About Us

Joey is a retired arts administrator originally from Washington, NC where he served as Executive Director of Arts of the Pamlico, formerly the Beaufort County Arts Council. He has been involved with the arts in some capacity for most of his life. A graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in Communication and Theatre, he currently also serves on the board of Panache Theatrical Productions. Past professional memberships and committee work include the North Carolina Presenters’ Consortium, Arts North Carolina, panelist for the North Carolina Arts Council’s Community Grassroots Grant, and Steering Committee for the 2007 AE/AIE Charter Conference in Charlotte, NC. He is a devoted advocate for the arts.

Todd Atwood is a retired marketing executive with Colgate Palmolive where he served a number of senior roles in Europe, Latin America and New York. He has served on a number of not for profit boards including chairman of The American Overseas School of Rome and Cape Fear Academy. His wife, Carol, has played local board leadership roles with Good Shepherd, Lakeside, Bnai Israel, and Humanity Now. They have three children including Sylvia who is the artist in the family.

Liz Carbone is the Community Coordinator for Good Shepherd Center, a local nonprofit organization addressing the issues of hunger and homelessness in the Cape Fear region. Liz received her Bachelors in International Studies with a concentration in Art and Literature from UNC Wilmington, where she is now pursuing a Masters in Public Administration with a focus in nonprofit management and public policy. In her spare time, Liz volunteers at the Cameron Art Museum and the Cape Fear Literacy Council. She is passionate about equity in arts programming and making the arts more accessible to under served communities.

Phil Sindel was born and raised in New York City but spent the last 25 years in Boston before retiring to the Wilmington area in 2018 though he has been visiting the area for the past 16 years. He received his BS from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Hartford and has 45 years experience with the technology and operations within the financial services industry. Joining the founder of Olmstead Associates in 1994, Phil helped it to become a leading specialized consulting firm to the asset management industry. Prior to joining Olmstead Associates, Phil’s experience includes technology management positions at Aetna Life and Casualty and Mass Mutual and work as an independent consultant that took him overseas to England and Australia. Phil also worked for the White House as Manager of Information Systems for the Executive Office of the President. He has always been active in the arts community wherever he has lived, having helped produce concerts, been on radio or performing in community theatre. His wife Deni is a painter and a quilter and on the board of the Friends of the Leland Cultural Arts Center.

Shane is Vice President of Advancement & the Arts at Cape Fear Community College.  In addition to overseeing the opening of the Wilson Center, he previously served at UNC Wilmington, as Director of Campus Life Arts and Programs, overseeing UNCW Presents, the Arts in Action Performance and the Leadership Lecture Series, Ann Flack Boseman Gallery, and Lumina Theater; he also taught as an adjunct faculty member in the UNCW Department of Communication Studies.  Shane earned a communication studies degree and a master’s degree in public administration from UNC Wilmington.

Jennifer Pate grew up in Chicago, lived in Los Angeles for 25 years and now is proud to call Wilmington her home. She was a professional dancer for over a decade appearing in such shows as Song and Dance, Mrs. Potiphar to Donny Osmond’s Joseph and spent a year on the Queen Elizabeth II just to name a few. She then went on to being a casting director for Film and TV founding the casting company, “Colloff, Fishman and Britt” casting shows for creators such as Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon and her husband Jonas Pate. Jennifer then created, produced and hosted the Webby Award winning web series “Jen and Barb, Mom Life”, wrote the self help book, “The Mother of Reinvention”, was a contributor for both Rachel Ray and Katie Couric, starred in the HGTV series “Turnkey Renovation” and is now launching a new show called “Feel Ageless”. She and her husband Jonas have two children; Cooper and Lilah and one furry baby Maddy.

Dr. Sejal Patel is an Internal Medicine Physician who practiced hospital-based medicine for 8 years but quickly realized that there is more medicine practiced away from the bedside, yet is an integral part of patient care. Being a Medical Director at Novant NHRMC gives her a chance to be a staff and patient advocate at the same time.

She completed a residency in Ophthalmology in India in the year 2000 and moved to USA to join her husband. Due to her keen interest in comprehensive care, she decided to pursue Internal Medicine and trained at Moses Cone Hospital, in Greensboro, NC. During her career as a Physician at New Hanover Regional medical center, she also served as a Medical Director for Community Hospice and Palliative care.

In 2010 Dr. Patel was introduced to the world of Physician advisor which turned out to be her next professional journey. In 2018, She was promoted as the Medical at NHRMC. Dr. Patel has taken on Insurance Denials management as her most recent challenge and has helped overturn denials worth millions of dollars. Thus, protecting patients from expensive out of pocket health care expenses.

She has been actively involved with Cape Fear Cultural Association of India since 2002 and was instrumental in establishing it as a nonprofit organization. In 2020, she became the president and has led the association and the Indian Community during the challenging times of a pandemic through innovative ways to engage and support the members and do an outreach for the broader NH community.

Dr. Patel and her entrepreneur husband have lived in Wilmington since 2000 and are raising a beautiful daughter and a bilingual dog. Family time and food are her weaknesses and therapy as well!

Fidias Reyes was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts Management from Herbert H. Lehman College. After graduation she went on to complete the 2 year intensive at the William Esper Studio under Maggie Flanagan. Subsequently she was cast in various roles in television, film and theatre. She is the Director of Arts Engagement in UNCW’s Office of the Arts.