LAP Director
W. Donald (Don) Carroll, Jr.
907 Barra Row, Suite 205
Davidson, NC 28036
1-800-720-7257 or
704-892-5699
nclap@bellsouth.net
Don Carroll received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 1967. He has a Masters of Philosophy degree from the University of Dundee in Scotland and he received his law degree with honors from the University of Virginia in 1971. He holds an MFA degree in writing from Vermont College.
He served as a law clerk for the Honorable James B. McMillan, United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, and practiced civil litigation from 1975 to 1990 as an associate and partner with the firm of Helms, Mulliss and Johnston and as a partner with its successor Smith, Helms, Mulliss and Moore.
Don is a certified Employee Assistance Professional and licensed in North Carolina as a Licensed Employee Assistance Professional. Since 1994, he has been the director of the North Carolina State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program and its predecessor the PALS program. Don writes regular columns about the Lawyer Assistance Program for the North Carolina State Bar Journal and the Campbell Law Observer. Don has taught at Campbell University School of Law on "Addiction and the Law". In 2000, Don served on the planning committee for the American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs National Workshop. In 2001, he was appointed by the President of the ABA to serve on the American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. He served three terms on the ABA's Commission through 2004. He currently serves on the Commission's Advisory Board. Don has served on the North Carolina Consortium of Professional Recovery Programs, an association of professional recovery programs for lawyers, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses in North Carolina and in 2001-2002 served as Chair of the Consortium. Don currently chairs the Board of the Chemical Dependency Center, a non-profit prevention and outpatient treatment agency, serving the Charlotte, North Carolina community. In 2000, Don received the Addiction Professionals of North Carolina Outstanding Achievement Award for his work as Director of the North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program.
Don has two children - Nora, teaches English as a second language in an inner-city school in New York City; and Will, is a senior at Davidson College where he plays division one soccer. Don lives in Davidson, North Carolina.
Edmund F. Ward, III
LAP Assistant Director
Edmund (Ed) F. Ward III
PO Box 25908 (27611-5908)
208 Fayetteville Street Mall
Raleigh, NC 27601
1-877-627-3743 or
919-828-6425
eward@ncbar.com
Edmund F. (Ed) Ward, III joined the North Carolina State Bar on May 17, 1999 as Director of FRIENDS, at the time, a new Bar program of outreach to lawyers suffering from depression and/or other mental illnesses. Ed serves now as Assistant Director of the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) as the LAP is inclusive of both the FRIENDS and PALS programs. A graduate of Campbell University, Ed is credentialed as a Certified Clinical Addiction Specialist (CCAS) and a Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS) by the North Carolina Substance Abuse Professional Certification Board. His professional career has included work as an addictions counselor, clinical supervisor and approximately fifteen years as a hospital administrator.
Ed is two-term, past-president of Addiction Professionals of North Carolina (APNC) and past-president of the North Carolina Association of Addiction Treatment Program. He is the recipient of APNC's Norbet Kelly Award and the APNC Outstanding Achievement Awards. He also is the recipient of the Walter Mitchell Award given by the North Carolina Association of Alcoholic Residential Facilities.
Towanda C. Garner
Piedmont LAP Coordinator
Towanda C. Garner
PO Box 25908 (27611-5908)
208 Fayetteville Street Mall
Raleigh, NC 27601
1-877-570-0991
1-919-828-4620 ext. 290
tgarner@ncbar.com
Towanda C. Garner started employment with The North Carolina State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) as the Piedmont LAP Coordinator on March 28, 2005. Her educational background consists of the completion of undergraduate studies at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC where she acquired a B.A in Psychology, Minor - Child Development and Family Relations; completion of graduate studies at North Carolina Central University with a M.A. degree in Psychology, Concentration - Clinical. She is also a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor. Her professional experience includes working as a Clinical Director and a Program Director at a drug rehabilitation treatment center in North Carolina.
Towanda enjoys working with people and witnessing the joy of recovery and emotional healing from chemical addiction and mental illness. As the Piedmont LAP Coordinator, she says, "I'm grateful to be a part of an organization that provides support and services to protect the public by assisting lawyers and judges who are professionally impaired by reason of substance abuse, addiction, or debilitating mental conditions; to assist impaired lawyers and judges in recovery; and to educate lawyers and judges concerning the causes of and remedies of such impairment. I thank lawyers, judges, and law students who allow the LAP to assist them, because I adamantly believe we need each other to survive in this life."
Towanda resides with her husband in Clayton, North Carolina.
Buffy Holt
Assistant to W. Donald Carroll Jr.
1-800-720-7257
bholt@ncbar.com
Betty Whitley
Assistant to Edmund F. Ward III
919-828-4620 ext. 269
bwhitley@ncbar.com
Webmaster:
Jennifer Duncan
Director of Communications
The North Carolina State Bar
ncbar@bellsouth.net