Mary Beth Powell
Deputy Director
Office: 919-843-3124
Fax: 919-843-3083
mbpowell@unc.edu
Bio
As Deputy Director of Active Living By Design (ALBD), Mary Beth Powell oversees all aspects of ALBD's operations and provides direction and support for the organization's strategic planning, program development, communications and technical assistance activities.
Prior to joining ALBD, Mary Beth was the Deputy Director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's NIH-funded Interdisciplinary Obesity Center (2005 - 2007) and the Associate Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, an applied policy and planning research center, also at UNC (1996 - 2004). In addition to serving in a senior management role in both positions, Mary Beth spearheaded research projects on smart growth, new urbanism, sprawl and sustainable development issues. Before that, she served as Director of North Carolina's statewide recycling program for the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (1990 - 1996), and as a Community Outreach Coordinator and Environmental Management Researcher at UNC's Institute for Environmental Studies (1985 - 1990).
Mary Beth earned a bachelor of science from West Virginia University and a master of public health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With an M.P.H. and more than 20 years of experience in environmental health, urban planning and community development, Mary Beth sees her position at ALBD as the perfect culmination of her "two careers," allowing her to blend her public health and urban planning expertise toward promoting healthy living in active community environments.
Mary Beth is the proud mother of Alyssa Prete, her 16-year-old daughter. Both are avid Tar Heel fans and enjoy outdoor music festivals. They recently moved from a five acre parcel outside of Chapel Hill into the walkable, bikable community of Carrboro, NC.
Active Living / Healthy Eating Story
I grew up on a small man-made lake community near Clarksburg, West Virginia whose design elements encouraged physical activity and promoted a strong sense of community in a highly dense, though rural, mountainous setting. Growing up in pre-Title IX days when organized sports solely for girls didn't exist in any of my schools, living at Lake Floyd enabled me to swim competitively on a co-ed swim team for 9 years and provided me with employment as a life-guard in high school. My passion for swimming extended into college as a member of the WVU synchronized swim team and in later years in Chapel Hill as a triathlete. Even now when I return to Lake Floyd for family visits, with multiple recreation opportunities in close proximity (swimming, biking, hiking, boating, running, tennis), being active remains a way of life for our whole family. Likewise, growing up in the 1960's and 70's, healthy eating was part of our normal routine as my father was an avid organic gardener (as a hobby, not a profession) and spent many evenings and weekends tending an expansive, tiered garden. I attribute my passion for locally grown foods to my family's strong penchant for and daily intake of fresh vegetables that I helped plant and harvest (sometimes under great duress!) as a child.
