by consent.

• CU Student Employee and voting
  • Board members can review the candidates resumes
  • Each student will introduce themselves and present for two minutes, followed by eight minutes for questions from the Board members
    • These questions must be the same for all students to give them
  • First student: Cameron Hall
    • First year graduate student and went to UNC for undergraduate; from Cary, NC
    • His work in the Union involves many micro-interactions with different people to improve their days
    • He wants to apply these same skills and interests to the Board of Directors
    • Qualifications:
      • Works in Operations and knows practical information about the Union
      • Helps with the furniture and he can provide insight on policies and ways to implement them
      • Can offer unique insight because he is doing work here every day
• Able to offer insight into crisis management
• He would like to see improvements in the interactions between operations and front desk
• Ideas about increasing graduate student engagement:
  • Hosting specific events through CUAB, later in the day when students are available
  • Meal vouchers specific to graduate students
  • Being conscious time that clubs are hosting events

• What made him want to join the Board

this year:

• Feels more qualified, has more experience, and has training to hear student feedback
• He would become a representative of his department and help bridge the Union to the student body
• Favorite thing about the Union:
  • Improving the organization of the Union every day at work

• Second student: Abby McCullen
  • Sophomore majoring in media and journalism and English; from Fayetteville, NC
  • She works as a Guest Relations Coordinator and Reservations Assistant
    • Cross trained
    • Has experience working with clientele of various backgrounds, and working behind the scenes with Reservations
  • Interested in dramatic arts and is involved with student theater on campus
  • As a JOURneys Humanities Editor, she has good interpretation skills to be able to analyze things she normally wouldn’t
  • As an ambassador with Honors Carolina, she loves providing information and sharing resources. Has no problem talking with people individually to spread information about the Board.
  • She is good at managing her schedule and staying on track with all her commitments
  • Favorite part of the Union is the sky bridge area to study with natural lighting
  • Current understanding of what the Board does:
    • Manages operations
    • Maintaining a high standard for the Union
    • Increase visibility on the intended use of the Union
  • Working in different spaces of the Union provides her with a unique insight and would be very helpful on the Board

• Board reflection and discussion about the candidates.
  • There is only one seat, so a vote is needed
  • Fran- slight pull towards Cameron because he is a graduate student
  • Makhi- leaning more towards Abby because she can relay information and garnish student feedback
  • Finley- would like to see Cameron given the opportunity with his graduate perspective
  • Liam- likes that Cameron is interested in logistics
  • Pedro- appreciates the inclusion of a humanities student because less are typically on the Board
  • Jaden- rare that there is a graduate student engaged; proactiveness on Cameron’s part is valuable
  • Will Swisher ask for a motion to vote.
    • All those in favor of Cameron: 12
    • All those in favor of Abby: 4

▪   Cameron was selected.

• Art Committee Proposal; Mural Art Competition
  • Luke submitted a proposal to the art committee for enhancing student art through a competition
    • Modified idea to host a mural competition every two years to promote student art
    • The mural will be accompanied by an artist statement
    • The Art Committee will pick three of the best pieces and the Board will vote on the winner
    • Will be in a currently empty space when you walk into the Union
    • This year’s theme: Community, Connection, & Cultivation
• Committee work (moved to next meeting)
  • Develop a strategic agenda and suggestions for agendas
    • Send Will Swisher the agendas by next meeting (Oct. 21)
• Space Allocation
  • Schedule a meeting with Tammy to develop accountability matrix for student organization tenants
  • Schedule a meeting with Joe Singer to discuss temporary storage space
• Membership
  • Create a bio-outline for the website publication of board members
• Finance
  • Reach out to Tiwana about attending the meetings virtually
• Art Committee
  • Revise Mural proposal as necessary and schedule meeting with State of the Art
• Long range planning
  • Schedule a meeting with Joe Singer to discuss capital projects and the current rough project
  • Discuss the meditation space being turned into the serenity space

Reservation Analytics:

Client Type	July	August	September	October	Grand Total By Type
Non-Affiliate	0	44	5	0	49
Study Room	1	14	34	2	51
University Department	193	270	330	42	835
Student Organization	14	324	810	132	1280
Grand Total By Month	208	652	1179	176	2215

Social Media Analytics:
Instagram – 5,981
Facebook – 1,974
Threads – 740
LinkedIn – 144
X – 4,602
Website Views – 4,715

MEETING ADJOURNED

Will Swisher asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Fran Muse motioned to adjourn the meeting. Jackson Wellons seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:26 pm.

AGENDA for October 21st, 2026
5:00– 7:00PM • 3102

CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Elizabeth Kunz called the meeting to order at 5:03 pm.

Attendance, Elizabeth Kunz

Quorum
Total Voting Members – 22
Quorum 12 people to start the meeting. 3rds – 15 people
3/ 4ths – 17 people

OLD BUSINESS:

Approval of minutes

• Elizabeth Kunz asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the 10/7 meeting.
  • Liam Kiley motioned.
  • Noah Carlson seconded.
  • Approved by consent.

NEW BUSINESS:

• Luke made an announcement to encourage members of the Board to table, need around 2 people to help
• Renaming of the Student Government Suite
  • Presentation from Student Body President Devin Duncan about renaming the Student Government Suite
  • Seeking the Boards approval
  • Looking to name the suite after Eve Carson
  • The renaming would likely be in January, soon after her birthday
  • A decal would go on the door of the suite
• A quote and picture of her will go inside of the suite
  • Conversation about the previous naming:
• It used to be named after Winston B. Crisp
• The space will still have a dedication to him inside of the suite
• Elizabeth Kunz asked for a motion to rename the Student Government Suite to the Eve Marie Carson Student Government Suite.
  • Liam Kiley motioned.
  • Jackson Wellons seconded.
  • Approved by consent.
• Elizabeth gave the Board five minutes to fill out the form for the BOD website.
• Committee work

Strategic Agenda review

• For Reference: Develop a strategic agenda
  • Suggestions for next steps/agendas
    • Space Allocation
      • Schedule a meeting with Tammy to develop an accountability matrix for student organization tenants.
      • Schedule a meeting with Joe Singer to discuss temporary storage space
    • Membership
      • Create a bio-outline for the website publication of Board members
      • Board Member Profile Form
    • Finance
      • Reach out to Tiwana about attending the meetings virtually
    • Art Committee
      • Revise Mural proposal as necessary and schedule meeting with State of the Art
      • New art in the building
    • Long Range Planning
      • Schedule a meeting with Joe Singer to discuss capital projects and the current roof project
      • Discuss the meditation space being turned into the serenity space
      • Begin planning next steps for accomplishing the goals of the committee
      • Presentation of next steps

• Updates from committees:
  • Education Outreach:
• Suggestion form is in progress
• Working to get tabling scheduled
  • Space Allocation
• Set up meetings to discuss different spaces; talk about the SOLE center
• Been working with other departments in the Union to ensure they are using all spaces and efficiently communicating
  • Finance
• Meeting with the Director of Business Services of the Union
  • They will come to 11/18 Board meeting
• Plans to reach out to the long-range planning committee
  • Art
• Moving forward with the mural competition
  • Starting the process for the marketing and social media to spread awareness

• The decision will be narrowed down by the committee with five finalists and then the Board will vote on the winner
• Planning a reception to honor their work
• Discussed ways in which to engage the broader community
  • Long-range Planning
• Trying to figure out how to further the strategic plan
• Number one goal is to expand the operating hours and spaces in the Union
• Consider renovating all the bathrooms in the Union in the future
• Create a calendar to highlight various events in the Union
• Ensuring that all decisions are made with student input

Social Media Analytics: To be presented later

Reservation Analytics:

Client Type	July	August	September	October	Grand Total By Type
Non-Affiliate	0	44	5	3	52
Study Room	1	14	34	27	76
University Department	193	270	330	166	959
Student Organization	14	324	810	404	1552
Grand Total By Month	208	652	1179	600	2639

MEETING ADJOURNED

Elizabeth Kunz asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jaden Smith motioned to adjourn the meeting. Liam Kiley seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 pm.