
Deborah Dicks Maxwell
President of the NC NAACP
Deborah Dicks Maxwell was elected as the first woman president of the NC NAACP in October 2021. President Maxwell was elected by a majority vote after serving for the last 10 years as the president of the New Hanover branch of the NAACP and eight years as the district director of Walter B. White District 16.
As president of one of the largest NAACP state conferences, President Maxwell will place high priority on:
- Fighting back against attempts to suppress the vote and dismantle the Voting Rights Act includingn focusing on voter education, voter registration and voter turnout in upcoming elections. The NAACP is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse candidates for political office at any level.
- Rebuilding and strengthening the state structure of the NAACP including renewing trust of the NC NAACP, increasing membership and the number of branches on college and university campuses, and building strong community partnerships with other organizations committed to justice and freedom.
- Working to address health equity in the face of the COVID19 pandemic which has disproportionately impacted historically margianlzied communities.
- Improving educational outcomes for poor, Black, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian youth, including working with educators, school nurses, psychologists and social workers, and policy makers to improve school safety, mental wellbeing of children, and close the academic acheievemnt gap. Under President Maxwell’s leaderhsip, the NC NAACP will continue to closely monitor progress adhering to the most recent ruling in the Leandro case to ensure that that every child in NC recieves a “sound basic education” that includes competent and well-trained teachers and principals and equitable access to resources.
President Maxwell served in the US Army and US Army Reserves, reaching the rank of Sergeant First Class. She participated in Operation Desert Storm. She is also a retired public health social worker and worked on vaccine equity with Healthier Together: Health Equity Action Network, a public-private partnership between the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Counts Coalition to increase the number of Black, Indigenous and People of Color receiving COVID-19 vaccines in North Carolina. In 2020 Maxwell was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice.
President Maxwell succeeds Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, who was elected to lead the civil rights organization in 2017.

Mrs. Carolyn Q. Coleman (Deceased January 26, 2022)
First Vice President
MARY WHITE COVINGTON DISTRICT
Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4
COUNTIES
District 1 – Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Yancey
District 2 – Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba (including Hickory), Cleveland, Lincoln
District 3 – Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union
District 4 – Alexander, Allegheny, Ashe, Davie, Surry, Wilkes, Yadkin

Mrs. Carolyn McDougal
Second Vice President
Districts 5, 6, 7, and 8
COUNTIES
District 5 – Davidson, Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes
District 6 – Anson, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly
District 7 – Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Randolph
District 8 – Chatham, Durham, Lee, Orange, Person

Mr. Keith Rivers
Third Vice President
Districts 9, 10, 11, and 12
COUNTIES
District 9 – Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Robeson
District 10 – Franklin, Granville, Vance, Wake, Warren
District 11 – Bertie, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Nash, Northampton, Wilson
District 12 – Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Pasquotank, Perquiman

Mr. Courtney Patterson
Fourth Vice President
Districts 13, 14, 15, and 16
COUNTIES
District 13 – Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell, Washington
District 14 – Carteret, Craven, Greene, Jones, Pamlico, Pitt
District 15 – Duplin, Johnston, Lenoir, Sampson, Wayne
District 16 – Balden, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender