Staff
Tony E. Johnson, Ed.D, Executive Director
Tony brings over 20 years experience leading entrepreneurial development initiatives in the public and not-for-profit arenas to the organization.
He comes to NC REAL from the Smoky Mountain Development Corporation in Waynesville, NC where he served as Executive Director. In that role he managed a Certified Development Company offering SBA 504 loans in the westernmost NC counties, and revitalized North Carolina’s first publicly funded small business incubator. Johnson also served as Regional Director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center at Winston-Salem State University. While there, he was a founding committee member of the Triad Entrepreneurship Initiative (TEI), and co-chaired the Education and the Business Plan Competition Committees.
Malinda Todd, Associate Director
Malinda joined the NC REAL staff in February of 2006. Her primary responsibilities at NC REAL are reaching out to new facilitators and providing support, training, and networking opportunities for current REAL facilitators. Her previous experience with entrepreneurship includes working at the NC Rural Center in entrepreneurship development and microfinance. She also served as the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Orange County Habitat for Humanity. She has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Latin American Studies and master’s degree in Public Administration both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Arlene Childers, Assistant Director
Arlene joined the NC REAL staff in January, 2008. Formerly a public school teacher, she is a REAL certified facilitator and has offered REAL in both the public schools and also as a part time facilitator at the community college level. Arlene has been a staff member for a REAL Institute and helped develop and deliver the first K-8 REAL Institute in 2007. She has experience working with Broyhill Furniture Industries and Blue Ridge Healthcare as a Computer Programmer and Senior Systems Analyst. She also worked as a Project Manager for ITP Business Communications. Prior to accepting the position of Program Coordinator for NC REAL, Ms. Childers integrated the REAL Entrepreneurship Curriculum into computer technology classes at Liberty Middle School in Morganton, NC. She has a B.S. in Computer Science from Appalachian State University; and has additional certifications in Business Education and as a CWNA, Certified Wireless Networking Administrator.
Laura Tanzini, Office Manager
Laura joined NC REAL Enterprises in August 2006. She graduated from Peace College in 2004 with a B.A. in Graphic Design. Her previous office experience includes work with Flywheel Design and the NC Farm Bureau Insurance Group. She provides administrative support to staff and facilitators and is the editor of NC REAL’s newsletter REAL Talk.