Carrboro nonprofit founder takes home national award for efforts to empower women

Colleen Hammond
·1 min read

The founder of a Carrboro nonprofit is back in the national spotlight for her ongoing efforts to make construction work more equitable.

Last week Nora El-Khouri Spencer, founder of Hope Renovations, was named Woman of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders at their annual conference in Las Vegas.

Spencer created Hope Renovations in June 2020. Frustrated by the gender gap in the construction industry, she decided to offer free training for women and nonbinary individuals to learn construction and professional skills. This way, they can land a well-paying job or apprenticeship in construction or pursue further training.

As part of students’ on-the-job training, they frequently hone their skills by repairing the homes of elderly and disabled people.

Spencer’s latest award is the most recent in a line of ongoing recognition for her work.

In November, Spencer was named a finalist in the annual CNN Hero contest, making her organization eligible for the $100,000 grand prize. Although she did not win, she was featured on CNN’s finale program and took home $10,000 in prize money.

In a Facebook post from last week, Hope Renovations celebrated Spencer’s accomplishments.

“At Hope, we believe that if you see it, you can be it, and we’re so happy to have another opportunity to tell the world about the equitable, inclusive tradesworld we envision,” the post said.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Judge orders preventative detention for Iranian and 2 Peruvians in thwarted plot to kill Israelis

    A Peruvian judge has ordered 18 months of preventative detention for an Iranian and two Peruvian men while they are investigated for allegedly attempting to kill two Israelis living in the South American country. The ruling by Magistrate Miguel Quevedo was handed down Tuesday but released Wednesday. The judge said the motive for the unsuccessful alleged killing plot was unclear, but police and prosecutors in Peru have said the Iranian, Majid Azizi, could be a member of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for intelligence work outside Iran.

  • Police Dog Ordered To Attack An Unarmed Black Man In Front Of His 9-Year-Old Son

    Derrick Dunlap was pulled over in Texas because the light over his license plate was too dim — and the interaction was caught on video.

  • Connor Wong homers twice, Rafael Devers connects for solo shot as Red Sox hammer Guardians 8-0

    CLEVELAND (AP) — Connor Wong homered twice and Rafael Devers connected for a homer in his return to Boston's lineup, sending the banged-up Red Sox to an 8-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night. Wong hit leadoff homers in the second and sixth innings off Carlos Carrasco (1-2). He added an RBI single in the ninth and had four hits. Devers, who missed the previous five games with a bone bruise in his knee, homered in the fifth as the Red Sox piled up 16 hits and cooled off baseball'

  • A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of The Hour Glass Limited (SGX:AGS)

    Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Hour Glass fair value estimate is S$1.63 With S$1.61 share...

  • Dow Jones Futures Fall As Meta Dives On Guidance; Chipotle Eyes Buy Point

    The rally attempt paused Wednesday as Nvidia reversed lower. Meta, Chipotle and ServiceNow led key earnings late.

  • Oil eases as US demand concerns outweigh fears over Middle East conflicts

    Oil prices eased in early trade on Thursday as concerns about a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy amid prospects for delayed interest rate cuts outweighed worries over the risk of expanding conflict in the Middle East. "Tensions between Iran and Israel have eased, but Israeli attacks on Gaza are expected to worsen, and the risk of conflicts spreading to neighbouring countries is underpinning oil prices," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.

  • Manitoba First Nation sues governments over chronic flooding, wants protection

    WINNIPEG — A Manitoba First Nation that has suffered from chronic flooding is suing three levels of government for failing to provide adequate protection over decades. Peguis First Nation filed a statement of claim Wednesday that alleges the federal and Manitoba governments failed to protect the community from frequent flooding that damaged homes and forced evacuations. "Over the course of its history on the reserve land, Peguis has been flooded repeatedly and severely due to natural and man-mad

  • Arizona indicts 18 in case over 2020 election in Arizona, including Giuliani and Meadows

    PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former Donald Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani along with 16 others in an election interference case. The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Donald Trump beat Joe Biden in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. It shows seven other defendants whose names were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges. The

  • A Look At The Fair Value Of Medinex Limited (Catalist:OTX)

    Key Insights The projected fair value for Medinex is S$0.21 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Current share...

  • Ryan Spann claims he hasn’t watched tape on Bogdan Guskov ahead of UFC on ESPN 55 co-main bout

    Ryan Spann says he hasn't watched much film on his opponent Bogdan Guskov ahead of Saturday's UFC on ESPN 55.

  • Indigenous group detains 12 alleged gold miners in Amazon and hands them over to Brazilian police

    An Indigenous group in Brazil said Wednesday its members detained 12 people for allegedly mining illegally in the Amazon and handed them over to police. The non-profit Urihi Associação Yanomami said in a statement that the incident took place Tuesday in the northern state of Roraima, which borders Venezuela. Brazil's Indigenous Peoples Ministry confirmed that a dozen alleged miners, including 10 men and two women, were in police custody.

  • Markets wary of intervention as yen struggles at 155 level

    The yen was pinned on the weaker side of 155 per dollar on Thursday as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kicks off its two-day rate-setting meeting, leaving traders nervous as to whether Tokyo will intervene while policy deliberations are still underway. Having traded in a tight range over the past few days, a buoyant dollar finally broke above the 155 yen level for the first time since 1990 in the previous session, and was last steady at 155.34 yen in early Asia trade. Intense speculation of intervention from Japanese authorities to shore up the yen had hampered the dollar's ascent towards the psychologically key level, seen by some market participants as a line in the sand that would prompt Tokyo to take action.

  • Sparring continuing among members of Renfrew council

    Renfrew’s Reeve calls for removal of councilor from committee, group and board assignments By R. Bruce McIntyre Local Initiatives Reporter Renfrew – Reeve Peter Emon, who along with Mayor Tom Sidney was removed from all committee, group and board assignments after Renfrew council passed a motion in March calling for these sanctions, tabled his own Notice of Motion at last night’s meeting (April 23) calling for the removal of Councillor John McDonald from all committees, groups and board appointm

  • Orioles vs. Angels Highlights

    Gunnar Henderson and the Orioles take on Mike Trout and the Angels on Arpil 24th, 2024

  • Owner of cat killed in Longmont disappointed after no arrests were made

    After a six-month investigation, Longmont PD and the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office determined there was not enough evidence to file charges. The owner is still seeking justice

  • FOREX-Markets wary of intervention as yen struggles at 155 level

    The yen was pinned on the weaker side of 155 per dollar on Thursday as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kicks off its two-day rate-setting meeting, leaving traders nervous as to whether Tokyo will intervene while policy deliberations are still underway. Having traded in a tight range over the past few days, a buoyant dollar finally broke above the 155 yen level for the first time since 1990 in the previous session, and was last steady at 155.34 yen in early Asia trade. Intense speculation of intervention from Japanese authorities to shore up the yen had hampered the dollar's ascent towards the psychologically key level, seen by some market participants as a line in the sand that would prompt Tokyo to take action.

  • Town hall renos two years late with a $2 million price tag

    Renfrew – Renfrew’s CAO was again the bearer of bad news when he presented a report to council on the history on the five-year renovation of Renfrew Town Hall. Similar to the Ma-te-Way recreation centre expansion project, this project was also filled with several problems resulting in a two-year delay and a ten-fold increase in the original budget from $200,000 to $2 million. During the April 9 regular council meeting, Robert Tremblay’s report, Town Hall Renovation Project Close-Out Report, high

  • The 1975 star Matty Healy responds to Taylor Swift album

    Swift’s album became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single week surpassing one billion streams.

  • Cleveland Browns take over gym class at Elmwood Elementary School

    As a part of the Cleveland Browns' Gym Class Takeovers, the team attended Elmwood Elementary School's gym class and gave students a fun-filled day of instruction focused on football.

  • Trump to campaign in Michigan next week amid NYC hush money criminal trial

    While waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on presidential immunity, Trump will return to the campaign trail in Saginaw on May 1.