Roosting in Raleigh

Some of us are already where we want to be.

As part of Red & White Week, five talented NC State alumni who have put down roots in Raleigh gather for a panel discussion about entrepreneurship, personal connections and creative passions. Part of the NCSU Libraries’ “Amazing Alumni” series, the panel includes Jasmine Flood of Riada Adair Design Co.; Jed Gant of Myriad Media; Eleanor Hawthorne of the City of Raleigh; Van Nolintha, co-owner of Bida Manda; and Craig Reed of Younger Brother Productions. Chris Tonelli, the NCSU Libraries’ Director of Communication Strategies and co-owner of So & So Books, moderates the discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7-8:30 p.m. in the Duke Energy Hall at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Jasmine Adair Flood, is the owner of Riada Adair Design Co. and Adair’s Art & Design. She is a 2012 College of Textiles graduate from NC State. As a Park-Centennial Scholar and National Geoffrey Beene Scholar, Flood’s degree in textile technology prepared her to become a fourth-generation entrepreneur. She started her own business directly after graduating. Recent accolades include partnering with Birchbox, the leading international discovery retail platform. Her design company supplied products to over 30,000 Birchbox customers. Riada Adair accessories for men were featured on Good Morning America as a recommended Father's Day gift. Flood's products are sold online and in boutiques throughout the U.S. and in Europe. In addition to Flood’s line of fashion accessories and gifts, she also contracts with textile, healthcare, nonprofit and educational companies where she specializes in branding, project design and product development. One of her current works is an installation at Vidant Hospital in Greenville, NC.

Jedidiah Gant is a digital urbanist living in downtown Raleigh. He is currently involved in several projects focused on media strategy, creative urbanism and community engagement for New Raleigh and Myriad Media.

Gant comes from a design background, receiving a BA in architecture from UNC-Charlotte in 2003. Afterwards, he moved to London to work for Dutch firm Erick van Egeraat Architects. After working on design projects in Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, and England, he moved to Raleigh to work for Clearscapes, an art and architecture firm based downtown. At Clearscapes, Gant helped design residential buildings, art centers and other projects across North Carolina, including being the lead designer of the Shimmer Wall on Raleigh’s Convention Center.

In 2007, Gant helped start the Raleigh-based news site, New Raleigh. After co-running the site for five years, the project began focusing on sharing information on other new media platforms. The brand has continued to grow and move from standard news articles to opinion, urban strategy and community conversation.

He is interested in the intersection of technology and communities, developing his MA New Media thesis on how Raleigh could use design thinking to create a hybrid media infrastructure to improve and increased urban engagement by citizens.

Eleanor Hawthorne moved to Raleigh in 2007 to study Political Science and International Relations at NC State University. She ended up falling in love with this community and has been here ever since (with a brief stint in Durham, another fantastic NC city). Her work has placed her in varying industries, from tech startups to public transit, and she’s now the City of Raleigh's first Social Media Manager. This role allows her to combine her expertise with her passion for Raleigh and those who call it home. We live in a place that's bursting at the seams with innovation, arts, music, culture and all-around incredible people. To be a part of that growth while in a position focused on serving and connecting this community is something she considers to be a real privilege. And, of course, it's fun being able to back the Pack at home.

Vansana Nolintha, a native of Luang Prabang, Laos, moved alone to North Carolina at the age of 12 with the intention to learn English and return home immediately after his high school graduation. Eighteen years later, Nolintha still calls Raleigh his "sacred" home.

Nolintha and his sister Vanvisa are co-owners of Bida Manda Laotian Restaurant and Bar in downtown Raleigh. Even though he appears to be a natural host, his journey to Bida Manda is anything but traditional. Nolintha studied chemistry, art and design, and world religious studies at NC State with the hope to become either a physician, a photographer or a clothing designer.  After many service-learning experiences in more than 30 countries, Nolintha switched his path entirely and went to Trinity College Dublin, Ireland to study international peace and conflict resolution concentrating in community building and international development.   

At the age of 25, Nolintha returned to Raleigh in 2010 at the peak of the financial crisis and took another dramatic turn by opening one of the first Laotian Restaurants in the country. Today, Bida Manda is featured in The New York Times, the News and Observer, and Garden and Gun, and was recently awarded Business Insider's Best Restaurant in North Carolina.

Craig Reed has been the Director of Events at Downtown Raleigh Alliance since January 2016. Before that, he was the founder/director of Younger Brother Productions, an event management, booking, and marketing company based here in Raleigh. He runs two weekly event series, Beer & Banjos and Local Band- Local Beer, both of which are free and well established. Beer and Banjos is the area’s only weekly bluegrass series at the Raleigh Times, previously Tir na nOg. LBLB is the longest running triangle music series at 10 years and features local acts in collaboration with local breweries. In addition to this, he has worked in collaboration with Hopscotch Music Festival, IBMA/Bluegrass festival, Floydfest, Shaky Knees/Boots/Beats and various other local to national music festivals. He went to NC State and graduated with a bachelors of science in Forest Management with a minor in Entomology. He’s been involved in event production for the past decade and is always looking for ways in which to help connect groups and events.