North Carolina Always, fondly known as NC Always, is a creative community engagement consulting firm and independent creative agency. NC Always has a mission to develop creative gathering spaces with the purpose of engaging interdisciplinary individuals for the betterment of North Carolina. We specialize in Regional Community and Economic Development Initiatives; Community Engagement; Program Management; Food System Development; Tourism Development.

About the Founder:

Chanel A. Nestor is the founder of North Carolina Always, a creative community engagement and project management consulting entity. Chanel is a former adjunct lecturer of Rural Sociology at NC A&T State University where she instructed Local Food Systems, Rural Community and Economic Development, and Global Agricultural Economics, Hunger, and Poverty for three academic years. She has a passion for Black-American humanities and creative arts and with that passion she has founded The Black Creative Conference to support Black Creative Arts Philanthropy throughout the state of North Carolina. Chanel has professional experience in Regional Community and Economic Development, Food System Planning, and Cultural Sustainability.

Chanel is based in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina and actively works with stakeholders throughout the state. She enjoys serving as a resource bank for individuals, organizations, municipalities, and regions hoping to build their capacity, engage with stakeholders, and outreach with their community. She is in the process of earning a MBA with a focus in Real Estate. She currently holds a masters degree in Agricultural Education and hopes to utilize her education to support Black Business Development and Black Property Owners- specifically the preservation of Black-Owned Agricultural Lands.

Through North Carolina Always, Chanel was contracted with Visit NC, North Carolina’s state tourism department, to manage the NC Rural Tourism Recovery project. She also worked part-time with the City of Salisbury to coordinate grant activities in the Westend of Salisbury, a Historically Black neighborhood in the city of Salisbury which houses Livingstone College.

Chanel supports business operations of her family’s fresh beverage company, The Jugo Bar, and has directly impacted the business’s expansion into the Triangle area by vending at The Black Farmers Market in the Raleigh-Durham area. She is a member of Mount Moriah Outreach Center in Kernersville, NC where she has positively contributed to the church’s food pantry and urban farm school. She is the mother of a handsome nine year old son by the name of Nathanael. She is an avid road-tripper and has completed four cross country trips across America (her favorite scenic state is Montana). She enjoys traveling with her son, and they partake in photography together.

Recent Contracts:

• Community Engagement Representative | Site Labs Global, Inc. (2024)

  • Supporting outreach and operations for a regional pilot partnership with Cone Health, a pioneer in health solutions based in Greensboro, NC, aiming to transform health access for communities across the Piedmont Triad region in the state

• Project Manager | Visit North Carolina, EDPNC (2023)

  • Supporting the day-to-day coordination of deliverables for the NC Rural Tourism Recovery Pilot Program

• Engagement Manager | Public Participation Partners Consulting (2022)

  • Serving as an Engagement and Outreach Manager working under projects for RDU International Airport, Go Triangle, and NC DOT

• Policy and Outreach Manager | Carolina Creative Works (2020)

  • Serving as the Engagement and Outreach Manager for the Piedmont Triad Regional Food Council Food System Assessment

Recent Collaborators

Curriculum Vitae

Email: chanel@ncalways.com | Phone: 336-252-9409