About Downtown
Current Ambassadors
Rondricus M. Bender-
Ron was born in Washington, DC. He joined our team in July, 2005 as a Clean Ambassador, and after a few months he was promoted to a Safety Ambassador. Ron is married and his dog and three cats keep him and his wife Jessica occupied at home. He enjoys working out at the gym and playing basketball. He eats anything, as long as it is not spicy. He likes going to the beach while on vacation and has traveled to all fifty states and Canada. Ron aspires to be a law enforcement officer in the future.
- Richard Burwell
Richard is from Philadelphia, PA. He has been a Downtown Ambassador since
November 2006. Richard has three children. He has been a fan of the LA
Lakers for the past 27 years.
Alexander Coburn
Alexander has been a Safety Ambassador since January 2007.
He was born in Turrell, AR. He is married with five beautiful children.
Alex enjoys fishing, preaching and teaching.
Matthew
Grady
Matt is from Raleigh, NC and has been a Safety Ambassador since December 2006. He is an avid guitar player and enjoys playing with the “Who are We” in Fayetteville. Matt loves hot dogs from Snoopy’s.
Rahef
S. Abed-Hernandez -
Rahef was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He has been the Program Manager
since April, 2005. Rahef retired from the US Army in 2003 after 20 years
of service. He has been deployed to Central America and the Persian Gulf
during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. His awards and decorations include
the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense
Service Ribbon, Three Combat Campaign Stars, the Liberation of Kuwait
medal and Expert Rifle Marksmanship among many others. Rahef is married
and his daughter Stephanie goes to college in Puerto Rico. He owns two
dogs and two cats. His favorite food is seafood and his favorite restaurant
is Pappadeux, in San Antonio, TX. His hobbies include, playing and collecting
classical guitars, vintage fountain pens, antiques, calligraphy, riding
his motorcycle, travel and golf. He has visited many countries in Central
and South America, like Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador
and Cuba; also Canada, Germany, Spain, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and
Iraq.
Crystal
Jackson
Crystal is an Air Force child, born in Sierra Vista, AZ. She has been a part time Safety Ambassador since January 2007. Crystal attends Shaw University majoring in Business Administration. She likes to play basketball and reading.
George McDougald George has been with us since November, 2005 as a Clean Ambassador and the primary operator of “Curby,” our sidewalk vacuum machine. Currently, he is the Night Shift Team Leader, in charge of the Safety Ambassadors. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, married with 6 children. George is a former member of the US Marine Corps. His hobbies include watching movies at home and jazz music. His favorite vacation spot is Orlando, FL and he has visited many cities like Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Washington, DC and the island of Puerto Rico.
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Jamal
Muhammad
Jamal has been with us since December 2006 as a Safety Ambassador. He hails from New York. Jamal is married and has three children. He enjoys basketball and bicycle riding.
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Aaron Payne
Aaron has been a part time Safety Ambassador since December 2006. He was born in Lancaster, PA. Aaron spent 8 years in the Marine Corps and works for the Department of Corrections. He is married and has two children. Aaron enjoys horses, power lifting and chess.
Shirley
Reade
Shirley was born and raised in North Carolina. She has three beautiful children and her hobbies include walking, skating, reading, going to movies and attending church. She has been a Safety Ambassador since December 2006.
Matthew
Smith
- Matthew is the Clean Ambassador Team Leader. He operates Curby, our sidewalk vacuum machine. He has been with us since June 2006. Matt was born in Philadelphia, PA and has a son, Daniel. He owns a cat, Tiger. His hobbies include backgammon, spades, reading about Black History and religion. His favorite vacation spots are NYC and Atlantic City.
Heather Vinson
Heather was born in Raleigh, NC. She has been a Downtown Ambassador since
December 2006. Besides caring for her children, Heather enjoys poems, arts
and crafts, reading and going to church.
Nathan
Wright
Nathan has been a Safety Ambassador since November 2006. He was born Marshal
Town, IA, but lived in Los Angeles, CA for a number of years prior to coming
to NC. Nathan enjoys running and swimming.
Curby
“Curby” was
born somewhere near Minneapolis, MN sometime in 2004. From the moment “Curby” arrived
in Downtown Raleigh people fell in love with him. “Curby” loves
diesel fuel, but snacks throughout the day on general litter left on the
sidewalks. About once a month “Curby” gets a treat of 5 quarts
of 15W-40 engine oil and new oil filter. Oh, and “Curby” loooves
the attention!