Member

Leigh Jeffreys Fanning, of Greenville, NC, is a veteran business leader, with more than 30 years leading R.A. Jeffreys Distribution, a 600-employee operation spanning 36 North Carolina counties. She brings her extensive experience in financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, and organizational management to the Board of Governors, focusing on responsible stewardship of public resources.

Fanning attended East Carolina University from 1985 to 1987 and went on to serve on the ECU Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2023, an eight-year experience that showed her how thoughtful governance directly shapes student success and strengthens a university's community.

In her current role as a member of the Board of Governors, Fanning is committed to student success, the role of universities as economic anchors, and health care education across the state. Having chaired ECU’s University Affairs Committee and served on its Finance and Facilities Committee and Athletic Committee, Fanning cares deeply about academic quality, affordability, and sound long-range business planning.

Fanning has served prominent roles on several other boards, including as a trustee of Arendell Parrott Academy since 2012; as a member of the Truist Local Advisory Board since 2002; as board member and president of the Greater Greenville Community Foundation from 2007 to 2020; as executive board member and treasurer of the North Carolina Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association from 2012 to 2018; as a member of the Vidant Children's Hospital Capital Campaign Committee from 2010 to 2012; as a founding member of the Women for Women Endowment from 2005 to 2015; as a board member of the Pitt County Health Education Foundation from 2001 to 2006; and as board member and vice chair of The Dream Factory of NC from 1994 to 2004.

To date, Fanning’s proudest professional accomplishment is helping to build and lead R.A. Jeffreys Distributing into a thriving regional business while supporting the employees and communities that drove its success. Personally, she is proud of her family, having raised three children with her husband, Paul, of 25 years.

Her advice to college students:

“Stay curious, work hard, and invest in the people and community around you. Doors tend to open for those who show up and serve. A degree matters, but the relationships you build and a reputation for integrity will carry you the furthest.”