NCMB's Executive Committee officers begin their terms November 1 and serve through October 31, 2027. Robert L. Rich Jr., MD, will assume the role of Board President in accordance with NCMB bylaws. The Board elected the President-elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and two At-large members during its July Board meeting. The Executive Committee is responsible for overseeing the Board’s finances, providing recommendations on legislative matters and rulemaking, and delegating issues throughout Board committees. Read on to learn more about NCMB’s new slate of officers.

President – Robert L. Rich Jr., MD

Dr. Rich is a family physician practicing with Bladen Medical Associates in Elizabethtown and serves as Division Head of the Family Medicine Division at Methodist University-Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine. Dr. Rich also serves as the American Academy of Family Physicians representative to the National Academy of Medicine – Opioid Collaborative and is a member of the NC Prescription Drug Abuse Advisory Committee. He earned his medical degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and completed family medicine residency at East Carolina University/Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

President-elect – Mark A. Newell, MD, MMM

Dr. Newell is a trauma and acute care surgeon who serves as the Medical Director of 4N Surgical and Attending Surgeon at ECU Health Medical Center, and is also a Professor of Surgery at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Dr. Newell earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed postgraduate training in General Surgery at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center at New York Medical College in the Bronx, where he was Chief Resident. He also completed a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, also at New York Medical College. Dr. Newell later earned a Master of Medical Management degree at Carnegie Mellon University.

Secretary/Treasurer – J. Nelson Dollar, MA

Mr. Dollar serves as the Executive Director for Child and Adolescent Health Policy at UNC Health. He formerly served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the North Carolina House and was a member of that Chamber for 14 years, most notably serving as the Senior Chair of the House Appropriations Committee along with Chairing the Health and Health Care Reform Committees. He holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from Appalachian State University.

Executive Committee Member at-Large – Earic R. Bonner, MD, MBA

Dr. Bonner is the Chief Medical Officer of OIC of Rocky Mount, and teaches students and residents from North Carolina’s medical, nursing and physician assistant schools. Dr. Bonner earned his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and completed his internal medicine residency at Vidant Medical Center/Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Dr. Bonner also earned a Master of Business Administration from the East Carolina University School of Business.

Executive Committee Member at-Large – Sharona Y. Johnson, PhD, FNP-BC

Dr. Johnson serves as an adjunct faculty member at East Carolina University College of Nursing and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Department of PA studies. Dr. Johnson formerly held the position of Executive Director of Advanced Clinical Practice, where she oversaw Physician Assistants, Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners, and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. Additionally, she acts as a healthcare coach and is a board member of the North Carolina Physicians Health Program (NCPHP).