Belinda has a BS Degree in Sociology from Presbyterian College, Clinton, S. C. MA from Appalachian State University, Boone, N. C. 

Over Thirty-five (35) years-experience in the human service/social work field.

She presently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Zion Community Development, Inc. (MZCD) which is a 501 © Non-Profit Organization whose mission Mount Zion Community Development, Inc. (MZCD) is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Community-based Corporation.

 Mission: To advocate and amplify the voices of People of Color who are disproportionately impacted by health disparities and to address the need for jobs, housing, crime prevention, education and health care.

 Vision: To build a thriving community that reduces barriers, systemic and institutional racism and ensures access to employment, quality healthcare, education and housing for People of Color.

 Act/Access: To impact health disparities by partnering with faith-based organizations, policymakers, hospitals, and nonprofits to implement evidence-based programs and strategies that empower People of Color particularly and all people in general.  

 The Programs of MZCD are:  

•    Project NAF (Nurturing Asheville & Area Families) 

•    Project EMPOWER (Education Means Power) a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative

•    Elizabeth Grant Hill Campus of Learners, computer services to bridge the "digital divide" by teaching computer skills to underserved youth, adults, families, and to the community at large. This program is currently inactive, but plans are to reinstate this program once space is available, and 

•    COVID-19: To collaborate with local health and human service representatives and other community organizations to review the Coronavirus Community Impact Survey results, and develop and recommend strategies and tactics to address Social Determinants of Health, with a focus on evidence-base or evidence informed strategies. 

Belinda currently serves on the NC Public Health Association’s Continuing Education and Training Advisory Committee (CETAC). CETAC’s mission is to advance the practice and profession of Public Health Social Work and assure high quality education and training for Public Health Social Workers. Committee members are jointly appointed by the North Carolina Division of Public Health Director, and the Dean of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.  Representatives on the committee come from state and local health departments, other public health settings, associations of public health, and schools of social work. Members serve a three-year term. Belinda has served over 20+ years. 

Belinda currently serves on Buncombe County’s Community Health Improvement Process (CHIP) committee which brings together many diverse partners to improve the health of our community. They align their efforts and support each other for greater collective impact on the priorities identified through its Community Health Assessment.

Belinda is also the recipient of the first Lisa C. Clarke Bridge Builder award which was established to honor the deceased Lisa C. Clarke who was employed at the NC DHHS Healthy Beginnings Program as a Program Manager. This award was established to ensure that the building efforts continue. This award honors an individual or program that builds collaborations and/or closes gaps between systems within their local community.  The individual or program nominated for this award would need to demonstrate outstanding service in the four key areas- Four key areas:

1.    Communication:  Recognizes a need or identifies a service gap and open channels of discussion between agencies and programs to meet a need or fill a gap.  This work may entail connecting agencies, facilitating meetings, developing referral partnerships or making policy changes that addresses a barrier to clients’ access to services.  

2.    Health disparity reduction:  Focuses efforts beyond the immediate scope of the program; promotes the engagement of non-traditional partners; and ensures that individuals and communities understand and embrace program efforts that seek to reduce health disparities.

3.    Best practices:  Moves best practices from theory to action; helps programs embrace and integrate best practices into their work and ensuring that program partners are aware of and understand the full scope of the program.  

4.    Advocacy:  Serves as a champion for programs and communities around issues that affect women, children, and families.   

Belinda advocates for improvements in maternal and child and all health avenues by being a visible presence in the community and by speaking out to keeping service needs on the table; realizing that no single organization or single sector alone can solve community needs or problems. Belinda seeks to achieve systemic and institutional changes and long-term solutions to impact maternal and child health services. 

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Belinda’s work through MZCD exemplifies what she is doing for others.

From 1997 to 2003, he served as Founding President & CEO of the Mount Zion Community Development, Incorporated (“MZCD”), which currently facilitatates two programs: (1) Project Nurturing Asheville and Area Families (“NAF”)—“working to help African American women have healthy babies and reduce the minority infant mortality rate;” and (2) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (“TPPI”)—“working to reduce the rate of teen pregnancies

Since 1998, MZCD has raised and invested millions of dollars for its community projects, as well as provided part and full-time jobs with benefits. Project NAF has been cited in Asheville as a national model and showcased nationally. 

 The central thrust of Dr. Grant’s vision and ministry is leading the church in preaching, teaching, and witnessing to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Understood holistically,  this commitment to Christ has been the main motivation for the organization in 1997 of the Mt. Zion Community Development, Inc. (“MZCD”), one of the signature accomplishments of his vision for up-building and transforming our community.  MZCD has also raised and invested millions of dollars for its programs and community projects, as well as provided part and full-time  jobs with full-time benefits, including medical insurance, retirement, etc.  One of MZCD’s programs, Project NAF, has been cited in Asheville as a national model and showcased nationally.  

             Since its inception in 1997, MZCD has operated four acclaimed programs: 

        1. Project Nurturing Asheville and Area Families (“NAF”)—“working to help African American women have healthy babies and reduce the minority infant mortality rate;”

       2. Project EMPOWER (Education Means Power), initially a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (“TPPI”)—“working to reduce the rate of teen pregnancies:” It’s current focus is impacting/reducing the opioid and substance abuse crisis among youth and teens.

      3. The Elizabeth Grant Hill Campus of Learners: Center for Health, Technology, and Entrepreneurship—“working to bridge the digital divide in our communities;” and,

      4. Real Estate Development for housing, office, retail—“working to provide economic opportunities and eliminate blight”.

 Another signature accomplishment of Grant’s Christ-centered vision for up-building and transforming our community was the organization of the Eagle-Market Streets Development Corporation, another 501(C) (3) non-profit, where he served as Founding President, Chairman, & CEO.  This corporation has completed construction of Eagle Market Place, a $12 million project which provides 62 affordable-workforce apartments, over 6,000 SF of community and neighborhood space, and almost 7,000 SF of commercial, retail, and office space. Visit info@mtnhousing.org for more details on the project.