Community Leader & Executive Director

Laura Steed Lorino

Laura is originally from the Midwest and attended the University of Indianapolis, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry. She then completed a Master of Divinity degree at Duke Divinity School. While at Duke, Laura was involved in several ministry opportunities and has since completed a Clinical Pastoral Education residency at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco.

Laura is coming to L’Arche North Carolina from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, where she served as the Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and Multifaith Chaplain. In this role, she supervised the Affiliate Campus Ministers and Morris Chapel staff, providing opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to explore and strengthen their religious and nonfaith beliefs and traditions, while encouraging the campus community to build bridges amongst differences through organizing programs and events.

Passionate about service and helping others feel heard, seen, and included, she also led numerous interfaith service-trips locally and beyond. Laura served on the Board of Directors for the Sierra Service Project, an ecumenical Christian non-profit organization providing life-changing experiences through acts of service repairing homes in rural and urban communities, from 2015-2018.

Laura and her wife, Stephanie, are self-proclaimed National Park Geeks (they’ve visited 40+). They have two pups, Aubie (a mini Goldendoodle) and Duke (a mini Aussie Doodle). In their spare time, they love to camp, hike, bike, and travel.

Contact Laura at [email protected].

Director of Operations

Beverly Christian

Beverly is a Durham native. (Yes, one of the few!) After graduating from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, Beverly spent 11 years at Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center where she worked on a team to make the love of Christ visible through hospitality, responsible care for the earth, and meaningful fellowship to strengthen the community. As the Associate Director, Beverly hired and trained summer staff as she worked to create spaces where campers and staff felt safe, loved, and accepted.

Most recently she served as the Coordinator of Administration and Communication at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church. Beverly has experience as an accreditor for the American Camping Association and helped to lead accreditation efforts at Chestnut Ridge. Beverly is excited to use this experience as L’Arche seeks accreditation for their new home. Beverly is also excited to use her skills and experiences to help create inclusive spaces with L’Arche where diverse people with and without disabilities thrive.

In her free time, Beverly loves to run, hike, camp, explore new places, and eat ice cream with her husband, Tyler, and daughter, Eleanor.

Contact Beverly at [email protected].

Residential Care Manager

Amanda Tindall

Amanda grew up in Mississippi, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Special Education. She put this degree to practice at a school in Denver, Colorado, which specializes in individualized behavior interventions. This experience sparked the later achievement of a Master’ degree in Applied Behavior Analysis- a systematic science targeting the expansion of communication and other functional alternatives to disruptive or harmful behaviors. In addition to formal education, she comes with behavior support experience in the clinical setting.

Additionally, Amanda previously shared time with L’arche communities in New Zealand and Scotland as a live-in and live-out assistant. She looks forward to lifelong friendships built in these communities. The connection, adventures, and practice in cooking created space for an ongoing pursuit of intentional community. 

The best outlets for connecting with Amanda are coffee, yoga, anything dog-related, and anything outside (think walks, hikes, picnics, swimming). She could not be happier to be a part of the team and to connect with everyone.

Alyssa Poth

Program Coordinator

Alyssa Poth

Alyssa was born and raised in North Carolina! Growing up, she found her love for helping people with different abilities through volunteering at a therapeutic horseback riding camp and an overnight summer camp for children with disabilities. After completing her undergrad in Human Development and Family Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, she became a Child Life Specialist where she worked at UNC Children’s Hospital. After that, she became a manager at 321 Coffee, a coffee shop that provides meaningful employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through her work at 321 Coffee, she was introduced to L’Arche NC and is now excited to use her experiences in the Program Coordinator role! In her free time, Alyssa enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, playing soccer, and taking her dog (Gobi) on adventures!

L’Arche North Carolina Board of Directors

Stuart Harrell is an ACPE Certified Educator and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Stuart completed a B.A. in Studio Art at Davidson College and a Master of Divinity Degree at Duke University Divinity School. Stuart serves as the Associate Director for the UNC Hillsborough Campus, teaching units of CPE and creating and maintaining connections to community organizations that serve marginalized populations. Stuart previously served as a summer assistant at L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, ON.

Shana holds a dual bachelor’s degree in political science and women’s and gender studies and a master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has more than fifteen years of nonprofit/fundraising experience. Shana is a recipient of the 2014 Guilford Green Foundation Distinguished Leadership Award and the 2015 ALCU of North Carolina Sharon Thompson Award for her family’s work with the ACLU’s two successful federal lawsuits that helped topple North Carolina’s discriminatory ban on marriage equality and second-parent adoption. Shana and Megan (her former partner) are parents to Jax, their son with multiple disabilities.

John is a partner at the Research Triangle Park office of an international law firm, where he focuses his practice on governmental investigations in health care. He is a graduate of Duke University, Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and the University of North Carolina School of Law. John and his family are passionate about affirming and supporting the tremendous gifts that persons with disabilities offer the world.

Robbin Bixler is a recent retiree from UNC Healthcare where she was a member of the healthcare system project management group supporting business and clinical process improvement. Robbin has spent most of her career in healthcare management at both the operational and administrative roles including lots of turning regulatory requirements into policies and procedures and managing their implementation. Her earlier professional life was as a clinical social worker working in the VA system. Robbin has known, loved and supported L’Arche communities where her daughters were assistants in Portland and in Arlington, Virginia where she often visited and shared in their stories. Robbin is grateful to be involved with the launch of a L’Arche community in the Triangle with the talented people on the Board.

Susan is a retired special education teacher and former audiologist. She has a M.A. in Audiology from the University of Tennessee and a B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Auburn University at Montgomery. She received her teaching certification through East Carolina University. She enjoys spending time with family, cooking, reading and keeping her pups and backyard birds happy.

Stephanie Forbes is a DEI Humanizer. She holds the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader role for a global e-commerce enterprise in the Americas. Stephanie has over ten years of experience in Program Management and is committed to cultivating an inclusive culture inside and outside the walls of the workplace. Stephanie is originally from Panama City, Panama, and eventually moved to the States. There she has contributed to and carried out intensive research on hiring, retaining, supporting, and protecting diverse labor in nowadays working environment. Other roles are being a mother of two amazing young adult men, a mother-in-law, a daughter, a sister, a friend.

Robert Joines graduated UNCG in 2012 with a major in Film Production and minor in Religious Studies. The son of an ordained Moravian minister father and social worker mother who both worked for Methodist Home For Children, Robert grew up in homes and in community with at-risk youth. He has built his business as a realtor over the last 10 years with Keller Williams Raleigh. Robert brings his experience to the board having completed a 3 year term on the Vestry for Church of the Nativity, and starts his 4th year on the Board for KW Raleigh. He is dedicated to helping L’Arche grow and achieve their goal of starting several communities here in NC.

I find great joy in my work because of the relationships that I form with my patients and their families. My hope is to personalize care for each patient and to serve not only medical needs, but also attend to psychosocial and spiritual needs. I am particularly interested in care for children/adolescents with medical complexity and transitions of care from childhood to adulthood. Having spent time in Taiwan and Kenya as well as working with the underserved right here in Durham, I have developed a strong passion for both local and global health advocacy. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, hiking with my dog, watching Disney/Pixar movies, and rooting for Duke basketball and the Buffalo Bills!

Soy Latina and very proud of it! My hobbies include writing and reading poetry, hanging out with family and friends, listening to music, dancing and being out in nature. I also enjoy being of service, which includes L’Arche. I am very grateful to be able to be a part of this team, working to make a positive impact on people of all different abilities and the world.

Sarah Smith is a social work and public health professional who focuses on using learning and evaluation to develop strategy and improve organizational effectiveness. She enjoys finding innovative ways to engage people in the “messy” work that doesn’t lend itself to a linear path and is skilled at using qualitative and quantitative data and synthesizing complex information to help individuals and teams understand progress and opportunities for growth. Sarah received her bachelor’s degree in music and psychology with a minor in Disability studies from the University of Washington in Seattle and both a Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis. Having an adult sibling with Down Syndrome, she is passionate about ensuring there are inclusive housing opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. In her free-time, Sarah loves to read romance novels and spend time with her husband, siblings, in-laws, parents, and dog, Freddie Mercury.

Coming soon!