Meet The Wake Downtown Team

Alana James provides primary oversight of Wake Downtown, including the management of the administrative team, support of faculty leadership who oversee the three anchor programs, and coordination of essential building services. She is also responsible for aligning and identifying strategies for Wake Downtown to effectively promote, support, and lead sustainable community engagement efforts. In 2017, she became Wake Downtown’s inaugural Associate Director of Community Engagement. In that role she worked to develop co-curricular opportunities with peer institutions and to provide entry points for community members to access partnership, mentorship, and other resources. Prior to this, she served as the Director of Community-Based Collaborations at The United Way of Forsyth County for seven years. Alana graduated from Wake Forest in 2009 and received her MA in Management from the Schools of Business in 2010. An Ohio native, she fell in love with Winston-Salem as a student while volunteering and serving at community organizations as a member of Alpha Phi Omega, and been a proud member of the community ever since.

Amanda Tingle provides administrative and logistical support to Wake Downtown, its faculty, staff, and students. She oversees Wake Downtown logistics, including room reservations, building and parking access, and financial management. Ms. Tingle received her B.A. degree in Art History from the University of the South (Sewanee) and a B.S.A. degree in Biological Science from the University of Georgia. Prior to coming to Wake Forest University in 2011, she was employed as an Administrative Specialist at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and as an Executive Coordinator for the University of Virginia’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. Ms. Tingle spent 5 years as an integral part of the Wake Forest Scholars Office, and in 2016, she became the first Office Manager for Wake Downtown.

As Administrative Coordinator, Anna-Gray Lee supports all functions for Wake Downtown by ensuring that faculty, staff, and students receive up-to-date and important information about classes, research, and events taking place onsite. She serves as the primary point-of-contact for all visitors, and oversees prospective student and family tours of Wake Downtown. She also provides logistical support for Wake Downtown engagement programs like K-12 school visits and WF LEAP. Prior to joining Wake Downtown in 2024, Anna-Gray spent three years working in hospitality where she learned the true meaning of being guest centric; this experience has brought a new and exciting perspective to the team. Born and raised in Greenville, NC, Anna-Gray received her Bachelor of Arts from East Carolina University in Communications with a concentration in Interpersonal and Organizational communication. She loves living in Winston Salem and being part of the Wake Forest community, and in her spare time, she enjoys exploring the community’s numerous green spaces and outdoor activities.

Alyssa Zaepfel graduated from Wake Forest University in 2025 and is serving as the 2025-2026 Wake Downtown Fellow. At Wake, she majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and minored in German on the pre-med track. She hopes to attend medical school in the near future. In her role as the fellow, Alyssa helps facilitate Wake Downtown’s STEM outreach programs including the WF LEAP Internship Program, Friends-in-STEM mentoring program, and STEM Outreach Corps. Alyssa also provides administrative support for the Wake Downtown team and helps with tours of the facilities for prospective students and their families. Alyssa enjoyed her time as an undergraduate student at Wake Downtown and is very excited to be serving as the Wake Downtown Fellow this year. She looks forward to further exploring the overlap between medicine and education through the science outreach programs she will help facilitate in her role.