NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The Endowment is bringing on employees to join its programs and grants team as “pillar leads.”
David Stegall as has been named director of education and Mary Vail Ware as director of community safety. These director positions represent two of the Endowment’s founding pollars, the other two being social health and equity and community development.
In these roles, the goal is to partner closely with the community and
develop long-term, community-rooted solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing New Hanover County.
Stegall brings nearly three decades of leadership at every education level in North Carolina, nationally and internationally. His career is defined by turning underperforming schools into top achievers and leading systemic reform through innovation and equity.
Most recently, Stegall served as chief of system innovation for the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity, where he designed and scaled educational frameworks that serve military-connected students around the world.
He previously held the role of deputy state superintendent of innovation at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where he led statewide efforts to
advance educational innovation and support local school districts.
As superintendent of Newton-Conover City Schools in Newton, North Carolina, Stegall is credited with leading a “full turnaround of the district” with all schools exceeding growth targets and graduation rates reaching above 95%. The district then became one of the top five in the state, year after year.
At the Endowment, Stegall is charged with guiding strategy and grantmaking
across early learning, K–12 outcomes, higher education, and workforce readiness.
“David is the kind of leader who doesn’t just talk about outcomes, he delivers them,” said Sophie Dagenais, the Endowment’s vice president of programs and grants. “He understands what it takes to shift systems and sustain results.”
Stegall join the Endowment later this month alongside Ware, who will oversee strategies that build community strengths and resiliency, promote youth development and opportunity, and bolster preparedness and systems coordination.
The Endowment lauds Ware as an “expert in violence prevention, justice systems, and community healing.” She most recently served as senior director of justice and victim services at ICF International, managing a $75 million portfolio of national initiatives funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Her work focused on strategies for gun violence, mass violence incidents, and survivor support programs across the country.
At the state level, she led innovative campaigns through the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, including the Respect Richmond campaign, which contributed to a 16% reduction in gun violence in the state.
Earlier in her career, she served as executive director of Quin Rivers Agency for Community Action, where she expanded funding, launched prevention and housing programs, and
built cross-sector alliances with tribal nations, local governments, and faith communities.
“Mary Vail brings the wisdom of national experience and the heart of a community advocate,” Dagenais said. “She knows how to build safety from the ground up, with people, data, and trust.”
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