Breakfast Club November 2026

About this event

Join South Charlotte Partners for an inspiring panel discussion featuring local nonprofit leaders as they share stories of community impact, how to get involved and the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Moderated by SHARE Charlotte Executive Director Melissa Hovey , the conversation will include local nonprofit representatives Heather McAfee , Founder/Executive Director of Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need and Jennifer Branham , Development Manager of the Go Jen Go Foundation. The event includes networking from 8–8:30 a.m., followed by the panel discussion and audience Q&A.

Melissa Hovey

Executive Director, SHARE Charlotte

Melissa Hovey is the Executive Director at SHARE Charlotte and our mission is to build a better Charlotte by empowering nonprofits and helping people invest in their communities in ways that matter most to them. Over the past 12 years, we have influenced more than $68 million in giving to local nonprofits.

With a network of over 900 local nonprofits serving Mecklenburg County, we connect organizations and volunteers through our online platform ( sharecharlotte.org ) and strategic partnerships. The SHARE technology platform which launched here in Charlotte has expanded nationally and is in nine other communities with more on the way.

Prior to her work with SHARE Charlotte, she spent 20 years at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas leading global sales and marketing teams. Her extensive background in technology and marketing has propelled her desire to unleash the power of community into a platform for social good. She is a passionate community builder, dedicated to creating a thriving community that generously supports its neighbors.

Heather McAfee

Founder and Executive Director, Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need

Heather McAfee is the Founder and Executive Director of Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need, a nonprofit she founded in March 2020 to help ensure students and families in the Ballantyne community have access to the food and resources they need to thrive.

A passionate community builder and advocate, Heather believes in seeing a need and bringing people together to find a solution. She is deeply involved in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and works closely with students, educators, counselors, social workers, families and community partners to strengthen the communities surrounding our schools.

Heather has called Charlotte home for the past 10½ years. She and her husband, Robert, are raising three children – two in college and one at Ardrey Kell High School. She holds an MBA in Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and spent her career in marketing and consulting with Disney, Home Depot, and Accenture before turning her focus to community impact.

Heather continues to be passionate about bringing people together, building partnerships, and creating practical solutions that strengthen schools and the broader South Charlotte community.

Jen Branham

Development Manager, Go Jen Go

Jen leads our fundraising and partner opportunities as our development manager. A long time Go Jen Go supporter and past board member, Jen knows that it takes the support of our entire community to lift up our breast cancer survivors and thrivers and provide assistance so they can focus on their health and not worry about their finances.

Born and raised in New Jersey, she moved south to attend the University of South Carolina and has lived in Charlotte since 2007. Jen’s passion for supporting local breast cancer patients comes from seeing her own mother’s personal battle with breast cancer. For Jen, free time is family time and you’ll often see her husband and daughter join her at many Go Jen Go events.

From South Charlotte Partners