Meet The Team
Freida Espinosa
Board President / Founder / Director
(She/Her)
Freida was born in Albuquerque, NM. In 2004 she relocated to North Carolina with her husband and family. She attended UNM Valencia and Guilford College and is a proud mother of four amazing children and grandmother to four granddaughters.
Service has always been at the heart of Freida’s life. Over the years, she has coached soccer, volunteered through her church and work, her children’s schools, and within the broader community. Her service includes work with Meals on Wheels, Circle of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Feed NC, and the Women’s Shelter.
After leaving the corporate world in 2017, Freida earned her real estate license and has since helped families buy and sell homes throughout North and South Carolina. She is deeply passionate about housing affordability and attainability, and her long-term goal is to reduce homelessness in her community and beyond.
Outside of her work and service, Freida finds joy in the beauty of the world around her. She enjoys dabbling in art, golfing, cycling, cooking, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
Pam Cooper
Board Secretary / Asst. Director
(She/Her)
Pamela Cooper has proudly called Greensboro, NC home since 1999. After moving to the area, she attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Communication Studies. She later added an associate degree in Accounting to her educational foundation.
Community service has always been a part of who Pamela is. From a young age, she found purpose in helping others, and that passion has continued throughout her life in Greensboro. She has volunteered with organizations such as Meals on Wheels, supported community drives, partnered with the Greensboro Housing Coalition, and even organized and hosted a local fundraiser to assist fire victims in her own community.
Whether she’s serving others or bringing people together for a cause, Pamela approaches every effort with heart, compassion, and a genuine commitment to strengthening her community
Katie Allen
Financial Manager
(She / Her)
Born Mary Katharine Allen in Pinehurst, NC, “Katie” moved to Greensboro at the age of five and has proudly called it home ever since. Community service and connection were always part of her upbringing—her mother taught elementary school in Guilford County for more than 20 years, instilling a strong sense of service and dedication to others.
Katie played soccer and was actively involved in Young Life, including three high school spring breaks spent in Mexico building homes for families in need. Those experiences shaped her passion for giving back and confirmed what she always knew: Greensboro is where she wanted to raise her family.
She married her husband, Jack, in 2012 and made the decision to return to school to earn her accounting degree in 2018.
Today, she is the owner of GoodBetterBest Accounting Services, a business inspired by a saying her mother lived by: “Good, better, best—never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.” That philosophy guides both her work and her commitment to clients.
She and Jack have two children, Emma Kate and Dylan, and stay busy coaching Dylan’s baseball team through Greensboro Parks & Recreation. When she’s not working or volunteering, she enjoys playing pickleball and tennis.
She loves Greensboro and the incredible sense of community it offers. Giving back to the place that shaped her has always been important, and if she could make a living solely by helping others and volunteering, she would. That passion continues to drive everything she does.
Stacey Youngdale
Board Member / Vice President
(She / Her)
Stacey Youngdale (she/her) is a seasoned people and culture leader with more than 30 years of experience across aviation, heavy equipment, financial services, and manufacturing. Known for her pragmatic yet empathetic style, she has worked throughout the U.S. and internationally to build inclusive, high-performing workplaces. She currently serves as Vice President of People and Culture for a global heavy equipment manufacturer.
Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree from Barry University and an MBA from LSU Shreveport, after beginning her studies at SUNY Oswego. Deeply committed to service, she has contributed to the Community Theatre of Greensboro as both board member and president, organized corporate builds for Habitat for Humanity, and is an active member of the Crescent Rotary of Greensboro. Her philanthropic focus includes poverty and hunger relief, mental health, and animal welfare.
In her personal time, Stacey enjoys being with family, reading, and exploring nature, especially birdwatching. A native New Yorker, she now lives in North Carolina with her husband and works in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Karen Berrier
Board Member / Treasurer
(She / Her)
Karen Berrier is a Certified Public Accountant with over 35 years of experience encompassing public accounting, internal auditing, financial accounting, financial reporting, internal control and compliance. She is currently Vice President, Financial Control and Accounting for Volvo Group North America. Before her career with Volvo, she worked as an Audit Manager for Ernst & Young on numerous manufacturing, banking, technology, and non-profit clients.
Karen lives in Summerfield, NC with her husband Chad and her beloved dog Ace. She is the mother of three amazing adult children, the oldest of which is now married and has recently made her an overjoyed new grandmother. She has volunteered with Operation Backpack and BackPack Beginnings and is a supporter of St Judes. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, hiking, pickleball, and spending time with family and friends.
Michael Robinson
Board Member / At Large
(He / Him)
Michael Robinson (he/him) is an organizational culture facilitator and leadership development specialist with nearly a decade of experience across education, non-profit, government, and grassroots sectors. As former Program Director at North Carolina for Community and Justice (NCCJ), he facilitated programs that helped organizations build their capacity for holding difficult conversations and foster intentionally inclusive practices.
Michael holds a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies from UNC-Greensboro and founded Shifting Lenses in 2016, a workshop series that brings people together to discuss divisive issues and build community knowledge in public spaces. When he's not working, Michael is playing make-believe or building puzzles with his 8-year old daughter, taking long walks with his wife, Darah and dog, Eugene, and probably half-finishing a new knitting project.