Meet the Staff

Henrietta Thomas
Director

Henrietta  earned a B. A. in Political Science at Davidson College in 1979.  Returning to her South Carolina home after college, she explored  a variety of  work experiences including sales, broadcasting,  retail, public school teaching, and finally, college admissions.  It was from the last experience that her current career evolved.   She came to the Admissions Office at UNC Charlotte in 1990, working with transfer student admissions and evaluation of credit.  While employed at UNC Charlotte, she earned her M. Ed. in 1995, and moved over to the Academic Advising Center in the College of Arts and Sciences that fall.   In spring 2001, she was named Director of that Advising Center, and became Director of the University Advising Center in July 2007.  Her interests include spending time with her husband and two daughters, reading biographies, and volunteering at school and church.

Cheryl Hester
Academic Advisor

Cheryl joined UNC Charlotte in April 2008 and the University Advising Center in March 2009. Before relocating to Charlotte, a long-time goal, she served as an Academic Advisor in the College of Arts & Sciences at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia.  Originally from Ohio, Cheryl earned her Bachelor of Arts from Wright State University and her Master of Science in College Student Personnel from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  She has also served in the U.S. Air Force and enjoyed work in the Arts profession. Cheryl is a dog lover and avid movie fan, enjoys the theatre, traveling, and just recently developed a budding interest in sports.

Pamela Hickman
Office Manager

Ms. Pamela joined UNCC as a temporary Office Assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Center in September 2006.  Being presented with the opportunity to join the newly formed University Advising Center, she applied and was chosen as one of the members of the team.   Originally from Chicago, she has always worked and mentored youth in both the community and in her church.  Her love of our youth and respect for her colleagues makes this a wonderfully challenging career move. 

In Ms. Pamela’s free time she is a designer and creator of unique jewelry pieces.

Shonta Le Master
Academic Advisor

Shonta joined the University Advising Center staff in June 2007.  She has spent the majority of her professional life working with underrepresented populations in education.  Prior to coming to the University Advising Center, she served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Building Educational Strengths and Talents for nine and a half years at UNC Charlotte.  Shonta earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Tuskegee University.  She earned her Master of Education degree in Community Agency Counseling at Clemson University. 
While earning her Master’s degree she worked full-time as a Counselor for the Upward Bound Program at Tri-County Technical College.  She also worked part-time with emotionally handicapped youth at the Anderson Youth Association. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Richard and her dog Ava. 

Kevin Parsons
Transfer Advisor

Kevin began his work at UNC Charlotte August 2003 as an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences after working as a student counselor at Central Piedmont Community College. He joined the University Advising Center in January 2008 as a transfer specialist.  He is originally from southwestern Virginia, but grew up in Columbus, Ohio (GO BUCKS!). He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Ohio University. His other student service positions have included work with new student orientation and first-generation students in the TRIO program at Ohio University. Kevin enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, walking, and golfing. He is married and lives in Cornelius. Kevin wants you to know, “make the University Advising Center your first stop when in doubt about what to do or where to go for help.”

Laiko Quintero
Academic Advisor

Laiko joined the University Advising Center in August of 2008, after taking a year off to raise her son.  She has experience working in Career Services, New Student Programming, and Student Multicultural Affairs at New York Institute of Technology and the University at Buffalo.  Laiko received her Bachelor’s degree from the SUNY College at Oneonta in both Anthropology and Political Science in 2004 and completed her Masters degree in Student Affairs Administration from the University at Buffalo in 2006.  She is excited to help students to navigate through UNCC and succeed!  During her free time Laiko enjoys cooking, playing with her son, and reducing her ecological footprint. 

Howard Simms
Academic Advisor

Howard joined the University Advising Center in June 2007 after serving as a student counselor with the TRiO program, Educational Talent Search, at Central Piedmont Community College for 5 years.  He is originally from the great state of Florida.  Howard began his student service career working with middle school students in Florida. After moving to Charlotte he progressed to advising college bound high school students in the TRiO programs and finally working with collegiate level students here at UNC Charlotte. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Ball State University in Psychology and Executive Development for Public Service respectively.  Howard enjoys playing sports, watching football, and lifting weights.

Sarah Wilde
Academic Advisor

Sarah joined the University Advising Center in August 2008. Prior to joining the team at UNC Charlotte, she worked at UNC Greensboro.  While at UNC Greensboro, Sarah served as the Assistant Director of the University Speaking Center and taught the introductory hybrid communication class and a business communication course in the Communication Studies department.  Additionally, she was an advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Center and was a ropes course facilitator for UNC Greensboro’s TeamQuest program.  Sarah received her B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Mary Washington and her M.A. degree in Communication Studies from UNC Greensboro. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys watching college basketball and taking aerobics and Zumba classes..