News

Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) continues it mission to help neighbors in need through innovative programs and services by hiring Bryan Gilmer as its new director of marketing and development and Alexander Herring as its new residential program director.

Gilmer brings a strong background in fundraising and marketing to his new role. In this position, he is responsible for grant submissions, donor relations, internal and external communications, and supervising UMD's volunteer coordinator. Prior to joining UMD, Gilmer served as the president of Genesis Home, a nonprofit that houses homeless families with children.

In his new role, Herring is responsible for creating, supervising, and implementing programs for individuals and families who seek assistance at UMD. Herring brings a wealth of experience to his new position from the numerous health and human services positions he held prior to coming to UMD. His background includes stints as an institutional special education teacher with the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice, behaviorally emotionally handicapped teacher with Durham Public Schools, and extension education and training specialist with the North Carolina Department of Administration.

"As a nonprofit, we are constantly adapting to the evolving needs of our consumers to help them achieve the best outcomes," says Patrice Nelson, UMD's executive director. "We are incorporating more creative and innovative ideas, such as leveraging social media networks to help meet pressing needs. Hiring Alexander and Bryan is part of our commitment to refine our methods even further and tell the stories of consumers' needs and successes to the community in a way that makes neighbors eager to help. Both Alexander and Bryan have a tremendous amount of experience that will help UMD to achieve our goal of ending chronic homelessness in Durham once and for all."

To learn more about the organization, visit www.umdurham.org.