Our Associates
Dr. Russ Greenfield
Russell Greenfield is a nationally prominent physician recognized for his work in
wellness and integrative medicine. Because operating with an optimal physical
condition promotes peak performance in other areas of our lives including work,
play, mental clarity and relationships, we are proud to partner with Dr.
Greenfield in pursuit of this goal for our clients, and our community.
Russ graduated from Brandeis University to attend The Chicago Medical School. After graduating, he completed his internship, residency and a fellowship in Emergency Medicine at Harbor / U.C.L.A. Medical Center. In 1997, he began a life-changing fellowship at the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Weil.
Dr. Weil's approach to Integrative Wellness paired with Russ' extensive experience in leadership roles with healthcare organizations provided him with powerful evidence of a new way to look at and practice medicine. Focusing on wellness, patient empowerment and strong data about solutions that help people achieve maximum health, happiness and vitality, he considers delivering this message his true purpose.
Dr. Greenfield served as the founding director of Carolinas HealthCare System's Carolinas Integrative Health, and has performed several leadership roles with both Carolinas Medical Center and Presbyterian Hospital. He is an assistant professor at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill as well as the University of Arizona, and teaches in many other capacities at universities and symposiums around the world. Russ holds positions and chairmanships on several advisory boards, is a book author, as well as an advisor, reporter, editor and reviewer for several publications including scientific and medical journals. He was a medical advisor for the Weil Lifestyle newsletter, an editorial advisor on the Ask Dr. Weil Website, and has been appeared on radio and television talk shows including the Tavis Smiley Show, Carolina Business Review and House Call with Sanjay Gupta.
Russ is also a highly regarded consultant who epitomizes his philosophy and educates the public about wellness initiatives. He is a consultant and spokesperson for Harris Teeter's YourWellness Campaign and is developing several outreach projects to make health and wellness accessible and attainable for everyone. He also maintains a consultative medical practice.
Kevin Davis, MSW
Kevin Davis helps her clients achieve peak performance through counseling,
executive coaching, and leadership development. Over the last thirty years she
has consulted with numerous businesses, health care organizations, and
nonprofit agencies such as Ameritrust Mortgage Company, Presbyterian
Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center, and Employee Assistance Programs.
Kevin has expertise in organizational dynamics, systems theory, program development, teambuilding, facilitation, performance improvement, communication, and managing change. As a certified mediator she is experienced in conflict resolution and negotiation. She has been active in her community as a cofounder of Hospice at Charlotte, in 1980, and is currently a member of both the Chemical Dependency Board and the Lawyer Support Committee of the Mecklenburg Bar.
As the former director of a nonprofit counseling program, Kevin developed staff and created programming for 15 years. She founded and directed the Family Therapy Training Institute, which has trained hundreds of therapists and administrators throughout the Southeast. She has served on the faculty of the Family Practice Residency program and as a team leader for the Council on Accreditation, traveling throughout the US evaluating and accrediting nonprofit agencies.
Kevin has a Bachelor's of Business Administration in Marketing and Management and a Master's in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is married to Jim and mother to Will and Josh. She loves biking, wilderness trips, traveling, and painting.
Personal Insight: "Deeper self-awareness aligned with personal mission and purpose, is what creates peak performance."
Carson Tate, CPO
Carson Tate has a talent for analyzing an important work situation, customizing
a solution and delivering professional results. She works closely with the
everyday and long-term needs of clients to redefine what it means to "be
organized". Her clients strike the right balance between knowledge
management and the tasks that move business ahead.
A persuasive communicator and leader, Carson knows how to motivate people to change habits to better handle their lives and realize their dreams. Her clients include leading organizations, such as Wachovia; Helms, Mullis and Wicker; Europa Sports Products; McAllister Construction; and The Littlejohn Group.
Carson is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and was in the first class of 200 professional organizers nationwide to receive the CPO – Certified Professional Organizer designation. She is the winner of Charlotte Magazine's BOB Award for Best Personal Organizer. Carson also was also recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as a "40 Under 40."
Carson earned her B.A. in Psychology and Religion from Washington and Lee University. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband Andrew.
Lou Solomon
Lou Solomon’s passion is to help business people communicate with one another in a more authentic way.
She is a broadcast veteran who established her career in Nashville, Tennessee as Public Relations Director for WSM-AM, Home of the Grand Ole Opry. Later Cox Broadcasting brought her to Charlotte, where she worked as Marketing Director of WSOC for several years.
Lou left broadcast in the 90s and became an independent PR consultant. In 2000, she founded Interact, where she and her staff work with individuals and teams to communicate in a natural and powerful way.
Lou writes a column for the Charlotte Business Journal entitled “Interacting in Business,” and mentors business people who are interested in using public speaking not only as personal fulfillment but as a strategy for success.
Lou is the past president of Leadership Charlotte; a finalist for the 2006 Charlotte Business Woman of the Year; member of Women Executives (WE); member of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Circle (ELC) for the McColl School of Business; and a 2004 recipient of the Business Journal’s Women in Business Achievement Awards.
Debbie Walters, Executive Assistant to Mike Whitehead
Debbie Walters brings over 15 years of professional experience as an executive assistant to Whitehead Associates. Her efficient management of business processes, genuine warmth for clients and partners, and commitment to detail makes daily business a remarkable experience.
In addition to Debbie’s administrative talents, she also brings experience in meeting/event planning and real estate development. Her knowledge and execution lend considerable support to Whitehead Associates’ rapidly growing leadership and personal development curriculum and the creation of The Center for Intentional Leadership.
A native of the North Carolina mountains, Debbie has lived in Charlotte 17 years. She currently lives in Union county with her husband Steve and her three children. She is passionate about her family, spending time at her favorite beach in Beaufort, SC, and making the most of her life every day. She credits a sense of humor, flexibility, open communication, intuition and a desire to make others look good as the secret formula to her success.
Personal Insight: “Everything is important, but not everything is a priority. Success lies in understanding the difference.”
Beth Whitehead, Finance Manager
Beth Whitehead is the finance manager for Whitehead Associates Inc.. With
experience as a Purchasing and Inventory Control Manager, she brings her
knowledge of accounting systems and attention to detail to her position. She
holds a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Business
Administration from Winthrop University.
Beth has been in Charlotte with her husband, Mike, for 20 years. Beth contributes support and stability behind the scenes while co-creating the couple's consummate partnership in work, family, parenting, and marriage. She is the co-facilitator for Quest for the Intentional Marriage, which she and Mike designed together based upon their rigorous work in living intentionally.
Beth grew up in Mount Pleasant, SC and enjoys visiting family there. Her biggest accomplishment is being happily married for 20 years and raising her two children, Austin and Leah. In addition to being with her friends, her greatest passion is watching her children learn and develop into young adults.
Personal Insight: "Faith, in family, in people, in life, and in God, is my source for having a life beyond my imagination; for being able to stick with it when life gets tough and for celebrating when life is tremendous."
Susanne Deitzel, Director of Communications
Susanne Deitzel brings a love of language, a passion for people, and a
commitment to positive purpose to Whitehead Associates. As Director of
Communications, she helps develop and deliver the vital messages of the
organization, as well as extend its reach into the community.
Susanne has been a writer in Charlotte for eleven years. She has profiled many of the most dynamic leaders in Charlotte as a contributing editor and feature writer for Greater Charlotte Biz Magazine, has written and produced a book titled Ballantyne, The First 10 Years, and regularly writes for publications of The Charlotte Observer. She has written for several magazines and has provided editorial, web/copywriting, and corporate communications for local and national corporations and non-profits.
Susanne believes that a commitment to a common positive purpose, a desire for understanding, and deliberate selection of the words we use to communicate our ideas can be a powerful unifying force.
Personal Insight: "Words are little packages of intention; we should select them carefully and deliver them intact."
Yvonne Carrasco, Event Coordinator
Attention to detail is the hallmark of an intentional environment, where subtle
touches make a big difference. Things like fresh
flowers on the foyer table of Whitehead Manor, the pressed linen napkins on the
coffee service, and Yvonne's warmth and sense of style are a large part of what sets
Whitehead Manor apart.
Yvonne Carrasco is an energetic single mom, with three teenagers and a home always full of laughter and fresh food. She brings the same sense of family to her work at Whitehead Associates, where she schedules and coordinates the receptions, retreats and events. Yvonne facilitates healthy meals for staff and clients, schedules service staff and catering, and coordinates event details.
A long-term volunteer for Charlotte's school system, she has brought her love of the arts to elementary and middle school students through a number of live performances in the classroom.
Education has been both her personal and professional passion – she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work with experience in counseling families and individuals, residential child therapy and the chronically mentally ill.
Personal insight: "Be present to the possibilities and lessons of each day and to greet them with humor and gratitude."
Chris Bolinger, Property Manager
Whitehead Manor is distinguished by its beautiful grounds,
thanks to the thoughtful and capable touch of Property Manager Chris Bolinger.
Chris and his wife are recent additions to the Charlotte community, having moved south from Maryland. Chris is responsible for managing the Whitehead Manor and Conference Center grounds, gardens, and buildings. He also manages all facets of Whitehead's Real Estate division, focusing on tenant services and property improvement.
Chris brings management and entrepreneurial experience to his role with a
Bachelor of Science in Business Management as well as experience with private
country club management, landscaping with an environmental resources
company, and business ownership.
Personal Insight: "I can accomplish anything I put my mind
to."
Nancy Nicholson, Yoga Instructor
Nancy Nicholson, a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor with a twenty-year personal
yoga practice, leads her clients in striving for the ultimate objective of any yoga
tradition - union of the mind, body and spirit.
Whether the personal goal is improving one's health, striving for a greater level of athletic performance, or increasing mental clarity, focus and wellbeing, Nancy's warm and gentle approach to hatha yoga offers new pathways for personal growth.
A licensed social worker with a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern Mississippi, and the former director of the UFS Shelter for Battered Women for twelve years, Nancy has cultivated a strong practice of empathy in her professional pursuits. Nancy has taught yoga for nine years, including lessons at Carolina's Medical Center Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and maintains a private practice, which she hosts at various locations around Charlotte.
Research has suggested significant benefits from incorporating fitness into a company game plan, and yoga in particular has been shown to accomplish both physical and performance-related results. Nancy also teaches a seated/standing yoga class which provides many of the familiar benefits of yoga, without strenuous activity or the need for a change of clothing.
Whitehead Associates is pleased to be able to enjoy Nancy's yoga sessions and
to offer Nancy's talented and committed yoga approach to our clients.
Personal Insight: "Providing yoga for employees is a nurturing gift
as well as a practical investment. Focus, relaxation and overall employee
wellness pays both seen and unseen dividends."