Donyel B. Barber is a native of Gaston County, North Carolina. She attended Gaston County Public Schools and is a 1996 graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
Donyel served as a Child Protective Services worker in Gaston County for nearly 9 years where she conducted investigations of child abuse and neglect. From 2004 until March 2016, she served as the Executive Director of Family Promise of Gaston County which is a program dedicated to helping families in crisis and in homeless situations regain their independence and self-sufficiency. As director, she helped numerous homeless families transition back into their own homes as well as prevented many under employed individuals from becoming homeless through the services she was able to provide. Donyel currently serves as the Director of Health Equity Initiatives at Kintegra Health, a Federal Qualified Health Center in North Carolina. Since 2016 Donyel has led the charge of promoting community engagement, while identifying social drivers leading to poor health, with the overarching goal of improving the overall health of the community. Through her work, The Healthy Highland Partnership was formed and led to the establishment of a social enterprise, “RAMS Kitchen.” RAMS which stands for “Really Amazing Meals with Soul” provides healthy and affordable meal options in a grab and go style at a retail site. RAMS Kitchen also host pop-up farmers markets providing “produce bags” to customers. The RAMS Kitchen Mobile Food Unit travels to various locations throughout the community to serve as an extension to the retail site. Donyel also established the Food Is Medicine Initiative which offers meal prescriptions and meal delivery to patients of Kintegra Health, Public Health, and Home Healthcare agencies.
Donyel has contributed to the betterment of the community and beyond through various civic and social affiliations. She currently serves as a Board member for the following organizations: Diversified Business Professional Foundation, Ashbrook Foundation, The Carrie E. and Lena V. Glenn Foundation and Communities Joined In Action. Donyel is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is Past President of the sorority’s Gastonia Alumnae Chapter and currently serves as Parliamentarian and member of the Policies and Procedures and Social Action committees. She is a charter member of the Gastonia Piedmont Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. and member of the Piedmont NC Chapter of The Links, Inc.
In 2012 Donyel received the “Community Service Award” from The Gastonia Las Amigas and the “Omega Citizen of the Year” from the Epsilon Upsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Donyel was named one of Mecklenburg Times “50 Most Influential Women” for 2013. She also received the 2014 Dr. Edward D. Sadler, Jr. Award from the United Way of Gaston County. In 2016 Donyel received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to a building a stronger nation through volunteer service from the President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama. Donyel was named the 2017 (Non-Elk) Citizen of the Year by the State of North Carolina Elks Convention. In 2019, Donyel received the Gaston Together MLK Unity Award and was awarded the Grassroots Political Engagement Award during the 2019 Communities Joined In Action Conference in Seattle, Washington. In 2021 Donyel was awarded the Gaston Regional Chamber’s Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award and she received the Mark Redding Health Transformation Award at the Communities Joined In Action Conference in 2022.
On November 5, 2019, Donyel made history as the first African American female to be elected to serve on the city council for the City of Gastonia. She was re-elected in 2023 and is currently serving in her 2nd Term.
Donyel strongly believes that everyone deserves to be treated equally. Therefore, she strives to be intentional about promoting equity and opportunity for all people in the community in which she lives and serves!
