Kathleen Herndon Lee

Kathleen Herndon‑Lee is a lifelong leader in education, ministry, and community service. Born to Garland Walker and Bertha Scott Herndon and raised in a faith‑centered home in Apex, North Carolina, she has dedicated her life to service, integrity, and uplifting others.

Kathleen began her career as an elementary public-school teacher after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Shaw University in 1966. She later completed a Master of Arts degree at North Carolina Central University, strengthening her expertise in instructional practice. In 1986, she transitioned to the corporate sector as a Professional Services Educator with IBM in Atlanta, where she delivered technology‑integrated training to school districts across the United States and the Virgin Islands. She continued her work in educational services with several national education companies before retiring from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2006.

A devoted church and community leader, Kathleen has served in numerous roles at White Oak Missionary Baptist Church in Apex, NC, and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, including President of the Deaconess Ministry, and President of the January Service Club. She is also an Ordained Deacon at White Oak Missionary Baptist Church and has served as the volunteer Director of Human Services for the White Oak Foundation, Inc. since 2006.

Kathleen is an inaugural member of the Western Regional Community Advocacy Committee (WRCAC), Apex Service Groups and Faith Alliance, and the Wake Emergency Assistance Providers (EAP) Collaboration. She is also the coordinator of the Wake County Meals on Wheels for the Seniors program at the White Oak Foundation. Her leadership within WRCAC has been instrumental since 2010, when she began advocating for expanded county services in Western Wake County. She helped establish the committee’s mission and vision in 2012 and continues to guide strategic priorities including affordable housing, food security, workforce development, transportation, and senior services.

Widely recognized for her leadership in strengthening regional food security, Kathleen serves as Co‑Chair of the WRCAC Food Security Action Group. She has built and sustained cross‑sector partnerships with faith organizations, nonprofits, schools, businesses, and local governments to improve logistics, volunteer engagement, resource coordination, and community education. In 2022, she was named a Food Security Superhero by WRCAC for her leadership during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Her accomplishments include integrating food insecurity screenings into COVID‑19 testing settings and expanding collaborative food distribution models across the region. From 2017 to 2024, her leadership helped increase Summer Meal sites in low‑income neighborhoods from 8 to 26. At the onset of the pandemic, she coordinated the rapid opening of 11 food distribution sites on the first day of school closures. 

Since 2017, Kathleen has expanded White Oak’s Food Hub operations in partnership with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, grocery stores, and restaurants.  This partnership enabled White Oak to launch three additional food pantries. (Apex, Fuquay and Garner). In collaboration with Resources for Seniors and Meals on Wheels, she launched the Friendship Café in 2022—a pop‑up senior center providing healthy meals, enrichment programs, digital literacy support, and exercise classes.

As Director of Human Services for the White Oak Foundation, Kathleen manages more than 20 volunteers and leads initiatives that stabilize families, support housing readiness, expand food security, and provide crisis assistance. She has strengthened the Foundation’s regional impact by integrating services across a broad network of partners, including UNC, Wake County Human Services, Resources for Seniors, NeighborUp, The Caring Place, the towns of Apex and Cary, YMCA, Inter‑Faith Food Shuttle, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, and Meals on Wheels..

Kathleen is the wife of George William Lee, mother of Sharon Morris and Marcia Hayes, and grandmother to Heather Morris, Lauren Morris, and William Hayes Jr.